STATE TRACK THURSDAY WRAP-UP | Lady Bears win relay gold; Cano a double gold-medalist; complete results from day one

Day one of the state track meet was a busy one, for sure, for athletes that compete in Class 3A and 4A programs who reached the state’s biggest stage.

That stage: the annual University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

It was a stage where, on Thursday, Lucas Cano of Gilmer High School fulfilled a long dream: Cano became a two-time gold medalist, winning in both the 4A boys shot put, then in the 4A discus later in the day.

It was where White Oak’s Kyler Priest reached the sky in the pole vault, taking gold for the Roughnecks. And Gladewater’s Kingston Sheffield had never leapt farther, winning the gold medal for the Bears.

And he wasn’t alone! The Gladewater girls relay team were “golden Bears,” too, capturing the 400 meter relay late Thursday afternoon.

Here are the latest results from the Thursday evening events, wrapping up the day for the 3A and 4A athletes from the ETBlitz.com coverage area, athletes from Gilmer, Gladewater, Kilgore, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak.

On Friday, one more athlete from our area, Overton’s Christian Hall, will compete in the 2A boys high jump at 11:30 a.m.

Thursday’s afternoon and evening results

• Cano, the proud Buckeye, had already claimed a gold medal earlier Thursday with his performance in the 4A boys shot put. Thursday afternoon, he doubled it: he had a best of 194 feet, 2 inches, better than everyone else in Austin, and better than anyone in the state, as it turned out. Demetris Dean of Jasper was second (187 feet, 6 inches) and Athens’ McCager Smith was third (184 feet, 1 inch).
• Gladewater’s 400 meter girls relay team won the 3A version of that event, crossing the finish line in 47.66 seconds – the team of Adyson Evans, Paytin Thompson, Ki’zyah Miles and Peyton Hunter, all great athletes on their own, had teamed to claim gold. Liberty-Eylau’s team of Kaydence Stephens, Jada Stovall, Brailey Stewart and Z’Ryen Banks finished second, barely, in 47.80 seconds, and Fairfield’s team of Addison Posey, Na’Kayla Conner, Kaylee Williams and Blayke Brackens (48.51) was third. Gladewater had a DNF – did not finish – officially for the 800 meter relay, but they did, at least, bring home gold in the 400.

• Gilmer’s team of Taryn Tennison, Tasiyah Lewis, Evelyne Applegate and Alondria Nelson finished fifth in the 4A girls 400 meter relay, in 47.99 seconds. Brownwood’s team of Icess Hall, Kaya Phillips, Jade Morin and Aniah Hines was first (47 seconds, flat), with Celina’s Essence Gantt, Mia McDonald, Kelli Totman and Lexi Simmonds second (47.06) and Freeman High of Katy coming in third, the team of Zamiyah McDonald, Tiana Peck, Vivian Ferguson and Allanah Shepherd, in 47.39 seconds.
• Gilmer’s Brendan Webb came in sixth in the 4A boys 110 meter hurdles, finishing up in 14.43 seconds. Lago Vista’s Swayde Griffin ran it in a blistering 13.62 seconds; Stafford’s Bradley Lowman was second (13.64), and Jasiah Rivera of Kingsville King was third (13.65 seconds).
• In the 4A girls 400 meter dash, Gilmer’s Tasiyah Lewis was eighth (12.21 seconds); Fort Worth Dunbar’s Trinity Braziel Davis won it in 11.64 seconds. Houston Yates’ Madison Sweezer was second (11.69) and Allanah Shepherd of Katy Freeman was third (11.69).
• Troup’s team of Brett Wells, Caden Claburn, Bryce Wallum and Da’Carryon Hollie was eighth in the 3A boys’ 800 meter relay, in 1 minute, 28.84 seconds. Wall’s team of Evan Boehle, Ruben Marin, Hagynn Barbee and Briggs Jones won it in 1:26.84. Hitchcock (Jamarion Cooper, Taurian Fontenette, Jared Dotson and Brian Harris) was second, in 1:27.03, and Little River Academy, in the time of 1:27.14, was third, the team of Jayvion White, Isaac Davenport, Josh Mann and Tyler Hoffman.
• Gilmer’s team of Tennison, Lewis, Nelson and Applegate was fourth in the girls 4A 800 meter relay; their time was 1:40.22. Chapel Hill won the event (1:38.47), the team of Aryssa Cooper, Ilyasha McGregor, Rylee Steele and R’Niyah Tomlinson. Brownwood’s team of Jade Morin, Kaya Phillips, Aniah Hines and Kate Tindol took second (1:39.14), and Bandera’s team of Merry Robinson, Milesia Casas, Sydney Moore and Kinlee Lewis was third (1:39.95).

