Nathan Baker's narrow win in 100 helps Randall boys secure Region I-4A track title

LUBBOCK — The video board at Lowrey Field seemed frozen in time, even if it was just a few seconds longer than normal.

The extra time was necessary to determine the correct result showed after the 100-meter dash in the Region I-4A boys track and field meet on Saturday. Nathan Baker thought he had the edge over Gainesville's Ja'Vaun Hendricks. The Randall senior just needed it confirmed.

Then it came. Baker had won, though just barely.

Baker crossed the finish line in 10.64 seconds — one-tenth of a second better than Hendricks' time.

Support system propels Tascosa's Ke'Mauri Pinkard to Region I-5A triple jump crown

"I knew I was right about a step in front of him," Baker said. "I could tell. It came down to the wire. But, yeah, even if I finished second. ... I'm going to state and that's all I care about. It's just experience."

Though he didn't know it at the time, Baker's victory was reminiscent of the final team scores as well.

Randall edged rival Canyon 64-63 to take the 4A boys championship. There was little separation between the squads throughout the two-day meet.

Baker can relate to that. He and Hendricks were neck-and-neck the entire race and nobody was quite sure just who finished on top. A loud roar from the Randall faithful emerged when Baker's name came up on top of the screen, just as he thought it would.

Also anchoring the runner-up 400 relay team, Baker said he performs best when he has to play from behind. It worked out well Saturday.

"I wouldn't say my start's the best," Baker said. "I would just say my recovery speed is super good. I'm able to catch up and really step well. It's just the training we do. We do hard workouts on the hard days and I think that really prepares me when I get on the track."

Another one for Canyon girls

The reigning state champions will have a chance to repeat thanks to another region championship by the Canyon girls.

Kansas signee Abree Winfrey produced three gold medals on Saturday, winning the 800 run, 300 hurdles and anchoring the first-place 1,600 relay team.

Winfrey and Addyson Bristow each broke the region record in the 800, Winfrey finishing in 2:13.51 and Bristow in 2:13.58. The previous record — which was established in 2014 by Kaitlin Rodriguez, another Canyon product — was 2:15.02. Bristow also finished second in the 400.

Hannah Stuart got in on the record-breaking action as well, setting the new region mark in the 1,600 run by .15 seconds, crossing the finish line in 4:57.77. She won the 3,200 run on Friday. Teammate Avery Brown was second in both races.

West Plains' Brycen Williams unfazed by big stage

Brycen Williams never thought that he would get this far, but here he is. Just a freshman, Williams can call himself a region champion.

Williams took home the high jump crown on Saturday, outlasting Mineral Wells' Preztynn Harrison. Williams finished at 6 feet, 5 inches to secure his place at Austin. Harrison finished second at 6-4.

"As a freshman, it's crazy," Williams said. "... I didn't think I was gonna be here. I didn't think I was gonna do this, byt my coach has been teaching me my craft and getting better."

Becoming the region champion was a slow process. Williams said he started off the year at 6-2 and has been growing steadily throughout the season.

Williams attempted to increase his finish but was unable to clear 6-7, something that bugged him a little bit, though he'll take the results as they stand.

To Williams, he's not sure where he goes from here — other than to state. Saturday could be just the beginning of a successful career.

Notables

• Tascosa's Ke'Mauri Pinkard doubled up the gold on Saturday, winning the boys 5A long jump with a leap of 22-6. Pinkard won the triple jump (49-10) on Friday and was looking for a third state-qualifying event in the high jump, but he came up with an apparent injury on the first attempt at 6-6. He was able to finish his other two attempts but did not advance.

• Canyon's Ryan Fernandez followed Stuart's path and won the 1,600 title Saturday after nabbing the 3,200 crown on Friday.

• Amarillo High's Sierra Cornell won the 800 run in the I-5A portion of the region meet. She finished in 2:14.83.

• Tascosa's Makay Beacham earned a trip to Austin with a runner-up finish in the 400.

• Other Amarillo-area qualifiers included Hereford's Nickilah Whatley (second, 100 hurdles), Dumas' Oliver Ortiz (400) and Pampa's Maddox Jones (discus).

Region I-4A track & field meet

Saturday Events & Final Results

BOYS

Team Standings — 1. Randall, 64; 2. Canyon, 63; 3. Fort Stockton, 53; 4. Stephenville, 46; 5. Dumas, 42; 56. Brownwood, 34; 7. (Tie) Gainesville and Monahans, 30; 9. San Elizario, 26; 10. El Paso Riverside, 24; 11. (Tie) Decatur and Wichita Falls Hirschi, 20; 13. (Tie) Big Spring and Estacado, 16; 15. Pampa, 15; 16. (Tie) Snyder, Seminole and Andrews, 12; 19. (Tie) San Angelo Lake View, Mineral Wells and West Plains, 10; 22. (Tie) Wichita Falls and Midland Greenwood, 8; 24. (Tie) Bridgeport, Levelland and Krum, 6; 27. Springtown, 5; 28. Perryton, 4; 29. Graham, 3; 30. (Tie) Clint, Burkburnett, Borger and Lake Worth, 2; 34. Sweetwater, 1.

