Highland Lakes runners compete at Carl Lewis meet
HOUSTON — Several area athletes recently competed at the Carl Lewis Invitational Indoor Meet at the University of Houston.
All athletes run unattached, which means they were not representing a team.
“They practiced on their own during the winter break to make sure they were in shape to compete,” Wings of Eagles Track Club coach Anthony Torns said.
Junior Cody Schulz finished the 200 meters in 23.24 seconds and the 60 meters in 7.16 seconds.
“He just missed making the finals,” Torns said. “He was 13th overall and missed the finals by .002 seconds. (His time in the 60) puts him in the top 60 in the state.”
Schulz’s time translates to 22.5 seconds and 10.5-11 seconds on an outdoor track, Torns said, adding there were 100 runners in each race.
“The turns on this track or smaller,” he said. “It’s only a 200-meter track. The curves play a big part at times. Where Cody is right now is impressive.”
Danielle Rios ran 2:50 in the 800 meters.
“It was her very first time running in an indoor meet and her very first time running the 200,” the coach said.
Sophomores Cody Skipper and Austin Jones competed in the open 400 meters and finished in 57.0 and 58.0 seconds, respectively.
If they had run outdoors, the times would have been at about 54.5 seconds.
“Those curves a lot tighter,” Torns said.
The athletes saw some of the top runners in the sport, which should serve them well, he said.
“I believe it was a great experience for them to see that track and field is a lot bigger than what we’re a lot of times exposed to,” he said. “It was a great experience for those kids.”