TRACK REGIONALS THIS WEEKEND | Athletes from all 12 ETBlitz-area high schools have a shot at making the UIL state meet
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What if you had a shot at your dream?
High school track and field athletes competing at regional meets this weekend have that shot, a chance to qualify for the state’s brightest spotlight.
Right now, the night before, the scoreboard reads zeroes across the board.
That means everybody that’s going to a regional meet has a chance.
Track and field athletes from every single program in the ETBlitz.com coverage area are headed to regionals at different sites this weekend, all hoping to do well enough to meet up at just one site on May 1, 2 and 3: Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, once again the site of the University Interscholastic League State Track & Field Championships.
Anybody that doesn’t think that means something can ask former Kilgore High School star Braydon Nelson, who – on the very last throw – won gold last year in the discus.
Ask Lucas Cano, Gilmer’s discus great, who was on the other end of Nelson’s miracle throw. Cano has every intention of standing above that No. 1 on the podium this year, in both the discus AND the shot put.
Ask Peyton Hunter, Gladewater’s silver medalist last year in the 3A girls 100 meter dash. Or Troup’s Noble Kendrick, Bryce Wallum, or Brett Wells. They were there, too. They were competing and medaled in the 3A boys 400 meter relay.
The state meet is an emotional event. It’s an ELECTRIC event. Words almost don’t do it justice.
But the only way to get there… is to qualify at a regional.
Regional qualifiers this year from schools in the ETBlitz.com area:
CLASS 4A
Track qualifiers from the area meet will compete at the 4A Region II meet at Texas A&M-Commerce. That includes student athletes from Gilmer, Henderson and Kilgore, all in the ETBlitz.com coverage area.
Boys regional qualifiers from Gilmer, Henderson and Kilgore:
100 meter dash: Kilgore’s Carson Bynum and Gilmer’s Trillyon Butler.
200 meter dash: Henderson’s Brailon Walker.
400 meter run: Kilgore’s Jacory Walton.
800 meter run: Luciano Brizuela of Kilgore.
110 meter hurdles: Gilmer’s Brendan Webb and Kilgore’s Devin Tinney.
300 meter hurdles: Gilmer’s Tru Griffin-Wilson and Kilgore’s Rylan Chaney.
Discus: Lucas Cano of Gilmer.
Shot put: Cano in this event, as well as teammate Derion Andrews and Kilgore’s Cam Christian.
400 meter relay: Henderson will be in this event. At district, that team was Corey Harper, Zeshaun Reed, Au’maz Jackson, and Brailon Walker.
800 meter relay: Gilmer won this at area; Gilmer’s team at district was Lucas Cano, Solomon Jackson, DeRIon Andrews, Tru Wilson and Brendan Webb. Kilgore also qualified; the Bulldogs’ team at area was Takieran White, Jayden Sanders, Lakeyleon Graves, and Carsyn Bynum. Henderson’s team qualified, as well; at district, the four that ran that event for the Lions were Lemarion Coleman, Harper, Jackson, and Walker.
1600 (mile) relay: Kilgore qualified for this event; in district, that team was Bynum, Chaney, Jayden Sanders and Walton.
High jump: Gilmer’s Brendan Webb.
Girls qualifiers for the 4A regional meet at Texas A&M-Commerce:
100 meter dash: Gilmer’s Tasyiah Lewis.
200 meter dash: Gilmer’s Alondria Nelson.
400 meter run: Adleigh France of Gilmer.
1600 meter (mile) run: Henderson’s Gissele Alejandro and Gilmer’s Alondra Dominguez.
3200 meter (two-mile) run: Again, Henderson’s Alejandro and Gilmer’s Dominguez.
100 meter hurdles: Gilmer’s Johnae Newsome.
300 meter hurdles: Gilmer’s Newsome.
Long jump: Gilmer’s Lewis.
Discus: Gilmer’s Brooke Collie and Kilgore’s Kassidy Oliver.
Shot put: Kilgore’s Makayla Jackson.
Adaptive girls 100 meter wheelchair race: Henderson’s Lane Meador.
400 meter relay: Gilmer and Henderson both qualified for this event.
800 meter relay: The Lady Buckeyes will be at regionals in this one.
1600 meter (mile) relay: Gilmer won this one at area to qualify.
CLASS 3A
Athletes from Arp, West Rusk, Tatum, Troup, White Oak, Gladewater and Sabine, all from the ETB coverage area, will be at Whitehouse High School this Friday and Saturday for the 3A Region II meet.
