GC Track & Field: GC teams head for Region Meets
Apr. 19—Blooming Grove's girls 4x200 relay team is headed for the Region III Meet at Waco Midway High School after making some history. They're first Lady Lion relay team to make it to Region Meet since 2011.
The team of Alyssa Stout, Blair Gaines, Carli Cunningham and Laci Johnson, who won the district title last week and earned the berth at the Region Meet by taking home fourth-place in the 3A Area Meet on Thursday. The Lady Lions grabbed a spot in the Region Meet by running a PR-best 1:50.72 to become the first girls relay team to qualify for the Region Meet in 13 seasons.
Johnson, who won the district title in the 100, just missed a trip to the Region Meet in the 100 by .08 seconds. Blooming Grove's 4x100 relay team of Rileigh O'Dell, Gaines, Cunningham and Johnson ran a PR time of 52.19 and just missed a trip to Midway.
There's not a senior on either relay team as all five girls are underclassmen, including Gaines, a freshmen, and sophomores Cunningham and Johnson, who are two of Coach Joanna Smith's top softball players, who have helped lead the Lady Lion softball team to an undefeated recordand district title in softball.
"It's very promising," said BG girls track & field Coach Jarrod Shaffer of how young his team is this season. "It's been a really good year,: he said. "These girls work hard. They have a great work ethic. They really get after it. They show up every morning before daylight and they go to softball after school."
Shaffer's 4x400 relay team of Mackenna Davis, Gaines, Cunningham and Yesenia Gonzalez ran a PR 4:20 in the district meet, which broke the school record set in 1987.
KERENS
The Kerens LadyCats and Bobcats qualifed six Bobcats and the 4x200 relay team and four LadyCats and two relay teams are headed for the 2A Region Meet in Palestine Friday.
Musiq Gunnell led the way for the Bobcats, earning a trip to the Region Meet in the triple jump and high jump and running along with Bobby Williams, Breylon Washington and Dmari Payne on the 4x200 relay team that will make a trip to Palestine.
Payne also earned a berth at Region in the 100 and Washington made it in the 200. Baraka Kambon qualified in the 110-hurdles and Bryce Lincoln (Discus) and Jachi Rooks (triple jump) also earned berths in the Region Meet.
Tiana Hall, Amy Combs and Briana Cordoza led the LadyCats. Hall earned berths in the triple jump and the 100 and also ran on the 4x100 relay team along with Sophie Elmore, Skylar Kamp and Cardoza and on the 4x200 relay team along Combs, Kayla Gonzales and Cordoza. Combs qualified in the 200 and ran on the 4x200 relay team that earned a Region berth.
Cardoza had a monster day at the Area Meet, earning Region berths in the pole vault, long jump and 300-hurdles and running the anchor leg for both Region-qualifying relay teams. Nevaeh Eastman qualified for the Region Meet in the discus.
Dawson
They're having a memorable year in athletics at Dawson since new football coach and AD Brian Kelley showed up and continued success Thursday on the track in the 2A Area Track & Field Meet, where Dawson qualified two girls, two boys and the girls 4X400 relay team to the Region Meet in Palestine.
Elijah Allen won the triple jump and took third in the long jump, and Tyler Villareal finished third in the long jump to earn berths at the Boys 2A Region II Meet.
Madison Houston took fourth in the 3200 run and Joscelyn Wilson finished second in the 400 and also ran the first leg for Dawson's 4x400 girls relay team that took home third to reach the Region Meet. Tamia Valenzuela, Josie Oaks and Emily Barnett also ran on the mile relay team.
