STATE TRACK MEET | Kilgore’s Nelson wins GOLD with on LAST THROW! Coverage, photos of ETBlitz-area athletes in Austin

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our ongoing coverage of results, as they come in, of athletes in the ETBlitz.com coverage area competing in the UIL State Track & Field Championships at the University of Texas in Austin. The event began at 9 a.m. Thursday, the day featuring athletes from classes 3A and 4A.

Several athletes from the ETBlitz.com coverage area are in Austin Thursday for the UIL State Track & Field Championships, and we do have a medalist.

White Oak’s Kyler Priest took bronze, third place, in the boys Class 3A pole vault, in nine competitors.

The pole vault was one of a myriad of field events, along with the 3,200 meter (two-mile) run, to start at 9 a.m. at the University of Texas’s Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Priest cleared 14 feet, 6 inches, finishing third behind Maypearl’s Trevor Upton and Lubbock Roosevelt’s Dakota Zuber. No other East Texans were in the event.

Kilgore’s Jacory Walton was also in action Thursday morning and equaled his personal best, 6-foot-4, in the boys Class 4A high jump. Walton was one of three East Texans in that one. Brycen Williams of Canyon West Plains cleared 6-foot-6-inches to win the high jump, and Brownsboro’s Gekyle Baker finished third. Walton was one of four athletes to clear 6-foot-4. Gilmer’s Brendan Webb finished seventh (6-foot-2).

Troup’s Trae Davis has a tremendously busy Thursday in the capitol city. Davis will represent the Tigers in four events. The first was the boys Class 3A long jump. He finished fifth – 21 feet, 9 ¾ inches. The winner was Lexington’s Mason Biehle, with a best of 22 feet, 6 ¾ inches. Canadian’s Preston Neumeier was back by an inch (22 feet, 5 ¾ inches), and Franklin’s Devyn Hidrogo was third (22 feet, 3 ¾ inches). Dorian Aranda was fourth (21 feet, 10 ½ inches).

Kilgore’s Braydon Nelson is about to compete in the boys Class 4A shot put.

Nelson would also set his personal best in the shot put, a throw of 56 feet, 4 ½ inches. He finished second, winning a silver medal. Stephenville’s Creece Brister had one throw – one throw – of the entire competition that beat Nelson, a throw of 57 feet, 3 ¾ inches. All of his other throws were under the 56 feet, 4 ½ inches by Nelson, almost by a half-foot.

Nelson’s previous PR was at regionals, a best of 56 feet, 2 inches.

Nelson still has to compete again, in the boys 4A discus.

Sabine’s Sam Black, who had great success once again this year all season at the 3A level at both shot and discus, finished sixth in the 3A discus. Black had a best of 159 feet, 1 inch. Caden Reagan of Goliad had a best of 174 feet, 11 inches and won the event. Henrietta’s Klein Essler was second (173 feet, 1 inch). Reggie Johnson of Blanco (169 feet, 4 inches) was third.

Black will be back in action at 2 p.m. for the 3A boys shot put, and he’ll be joined by West Rusk’s Kason Reed in that one.

Haven’t had any updates in a while because we haven’t had any locals in a while. Reed and Black are in action now in the boys shot put. I said discus earlier, an error.

It’s still in progress right now; our local guys are in there and trying.

Nelson is back in action at 3 p.m. in the 4A boys discus, so we’ll be here to update that.

One competitor, Easton Hatleburg of Grandview, has a best of 58 feet, 9 3/4 inches right now. That would beat the 4A winner from earlier today.

In fact, Hatleburg has been so good today that his WORST throw has been 57 feet, 4 1/2 inches!

Hatleburg just topped his own best. He just went for 59 feet, 7 1/4 inches.

And Hatleburg will take the state crown in the 3A boys shot, with that throw of 59 feet, 7 1/4 inches. West Rusk’s Kason Reed is eighth, his best a throw of 52 feet, 7 3/4 inches, and Sam Black ninth, a best throw of 51 feet, 6 1/4 inches.

Nelson up soon in the 4A boys discus, a rematch with Stephenville’s Creece Brister; the two finished 1-2 in the 4A boys shot put.

Braydon currently in second; he was in the lead, and Lucas Cano of Gilmer slipped past him. Still a few throws to go.

Cano’s best is 182 feet, 5 inches; that’s the best today. Nelson’s best ever is five inches better than that. Nelson’s best today is 178-6.

Guys, I’m not just laying out; no one is going right now. We’re in a holding pattern.

They resumed competing a few minutes ago; official results come in slowly, but it appears Nelson still has two throws left to try and re-claim the lead.

Nelson about to take his fifth throw. He needs better than 182-5.

Officials ruled Nelson scratched, and then Cano threw for 170-5. The entire field will get another throw, one last throw, another opportunity.

NELSON WINS! NELSON WINS! NELSON WINS!

Did I say that enough?!?!?!

McCager Smith of Athens goes in front of Nelson, taking his spot as the silver medalist momentarily, going up to second place.

With only Nelson and the leader, Cano from Gilmer, left to throw, and with Nelson needing better than a throw of 182 feet, 3 inches to win the gold, NELSON HITS A THROW OF 188 FEET, 1 INCH! Cano comes to the circle and scratches, unfortunately for that young man. But Nelson wins gold, Cano gets silver, and Smith of Athens gets bronze. WOW, what a finish to the 4A boys discus!

