.png)
Track and field athletes from county high schools punched their tickets to the area round with strong performances in their respective district meets April 8-9.
Elgin, Bastrop and Cedar Creek will compete at East View High School in Georgetown April 15, while Smithville will travel to Hall Stadium in Missouri City the same day.
ELGIN
Elgin will be represented on both the boys and girls side at the area meet.
Matthew Cato qualified in two distance events for the Wildcats, finishing fourth in both the 1600-meter and 3200meter runs.
For the Lady Cats, Ta’Myra Walker led the way with a district championship in the 100meter dash, securing her spot in the area round.
BASTROP
Bastrop is sending a large group of qualifiers after a dominant showing across multiple events. The boys team repeated as District 24-5A champions with 184 points – 50 ahead of runner- up Anderson.
Gary Jefferson (2nd) and Kian Pucek (3rd) advanced in the 100-meter dash, while John Findlay took second in the 200meter. Bryce Wakehouse added a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter.
In hurdles, Zachary Wilkinson claimed first in both the 110- and 300meter events, with Brandon Mills finishing third in both races and Caleb Bolt taking fourth in the 300.
The Bears also qualified in all three relays, winning the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400.
In field events, Wakehouse won the high jump, Pucek placed second in long jump and first in triple jump, and Greyson Thomas won pole vault. Austin Molian added second-place finishes in both discus and shot put.
On the girls side, Bethany Greer (3rd, 100meter), Kennedi Clemons (4th, 200-meter) and Anneliese Ramos (4th, both hurdle races) all qualified.
The Lady Bears also advanced in the 4x200 relay.
Jocelyn Thompson highlighted the field events with a first-place finish in pole vault, while Madison Young placed second in shot put.
Victoria Hickman (4th, long jump) and Arrow Lingold (4th, triple jump) also advanced.
CEDAR CREEK
Cedar Creek will also have strong representation on Wednesday.
Darren Franco led the boys with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash, while the Eagles’ 4x200 relay team placed second.
Franco also qualified in both horizontal jumps, taking third in long jump and triple jump.
Additional boys qualifiers included Richard Ibison (4th, high jump), Daniel Castillo (3rd, pole vault) and Elijah Fackler (4th, shot put).
Naomi Rodriguez finished third in the 400meter dash for the girls, while Crystal Turner placed third in both the 800-meter and 3200meter runs.
Mackenzy Roberts turned in a strong showing with a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash and a third-place finish in the 300-meter race.
Mya Music rounded out the qualifiers with a fourth-place finish in high jump and a second-place finish in pole vault.
SMITHVILLE
Briyanna Sampson led the Lady Tigers with district titles in both the long jump and triple jump, while Baylor Watson added another first-place finish in the discus.
Brityn Roberts also advanced with a third-place finish in the triple jump.
On the track, Zacaria Hibbens had a standout meet, winning the 800meter run and placing third in the 300-meter race for Smithville. Maddox Rivera added a third-place finish in the 800-meter, while Will Metcalf qualified in both distance events with fourth-place finishes in the 1600meter and 3200-meter runs.
On the girls side, Ava Bryant placed third in the 400-meter dash, Cassie Barina took fourth in the 800-meter and Melany Villalobos finished fourth in the 1600-meter run.
The Lady Tigers also qualified their 4x400-meter relay team, as Bryant, Kaylee Villalobos, Hibbens and Barina combined for a fourth-place finish.