• Kilgore and Gilmer both had teams competing in the 4A boys 800 meter relay. It was a very close finish, from first through ninth. Austin Johnson’s team of Antione Baker, Treawn Young-Henderson, Ali Scott and Ladanian Green won gold in 1:25.55. Celina was second, the team of Maddox McCoy, Ethan Rucker, Harrison Williams and Colton Rodriguez, in 1:26.23. And Wimberley’s team of Ethan Talley, Dane Dugger, Bryson Anderson and Nolan Waida was third, in 1:27.31. Kilgore came in seventh, but look at the time: 1:27.95. Running for KHS were LaKeyleon Graves, Takieran White, Jayden Sanders and Carsyn Bynum. For Gilmer, it was a ninth-place finish in 1:28.18, the team of Tru Griffin-Wilson, Webb, Mykah Easley and Trillyon Butler.
• Sarah Roberts of Sabine had a great run in the girls 3A 400 meter run. She finished fourth in a time of 56.58 seconds. Kamree Wolridge of Lexington won it in 53.94 seconds. Franklin’s Madelyn McFadden was second (55.99), and Khloe Washington of Wichita Falls City View was third (56.42 seconds).
• Paytin Thompson, who helped Gladewater’s relay team win gold, won bronze, third place, in the girls 200 meter dash. Thompson finished in 24.09 seconds, behind Universal City-Randolph’s Taylor Nunez (22.76) and Holliday’s Breagan Blowers (23.98).

• In the 4A girls 200, Gilmer’s Alondria Nelson was fourth, in 24.53 seconds. Brownwood’s Kaya Phillips won it (23.75), and Bandera’s Kinlee Lawlis was second (23.94), Stafford’s Jazzmine Rhodes, third (24.20).
• Adelaide Murphy, who had double duty Thursday running for West Rusk, finished eighth in the 1,600, or mile, run for girls 3A, in the time of 5 minutes, 27 seconds. Sophia Bendet of UC-Randolph won it (4:54.68); Holliday’s Kenli Atwood (5:05.24) was second, and Bendet’s teammate, Aubrey Milam, was third (5:10.10).
• The White Oak team of Tyson McKiney, Anthony Soto, Angel Mejia and Jaxsen Ludlow was ninth in the 3A boys 1,600, or mile, relay (3:26.25). Holliday’s team of Tyler Harrison, Robert Albert, Vaughn Hamill and Preston Skinner was first (3:17.74); Wall’s team of Bryson McFarden, Reid Robertson, Hagynn Barbee and Evan Boehle was second (3:18.01), and Vernon’s team of Ty Scott, Jamari Chance, Kylan Jagiere and Jackson Aydelott was third (3:20.04).
• In the 4A girls mile relay, Gilmer’s team of France Addleigh, Makyah Jimmerson, Johnae Newsome and Evelyne Applegate was seventh (3:59.82). Canyon won it in 3:48.89, the team of Brooklyn Kinsey, Reese Wilson, Sydnee Winfrey and Addyson Bristow. Brownwood’s team of Tindol, Morrin, Rebekkah Delgado and Braycee Lee was second (3:50.93), and Dallas Carter was third, in 3:53.38, the team of Roxxi Sutton, LaMya Jordan, De’Ari Porter-Moore, and Daisy Thompson.