High Jump — 1. Bryce Williams, West Plains, 6-5; 2. Preztynn Harrison, Mineral Wells, 6-4; 3. Aislee Bynum, Bridgeport, 6-2; 4. Kaleb Price, Seminole, 6-2; 5. Damion Hopkins, Lake Worth, 6-2; 6. Peyton Kinman, Graham, 6-0.

Long Jump — 1. Jose Guardado, El Paso Riverside, 22-9; 2. Angel Munoz, El Paso Riverside, 22-6.5; 3. Collin Miller, Randall, 22-3.5; 4. Daxton Rigdon, Perryton, 22-0.5; 5. Preztynn Harrison, Mineral Wells, 21-9.25; 6. Riley Jackson, Springtown, 21-6.5.

Discus — 1. Creece Brister, Stephenville, 165-10; 2. Maddox Jones, Pampa, 149-4; 3. Sam Kallman, Brownwood, 145-10; 4. Matthew Morales, Canyon, 144-6; 5. Dalton Leven, Dumas, 143-9; 6. Andres Cervantes, Pampa, 140-3.

400 Relay — 1. Wichita Falls Hirschi, 42.15; 2. Randall, 42.60; 3. Gainesville, 42.64; 4. Brownwood, 42.75; 5. Wichita Falls, 42.85; 6. Dumas, 43.18.

800 Run — 1. Christopher Moreno, San Elizaro, 1:54.37; 2. Hayden Harms, Randall, 1:54.39; 3. Alex Niemiec, Canyon, 1:54.53; 4. Adrian Solis, Big Spring, 1:58.01; 5. Jabez Esquivel, Stephenville, 2:01.43; 6. Alex Loyola, Stephenville, 2:01.55.

110 Hurdles — 1. Zane Hodges, Fort Stockton, 14.22; 2. Seth Green, Canyon, 14.37; 3. Jonathon Pipes, Andrews, 14.40; 4. Cade Johnson, Decatur, 14.86; 5. Shawn Parker, Andrews, 15.05; 6. Justin Stephens, Stephenville, 15.15.

100 Dash — 1. Nathan Baker, Randall, 10.64; 2. Ja'Vaun Hendricks, Gainesville, 10.65; 3. Tate Maruska, Stephenville, 10.84; 4. Ean Beasley, Wichita Falls, 10.85; 5. Tray Toliver, Borger, 11.06; 6. Carson Cockrell, Canyon, 11.22.

800 Relay — 1. Monahans, 1:28.58; 2. Estacado, 1:29.05; 3. Fort Stockton, 1:29.23; 4. Midland Greenwood, 1:29.44; 5. Springtown, 1:29.51; 6. Brownwood, 1:29.59.

400 Dash — 1. Jay Castillo, Snyder, 48.13; 2. Oliver Ortiz, Dumas, 48.34; 3. Zach Paul, Krum, 49.59; 4. Cameron Breeding, Monahans, 49.69; 5. Brandon Cruz, San Angelo Lake View, 50.08; 6. Jadyn Forbes, Sweetwater, 50.24.

300 Hurdles — 1. Zane Hodges, Fort Stockton, 37.60; 2. Seth Green, Canyon, 39.16; 3. Angel Munoz, El Paso Riverside, 39.23; 4. Matthew Reynaga, Dumas, 39.25; 5. Hunter Smith, Decatur, 39.76; 6. Armando Aguirre, Clint, 40.46.

200 Dash — 1. Ja'Vaun Hendricks, Gainesville, 21.44; 2. Tyse Savage, Brownwood, 21.46; 3. Derrick Taylor, San Angelo Lake View, 21.89; 4. Xander Scurlock, Monahans, 22.00; 5. Ben Cordova, Monahans, 22.24; 6. Tate Maruska, Stephenville, 22.50.

1,600 Run — 1. Ryan Fernandez, Canyon, 4:27.17; 2. Christopher Moreno, San Elizario, 4:28.91; 3. Isaac Gonzales, Big Spring, 4:30.23; 4. Lathan Lewter, Canyon, 4:31.90; 5. Agustin Salgado, Big Spring, 4:34.31; 6. Julian Guerra, San Elizario, 436.93.

1,600 Relay — 1. Fort Stockton, 3:19.95; 2. Dumas, 3:20.21; 3. Randall, 3:21.88; 4. Decatur, 3:24.80; 5. Canyon, 3:24.92; 6. San Angelo Lake View, 3:27.01.