Now that we’ve settled down…

Well, not really. We may not settle down for a while! CONGRATULATIONS, BRAYDON NELSON!! Nelson brings home the gold in the 4A boys discus and the silver in the shot put.

We still have a few ETBlitz athletes to perform today. It’ll be about 30 minutes before anyone else is up. Here’s what’s coming in the running events:

5 p.m.: Gladewater’s Jerrica Gilmore, Paytin Thompson, Kyla Lincoln, Hadassah Balcorta, Peyton Hunter, 3A girls 400 meter relay

5 p.m.: Troup’s Noble Kendrick, Caden Clayburn, Bryce Wallum, Trae Davis, Brett Wells, Jaylon Williams, 3A boys 400 meter relay

6:05 p.m.: Gladewater’s Peyton Hunter in the 3A girls 100 meter dash.

6:25 p.m.: West Rusk’s Chloe Petty, Isabella Mata, Kamyah Lacy, Lakendra “Keke” Murphy, Natalia Mata, Irelind Hunt, Kimora Pryor, Zoey Smires, 3A girls 800 meter relay

6:25 p.m.: Gladewater’s Balcorta, Gilmore, Hunter, Thompson, Lincoln, 3A girls 800 meter relay

6:25 p.m.: Troup’s Kendrick, Claburn, Wallum, Davis, Wells, Williams, 3A boys 800 meter relay

6:45 p.m.: Sabine’s Sarah Roberts, 3A girls 400 meter run

7:30 p.m.: Gladewater’s Thompson, 3A girls 200 meter dash

OK, back to work, Whew.

Congratulations to Gladewater’s 400 meter relay team! Jerrica Gilmore, Paytin Thompson, Kyla Lincoln and Peyton Hunter just took silver in that event, the 3A 400 relay. They ran it in the time of 47.48 seconds, just behind Goliad’s first-place time of 46.89 seconds. Bushland was third (48.30), and Atlanta, also from East Texas, was fourth (48.50).

Congratulations, too, to the 3A boys 400 meter team from Troup! The Tigers squad of Noble Kendrick, Caden Claburn, Bryce Wallum and Trae Davis just finished in the bronze spot in a SUPER CLOSE relay. Yoakum took first – 41.81 seconds – Hallettsville was second in 41.87, and Troup in 41.95. Man, a close one.

Here comes the 3A girls 100 meter dash, with Gladewater’s Peyton Hunter.

No results just yet, sorry, people.

Winnsboro’s Camden Capehart just won the 100 meter dash. I have no idea why the girls 3A haven’t ran the 100 meter dash. They just said there were a couple of call-backs, and now they’re running the girls 4A 100 meter before the girls 3A 100.

Capehart’s time was 10.44 seconds.

Byron Eaton Jr. is running in the 4A 100 meter dash for Dallas Lincoln.

Do you remember Byron Eaton Sr.?

He was the quarterback that faced Kilgore for Lincoln in the 2004 state championship game, that Kilgore won.

Eaton finished fourth, by the way.

Gladewater’s Peyton Hunter wins silver! Hunter takes silver in the 3A girls 100 meter dash! Hunter runs second only to Universal City Randolph’s Taylor Nunez, who won it in 11.46 seconds. Hunter’s time was 11.91 seconds, and Starrmia Dixon of New Diana took third in 11.93 seconds. Great job, Peyton!

OK: the girls 3A 800 meter relay is next, with West Rusk’s team of Chloe Petty, Isabella Mata, Kamyah Lacy, Lakendra “Keke” Murphy, Natalia Mata, Irelind Hunt, Kimora Pryor, Zoey Smires in the mix and Gladewater’s team of Balcorta, Gilmore, Hunter, Thompson, and Lincoln in, as well.

Gladewater finishes fourth, West Rusk seventh, but WR Athletic Director Rafe Mata just told me that 1:43.72 time was a new school record. Kind of a raw deal for Hunter, who had to run the 100 meter dash and then turn around and run the 800 meter relay leg. Still, great run for both Gladewater and WR teams.

Troup’s boys now in the 3A 800 meter relay.

The Tigers’ team of Kendrick, Claburn, Wallum and Davis finish eighth, 1:28.09. Halletsville wins it in 1:26.93.

Sabine’s Sarah Roberts is coming up soon! She runs in the girls Class 3A 400 meter run!

Sarah finishes eighth (59.27 seconds) in the 400 meters. The winner is Cameron Yoe’s Yierra Flemmings (544.48 seconds).

We have one more athlete from the ETBlitz.com area in the state track meet: Gladewater’s Paytin Thompson, in the girls 3A 200 meter dash.

Thompson comes in fifth, running the 200 meter dash in 25.05 seconds. Nunez, who also won the 100 meter dash for Randolph, wins the 200, as well, in 23.48 seconds. New Diana’s Dixon finishes second (24.50). Breagan Blowers of Holliday is third (24.51), Leah Ruthardt of Bushland is fourth (24.58), then Thompson, and the remainder of the nine young ladies.

And that wraps our coverage of this year’s UIL State Track & Field Championships! Congratulations not only to Nelson, Hunter and all the student athletes who medaled, and their coaches, but to all of the young women and young men and their coaches who worked so hard to make the trip to Austin and competed here not just at the 3A and 4A level, but all weekend at all classifications.

Thank y’all for reading.