Region I-4A track: Estacado freshman trio teams with 'unc' to chase down state berth

When looking at the composition of the Estacado boys 800-meter relay team, it's understandable Cedric Ross felt the way he did at the Region I-4A meet.

"We're not even supposed to be here," Ross said.

With freshmen occupying three spots, perhaps he's right. But that didn't stop the Matadors from earning a state berth — and doing so in dramatic fashion.

James Bozeman, part of that trio of newcomers, anchored Estacado to a come-from-behind silver medal in 1 minute, 29.05 seconds Saturday at Lowrey Field. Bozeman made up ground after taking the baton in fourth place.

Ross, Bozeman and Donivan Torrez make up the freshmen who run with junior Delton Johnson, an elder statesman for the group. The young ones affectionately refer to Johnson as "Uncle Delton," or "unc" for short.

While just a nickname, Johnson resembled a proud family member as he beamed with his arm around the hero Bozeman post-race.

"He brought us home, man," Bozeman said, before turning to the Mats' anchor. "We're going to state because of you, man. Let's go."

The group has come together in short order. Saturday marked Estacado's third meet with the same four legs, and they've improved each of the past three weeks.

Maybe it helped giving Bozeman a chance to chase down competition.

"If I see people in front of me," he said, "I just got to go get 'em."

All four members said they're proud to represent Estacado at the Class 4A meet May 11 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. It took work to earn that spot, and they're treating the leadup to state with a "no days off" mentality.

"I've got a bunch of freshmen on my team, man," Johnson said. "We're working. East side got some speed on us."

Snyder's Castillo making return trip to state

Even having experienced it before, Jay Castillo isn't taking anything for granted.

The Snyder junior secured his return trip to the state meet with a win in the 400 in 48.13 seconds. Castillo placed seventh at state last season.

"Every year it's a blessing," he said. "I just want to thank the Lord for giving me the ability and the strength to make it as far as I did. I know a lot of people don't get this experience."

Castillo finished in front of Dumas' Oliver Ortiz, whom he competed with at state. Ortiz, who ran a 48.34 on Saturday, got the better of his Snyder competition with a fifth-place finish in Austin.

Castillo said it's a fun challenge matching up with the Demons' senior. The two won their respective preliminary heats Friday, with Castillo emerging as the top qualifying time.

"I always feel pressure in any kind of race," Castillo said, "especially having a really talented kid like Oliver from Dumas coming in running 47 (seconds). It's a good nerve."

Castillo expects his nerves at Myers Stadium to be less of an issue. He hopes the past experience at Myers Stadium will help him land on the podium.

"You have to learn to control yourself, be more calm," Castillo said, "and to always stay loose."

Region I-4A track and field meet

at Lowrey Field/PlainsCapital Park

Saturday's events and team totals

BOYS

Team standings: 1. Canyon Randall, 64; 2. Canyon, 63; 3. Fort Stockton, 53; 4. Stephenville, 46; 5. Dumas, 42; 56. Brownwood, 34; 7. (tie) Gainesville, Monahans, 30; 9. San Elizario, 26; 10. El Paso Riverside, 24; 11. (tie) Decatur, Wichita Falls Hirschi, 20; 13. (tie) Big Spring, Estacado, 16; 15. Pampa, 15; 16. (tie) Andrews, Seminole, Snyder, 12; 19. (tie) Canyon West Plains, Mineral Wells, San Angelo Lake View, 10; 22. (tie) Midland Greenwood, Wichita Falls High, 8; 24. (tie) Bridgeport, Krum, Levelland, 6; 27. Springtown, 5; 28. Perryton, 4; 29. Graham, 3; 30. (tie) Borger, Burkburnett, Clint, 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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 standings: 1. Canyon, 135; 2. Randall, 77; 3. Krum, 72; 4. Stephenville, 71; 5. Sweetwater, 28; 6. (tie) Gainesville, Monahans, 26; 8. Graham, 21; 9. Estacado, 19; 10. Dumas, 17; 11. (tie) Hereford, Springtown, 16; 13. Brownwood, 15; 14. Decatur, 14; 15. Midland Greenwood, 12; 16. Sanger, 10; 17. (tie) Andrews, West Plains, 8; 19. River Oaks Castleberry, 6; 20. Fort Stockton, 5; 21. (tie) Bridgeport, Clint Mountain View,Levelland, 4; 24. (tie) Big Spring, Perryton, 2; 26. (tie) Borger, 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Region I-4A track: Estacado freshmen team with 'unc' to make state