...Both Squads Qualify Several Competitors for State Track Meet
It was an outstanding day for the Waurika High School track teams at the Class A Regional Track Meet last Saturday at Alex.
The Eagles finished in third place with 61 points – while behind meet champion Snyder’s 97 points and Lomega’s 92 points.
The Lady Eagles also claimed third place with 50 points. Velma-Alma won the regional team title with 144 points.
Waurika will send nine male thinclads to the state meet this weekend, while the Lady Eagles will have six competing in the state track meet.
The Class A State Track Meet will be held Friday and Saturday at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City. Field events will begin at 10 a.m. on both days and the running events begin at 12 noon on both days.
The top three competitors in each event automatically qualify for a spot in the state meet.
Leading the way for the Eagles was the first-place finish by the 1,600-meter relay squad of Seth Cathey, Turner Mora, Colton Bryant and Cache Arellano.
It was the best time posted in the event by Waurika this season and the second year in a row Waurika claimed the regional title in the 1,600-meter relay.
The 800-meter relay team of Mora, Bryant, Nicolas Alvarado and Kevin Garcia earned a silver medal in the meet with a time of 1:36.10, which was also a season’s best mark.
The 3,200-meter relay team of Bryant, Bryson Hernandez, Octavio Gomez and Arelleno earned a bronze medal in the regional meet with a time of 9:21.28. This was the second best time posted by the Eagles in this event.
In the individual events, Mora earned a third-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 53.37, which was just ahead of teammate Seth Cathey’s time of 53.57.
Mora also scored in the long jump. His leap of 19-8 was good enough for sixth place.
Hernandez also placed in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters. His time of 5:19.75 in the 1,600 meters was good enough for sixth, while his time of 12:19.01 in the 3,200 meters also earned sixth place.
The Eagles send the three relay teams to state, while Mora will be competing at state in the 400 meters and as an additional qualifier in the long jump. Cathey’s finish in the 400 meters earned a berth at state in the event as an additional qualifier.
The Lady Eagles claimed one regional title in the shot put as Madison Roberson won the event with a toss of 35.7.5.
Roberson also finished second in the discus with a throw of 93-9.
In the 3,200 meters, Asia Smith earned the silver medal with a time of 12:55.52, while teammate Lexie Streeter finished fourth in the event with a time of 13:47.28. Streeter’s time was among the best among finishers at regional meets and she qualified as an additional qualifier.
Smith and Streeter also scored for the Lady Eagles in the 1,600 meters. Smith was fourth with a time of 6:07.01, which was good enough to qualify for state as an additional qualifier. Streeter finished fifth with a time of 6:12.44.
Sara Ballard was fourth in the long jump at Alex with a leap of 15-2.75 and that put her among the best finishers at regional meets across the state and earned her a berth at the state meet.
The other state meet qualifier was the 3,200-meter relay squad of Kaci Reynolds, Streeter, Smith and Dallas Fristoe. The time of 11:30.66 was just good enough to qualify the team as an additional qualifier.
Waurika did manage to score in the 1,600-meter relay with a sixth place finish. The team of Ballard, Smith, Kameron Ziecek and Reynolds recorded a time of 4:53.95, which was by far the best time of the season in the event for the Lady Eagles.
Other competitors for the Lady Eagles at regionals included Olivia Ralls, Brooke Williams and Madison Christian.
Waurika Readies for Regional at Duncan Meet
The Waurika track squads prepared for the regional with some tough competition at the Quanah Cox Invitational at Duncan last Thursday – just two days before the regional meet.
The Waurika boys scored 10 points to finish 12th among a large field that featured mainly Class 6A and Class 5A teams.
The Lady Eagles finished in a tie for 10th place with Altus with 14 points. The girls’ division also featured Class 6A and 5A squads.
On the boys’ side, the relays again led the way and accounted for all the team scoring.
The 3,200-meter relay team posted a time of 9:21.04 and while it was the top time of the season, it was sixth among the stiff competition.
The 1,600-meter relay team finished fifth with a time of 3:40.04, while the 800-meter relay team was also fifth with a time of 1:37.61.
The Lady Eagles were led by Roberson’s fourth place finish in the shot put with a toss of 37-4.5.
Smith earned fourth place in the 800 meters with a time of 2:36.14.
The 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relay teams added to the point totals for the Lady Eagles. The 1,600-meter relay team was fifth with a time of 5:01.93, while the 3,200-meter relay squad was sixth with a time of 11:31.87.
