El Paso's Logan Villalva, Charlie Bass to continue track and field careers on Division I level

Eastlake graduate Logan Villalva and Andress graduate Charlie Bass will get the chance to continue their track and field careers at the Division I level.

Villalva, who qualified for the Class 6A state track and field meet in the discus, will compete at UT-Arlington. It was on the UT-Arlington campus where Villalva captured the Region 1-6A discus championship to earn his spot at the state meet in Austin.

"Coach (John) Ridgway, who is an assistant coach in the program, began the recruiting process with me and the whole staff was great," Villalva said. "They made me feel at home with the program and that certainly made a difference with me. UT-Arlington has a great tradition in track and field. I'll throw the discus, but don't be surprised to see me compete in the shot put and hammer throw in the future."

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Bass will stay home and compete at UTEP. Bass was a standout for the Eagles track and field team and qualified for the Class 5A state track and field meet in the 200 meters.

"It was a great experience at state," Bass said. "Qualifying for state certainly opened up some doors for me. As the season went on I felt like I improved a great deal in the 200 meters. I mainly focused on that event and the improvement showed. Making state proved that kids from El Paso can do great things and be among the best in the state. I'm excited for the next challenge at UTEP. I'm going to spend the summer training and working to getter better."

Felix F. Chavez may be reached at 915-546-6167; fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso's Logan Villalva, Charlie Bass to continue track careers