Now, results from our first two updates of the day:

• Gladewater’s Sheffield had a best of 49 feet, 2 ¾ inches in the boys 3A triple jump, his gold medal performance. Second place went to Briggs Jones of Wall (48 feet, 2 ¾ inches), and third went to Ralph Miller of Scurry-Rosser (46 feet, 8 ¼ inches). Arp’s Demarcus Wade finished fifth (45 feet, 6 ½ inches).
•  Sabine’s Sam Black, who competed twice today, finished second – by just one inch – in the 3A boys discus, a best of 180 feet, 10 inches. Black got a silver medal for his efforts. Ty Domel of East Bernard bested Black by just the inch, 180 feet, 11 inches, or Black would be holding a gold. Sweetwater’s Hassani Myers was third (169 feet, 7 inches), and Troup’s A.J. Dewberry was sixth (155 feet, 11 inches).

• Tatum High School’s Cayden Tatum finished tied for eighth in the 3A boys high jump (6 feet, 2 inches), with Terrize Mills of Ponder. Franklin’s Wade Stallones won the event (6 feet, 8 inches). Blas Villarreal of Banquete was second (6 feet, 7 inches), and Vernon’s Tevan Evans was third (6 feet, 6 inches).
• West Rusk’s Gabby Coleman was ninth in the 3A girls shot put. Coleman threw for 32 feet, 6 ¼ inches. Taylor Wiseman of Childress won first (47 feet, 2 inches), Rayaa Brown of Hooks was second (42 feet, 4 inches), and Woodville’s Kristen Betts was third (41 feet, 1 ½ inches).
• Black finished fourth in the 3A boys shot put. He had a best of 56 feet, 9 inches. Aiden Reed of Poth won it (59 feet, 7 ¾ inches), and Domel was second (58 feet, 2 ¼ inches), and Robert Myers of Altair Rice was third (57 feet, ¾ inches).
• As mentioned, Priest won the 3A boys pole vault, with a best of 16 feet, 6 inches! His teammate with the Roughnecks, Trevor Sizemore, finished fifth (14 feet, even). Nicholas Estrada of Idalou was second (14 feet, 9 inches) and Eli Garcia of Dalhart was third (14 feet, 9 inches).

• Cano came into the 4A boys shot put and the 4A boys discus as the state favorite in both, and did just that, winning both. We talked about the discus. In the shot, Cano had a best of 60 feet, 2 ¼ inches  – and that wasn’t even his personal-best! But it was good enough to win state. Shawn Burdick of Corpus Christi Tuloso Midway was second (58 feet, 10 inches) and Ingleside’s Nathan Edlin was third (58 feet, 8 inches). Kilgore’s Cameron Christian checked in with a best of 47 feet, 11 ¾ inches, in ninth.
• In the 3A girls long jump, Gladewater’s Peyton Hunter finished eighth, a best of 17 feet, ¼ inches. Universal City Randolph’s Taylor Nunez, who had the best jump of all the qualifiers in the event coming into the state meet, did go ahead and win it, a best on Thursday in Austin of 20 feet, 9 ½ inches. New Diana’s Starrmia Dixon was second (19 feet, 4 ¾ inches) and Mary Johnson, of El Maton Tidehaven, was third (19 feet, 3 ¼ inches).
• Tatum’s Luke Sigler had a top-five finish in the boys 3A long jump. Sigler’s best was 21 feet, 9 ½ inches. Mason Biehle of Lexington topped out at 24 feet, 1 ¼ inches, winning the event. Briggs Jones of Wall was second (23 feet, 7 ½ inches) and Blas Villarreal of Banquete was third (23 feet, 2 ¼ inches).
• Adelaide Murphy of West Rusk, as mentioned earlier, was in both the mile run and the 3,200 meter, or two-mile, run in 3A. She finished sixth in 11 minutes, 43.58 seconds. The winner: Aubrey Milam of UC-Randolph, in 10 minutes, 46.70 seconds. Konnar KcClendon of Canadian was second (11:02.68) and Brynleigh McFarlin of Keene was third (11 minutes, 11.08 seconds).

Congratulations again to all of the young men and women who reached the state meet to begin with – what an achievement – and a special congratulations to those who medaled, particularly those from the ETBlitz.com coverage area!