Camera ensures winners are crowned
MARBLE FALLS — Hosting a track and field meet, especially a district event, is not as simple as taking a picture.
But Marble Falls High School head track and field coach Kyle Futrell hopes it is.
Futrell spent most of Monday hooking up a camera near the finish line. The camera takes images of each race, ensuring that if a photo finish is needed to determine the order of finish, Marble Falls would have it.
The coach said he spent time raising money for the camera, which is a requirement for hosting the District 25-4A Meet April 14-15.
“District minutes state we have to have the ability to do it,” he said. “We get progressively more advanced in all the things we do.”
The majority of the money was courtesy of the Marble Falls Daybreak Rotary Club, Futrell said.
The Mustangs are hosting nine meets, including the district and regional qualifiers meet the following week.
“We’re saving nine bus trips, including gas, meal money and entry fees,” Futrell said. “We’re doing the regional qualifiers meet April 23. It’s like a playoff game in the sense that everybody who comes is going to regionals. It’s going to be a high-quality meet.”
Typically Marble Falls goes to Fredericksburg for the regional qualifiers meet, but the Billies are not hosting it this year.
Instead, Fredericksburg coach Bennie Rathke will bring his group here.
“He’s going to help me here,” Futrell said.
After already hosting the Marble Falls Daybreak Mustang Relays in mid-February, the Marble Falls Invitational will be conducted Wednesday.
Other teams competing include Fredericksburg, Lake Travis, Boerne High, Wimberley, Lampasas, San Angelo Lakeview and the Taylor junior varsity.
“This is traditionally what we would have called the Mustang Relays,” Futrell said, which would have been conducted weeks ago.
Because it’s also the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays weekend, the coach said it’s difficult to find a meet to attend.
He chose Wednesday because he did not want to ask athletes to choose between track and other sports, noting the baseball and softball teams will welcome Pflugerville Hendrickson Thursday night and that Friday is a holiday.
Lake Travis coach Kevin Hoffman will conduct this meet and the district meet, Futrell said.
“We’re going to learn from him issues of getting confident with technology,” he said.