Boys qualifiers
100 meter dash: Da’Carryon Hollie and Noble Kendrick of Troup, and White Oak’s Logan Ladwig.
200 meter dash: West Rusk’s Judson Dotson, Troup’s Caden Claburn and Sabine’s Terry Vanden.
400 meter run: Tatum’s Quadrai Peoples, Jaxson Ludlow of White Oak, and Sabine’s Vanden.
800 meter run: Anthony Soto of White Oak.
1600, 3200 meter runs: Tatum’s Victor Cantellano will run in both of these.
110 meter hurdles: Preston Swords of Sabine and Troup’s James Pierce.
300 meter hurdles: West Rusk Brailen Mauldin and Troup’s Pierce was second.
400 meter relay: Three ETBlitz.com-area teams qualified here – Troup, Tatum, and West Rusk.
800 meter relay: Troup, West Rusk and White Oak all are headed to regionals in this one.
1600 meter (mile) relay: The Raiders and White Oak will compete at regionals.
High jump: Two Tatum Eagles qualified here: Cayden Tatum and Jordan Chambers.
Long jump: Luke Sigler of Tatum, Troup’s Bryce Wallum and Gladewater’s Kingston Sheffield will all compete at regionals.
Triple jump: Sheffield of Gladewater, Pierce of Troup, and Kaynan Lacy of West Rusk will all compete in regionals in the TJ.
Pole vault: Kyler Priest of White Oak, Troup’s Riley Blackmon, and White Oak’s Trevor Sizemore will all be in Whitehouse.
Discus: Sam Black of Sabine looks to return to state in both discus and shot. Troup’s A.J. Dewberry and Arp’s Zyon Washington will join him at regionals.
Shot put: Black and teammate Jonah Brenner will be at regionals, as will White Oak’s Caden Durham.
Girls qualifiers
100 meter dash: The first of a few events where we’d see Gladewater’s Peyton Hunter qualify for regionals. West Rusk’s Kamyah Lacy will compete in this, as well.
200 meter dash: Paytin Thompson of Gladewater, Sabine’s Sarah Roberts, and White Oak’s Ryann Long.
400 meter run: Sabine’s Roberts and West Rusk’s Jada Maroney.
1,600 meter run, 3,200 meter run: West Rusk’s Adelaide Murphy in both, and Tatum’s Akeira Oden in both, as well.
100 meter hurdles: Tatum’s Kaysen Foster.
300 meter hurdles: Gladewater’s Hydie Collins and Addison Saccoccio of White Oak.
400 meter, 800 meter relays: Gladewater’s relay team, so strong last year, won both at area, and West Rusk was second in both. White Oak also qualified in the 800.
1600 meter relay: Sabine will compete in this one.
High jump: Troup’s Emory Cover and Tatum’s Foster.
Long jump: Hunter, who was also a part of Gladewater’s relay teams, is in this one, as is her teammate, Paytin Thompson.
Pole vault: Lizzy Still of White Oak.
Discus: Tatum’s Hadley Dunnavant, Arp’s Landry Langley and Troup’s Hannah Cearley.
Shot put: West Rusk’s Gabby Coleman and Gladewater’s Karlee Moses.
CLASS 2A
Overton High School regional track qualifiers are in Palestine today at Palestine High School’s Wildcat Stadium for the Class 2A, Region III meet.
Boys qualifiers
200 meter dash: Jayden Edwards.
1600 meter run, 3200 meter run: Vincent (Vini) Herron qualified for regionals for the Mustangs in both of these long-distance runs.
400 meter relay: The 400 meter relay team for Overton at area was Rylan Holleman, Jacob Osburn, Justin Weir and Jackson Furlow.
800 meter relay: The Mustangs will run in this one at regionals, as well; at area, it was the team of Kash Holleman, Edwards, Furlow and Bryson Bobbitt.
High jump: Christian Hall.
Long jump: Jayden Edwards.
Shot put: Elijah Dorsey.
Girls qualifiers
Triple jump: Kaylee Stevens.
CLASS 1A
Leverett’s Chapel track athletes compete this weekend at the 1A, Region III meet at Waco Midway High School.
There are quite a few Lions making the trip.
Boys qualifiers
100 meter dash: Jaggar Ward and Trent Wheat.
200 meter dash: Jaggar Ward.
Long jump: Jaggar Ward.
Shot put: Trent Wheat.
Girls qualifiers
100 meter hurdles: Lacie Hayes.
High jump: Lacie Hayes.
1600 (mile) relay: Alyvia Page, Brynleigh Seymore, Layla Neumeister and Maria Contreras.
