TRACK & FIELD: Meet to welcome best from state, nation
MARBLE FALLS — Fans will have an opportunity to get a sneak peek of the state track meet Friday.
That’s because several top athletes will compete in the Marble Falls Regional Qualifiers Meet starting 2 p.m. Friday at Mustang Stadium, 2101 Mustang Drive.
“It’s going to be a really good mix of kids competing against each other,” Marble Falls head coach Kyle Futrell said. “It’s a great tuneup for the regional meets.”
High schools expected to be in attendance include Llano, Fredericksburg, Leander Vandegrift, Taylor and several Round Rock teams. In all, officials will have 20 schools in attendance and around 500 athletes.
Seagraves High School, which is 30 miles from Hobbs, N.M., will travel the farthest to compete in the meet.
“I’m sure they want to see other people,” Futrell said. “They want to get out on the road and get close to where the state meet is.”
He also believes coaches want their athletes to get used to the humidity.
Futrell looks forward to the competition in all 17 events, especially since some athletes have already been to the state meet.
The field events will start at 2 p.m.
The Mustangs’ four regional qualifiers will face some of the best in their events.
Junior Cyril Lemon, who was fourth at the District 25-4A Meet, will throw in the shot put. Killeen’s Michael Cummings chose not to compete in the shot put and will instead concentrate wholeheartedly on discus.
Futrell is hoping Lemon will do better than his heave of 47 feet 5 3/4 inches at the district meet.
“We’ll get him some competition, and he’ll have to perform,” the coach said. “He was off at district.”
Junior Shiloh Ribera, who placed second at the district meet by clearing 12-0, will face Llano’s Scott Shaffer, who won the District 8-3A crown by vaulting 13-6. His teammate, Jackson Hutto, was second thanks to clearing 12-0.
Shaffer was a state qualifier two years ago thanks to marking 15-0.
“(Ribera) definitely needs to practice,” Futrell said. “(Former state qualifier) Ross (Bingham) had only been at 12-6. Then all of a sudden, he got 13-6. Shiloh is pretty athletic. He might be able to do something like that.”
Senior Jesùs Manzano will race in the 3,200, where finished second at the District 25-4A Meet in 10:12.33. Manzano also will run the 800 meters and the 1,600 meters.
Llano’s Marco Vallejo and senior Erik Forrister highlight the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. The Vallejo and Forrister finished first and second in the 1,600 at the District 8-3A Meet in 4:28.21 and 4:35.73, respectively.
Forrister won the 3,200 in 9:59.64, edging his teammate, who recorded a time of 10:00.00.
Mustang senior Willie Nelson will run in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. He was second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.29 seconds and third in the 300 hurdles in 41.37 seconds.
Round Rock McNeil’s Mark Carlson will compete in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 300 hurdles where he has times of 14.62 and 38.60 seconds, respectively.
“Willie is going to have to run against the fastest guy he’s ever run against in the 300,” Futrell said. “I’d like to see him get under 40 seconds. You have to get under 40 seconds before you get under 39.”
The Mustangs skipper said the goal is to keep his athletes race-ready.
“We want to run well,” he said. “But it’s an invitational. You don’t want to do better at regional qualifiers than at the regional meet.”
Perhaps the one athlete fans will be most interested in seeing is Taylor’s Mark Jackson, who signed to compete in track and field for the University of Texas at Austin.
He set a record at the Texas Relays in the triple jump thanks to marking 50 feet 6 inches. His farthest leap was 50-9. Those jumps are the top two outdoor marks in the event nationally. At the Nike Indoor Nationals meet in Boston, Jackson broke the record with a mark of 51-11
He also won the long jump at the Texas Relays with a leap of 24-8 1/4.
Jackson is expected to compete in both events in Marble Falls as well as the high jump, where he has cleared 6-6, and the 100-meter dash, where he has clocked 10.61 seconds.
Elgin’s Jasmine Cornelius will participate in five events including the long jump, where she has a mark of 18-11.
Her teammate, Desarae Couthren has a mark of 17-9. By contrast, former Lady Mustang TaMara Coburn marked 19 feet twice.
Other athletes highlight a late afternoon of events that begins at 5 p.m.
Vandegrift’s Gretta Smith runs the 3,200 meters in 11:44. Former Marble Falls standout Anissa Angelosante’s best time was 11:55.
McCallum’s Nadiyah El-Amin has recorded a time of 11.62 seconds in the 100 meters.
Francis Nwolisa of Cedar Park Vista Ridge has recorded a time of 10.07 in the boys 100 meters.
Rochelle Ellis and Mercedes Perry highlight the girls 400-meter run thanks to completing the one-lap race in around 60 seconds, Futrell said.
Couthren will run in the 100 hurdles and has a time of 14.83 seconds.
Fredericksburg’s Jackie Heath, a state finalist a year ago, enters the 200 meters with a time of 24.99 seconds.
The girls 4×100-meter relay race should be worth checking out, Futrell said.
Austin McCallum’s team has recorded 47.64 seconds in the event, while three other teams are under 50 seconds.
“If you’re at 50 flat, you’re running a pretty good time,” Futrell said.
The girls 4×200 relay featured two teams at 1:46, while Fredericksburg has one at 1:48.
On the boys side, Smithville is at 1:30 in the 4×200 relay.
The Fredericksburg and McCallum girls have clocked 3:58 and 4:03, respectively, in the 4×400 relay.
The Round Rock McNeil and Smithville boys have times of 3:24 and 3:30 in the 4×400 relay, respectively.
Futrell believes fans will not be disappointed.
“I think it’s going to be a really cool meet,” he said. “When you get to the point of regional qualifiers, you don’t have as many kids. A lot of times you go to a meet, and you don’t see much excitement.”