GIRLS

Team Scores — 1. Canyon, 135; 2. Randall, 77; 3. Krum, 72; 4. Stephenville, 71; 5. Sweetwater, 28; 6. (Tie) Monahans and Gainesville, 26; 8. Graham, 21; 9. Estacado, 19; 10. Dumas, 17; 11. (Tie) Springtown and Hereford, 16; 13. Brownwood, 15; 14. Decatur, 14; 15. Midland Greenwood, 12; 16. Sanger, 10; 17. (Tie) West Plains and Andrews, 8; 19. River Oaks Castleberry, 6; 20. Fort Stockton, 5; 21. (Tie) Bridgeport, Clint Mountain View and Levelland, 4; 24. (Tie) Big Spring and Perryton, 2; 26. (Tie) Borger and Glen Rose, 1.

Shot Put — 1. Toreyna Saddler, Sweetwater, 40-5.25; 2. Mya Jones, Andrews, 39-10.25; 3. Valerie Hunt, Monahans, 39-8.75;4. Laci White, Levelland, 35-7; 5. Samantha Medina, Clint Mountain View, 33-10; 6. Avri Burk, Randall, 33-9.75.

Pole Vault — 1. Kashlee Dickinson, Canyon, 12-9; 2. Andrew Farmer, Krum, 11-00; 3. Sophia Bush, Randall, 11-0; 4. Madison Rust, Stephenville, 10-6; 5. Valerie Hunt, Monahans, 10-6; 6. Remington McFarland, Glen Rose, 10-0.

Long Jump — 1. Victoria Cameron, Stephenville, 17-11.75; 2. Adison Savage, Midland Greenwood, 17-2.5; 3. Brooklyn Kinsey, Canyon, 17-1.75; 4. Tenera Gray, Randall, 17-1.25; 5. Jada Green, Estacado, 16-8.25; 6. Georgia Martin, Graham, 16-8.25.

400 Relay — 1. Stephenville, 48.63; 2. Randall, 48.99; 3. Estacaod, 49.36; 4. Monahans, 49.57; 5. Decatur, 49.88; 6. Krum, 49.99.

800 Run — 1. Abree Winfrey, Canyon, 2:13.51; 2. Addyson Bristow, Canyon, 2:13.58; 3. Maggie Neal, Krum, 2:15.49; 4. Sarai Chavez, Dumas, 2:19.24; 5. Lillian Graham, Graham, 2:23.09; 6. Sidney Windham, Brownwood, 2:25.64.

100 Hurdles — 1. Anessa White, Gainesville, 14.63; 2. Nickilah Whatley, Hereford, 15.16; 3. Braylee Mayes, Graham, 15.81; 4. Erykah Thompson, Krum, 15.82; 5. Kara Heckler, Krum, 16.08; 6. Brooklyn Kinsey, Canyon, 16.19.

100 Dash — 1. Victoria Cameron, Stephenville, 11.49; 3. Cadriana Adams, Krum, 12.20; 3. Kassiddy Walker, Randall, 12.22; 4. Aunisti Griffin, Sweetwater, 12.32; 5. Halee Boepple, Monahans, 12.43; 6. Rylee Schacher, Dumas, 12.66.

800 Relay — 1. Stephenville, 1:42.67; 2. Randall, 1:44.22; 3. Krum, 1:44.50; 4. Canyon, 1:44.63; 5. Estacado, 1:45.50; 6. Decatur, 1:45.77.

400 Dash — 1. Maggie Neal, Krum, 57.52; 2. Addyson Bristow, Canyon, 58.15; 3. Peyton Smith, West Plains, 58.78; 4. Alissandra Jackson, Fort Stockton, 59.52; 5. Dorcas Jones, Big Spring, 59.96; 6. Minerva Cerda, Clint Mountain View, 1:00.33.

300 Hurdles — 1. Abree Winfrey, Canyon, 44.51; 2. Anessa White, Gainesville, 44.96; 3. Tenera Gray, Randall, 45.71; 4. Brooklyn Kinsey, Canyon, 47.18; 5. Erykah Thompson, Krum, 47.66; 6. Julia Stevens, Borger, 48.85.

200 Dash — 1. Aunisti Griffin, Sweetwater, 25.57; 2. Desiree Sheffield, Gainesville, 25.85; 3. Izzy Zayas, Decatur, 26.05; 4. Thalia Solis, Cnayon, 26.14; 5. Promise Sherwood, Randall, 26.23; 6. Alissandra Jackson, Fort Stockton, 26.25.

1,600 Run — 1. Hannah Stuart, Canyon, 4:57.77; 2. Avery Brown, Canyon, 5:19.53; 3. Sierra Sanchez, Randall, 5:30.30; 4. Macy Cogburn, Sanger, 5:31.13; 5. Mary Lyndell Graham, Graham, 5:31.78; 6. Angelina Saied, Krum, 5:38.77.

1,600 Relay — 1. Canyon, 3:58.76; 2. Krum, 3:59.69; 2. Krum, 3:59.69; 3. Dumas, 4:06.30; 4. Hereford, 4:07.91; 5. Stephenville, 4:11.11; 6. Decatur, 4:11.79.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Nathan Baker's narrow win in 100 helps Randall boys secure Region I-4A track title