UIL Texas State Championships
Friday-Saturday, May 12-13 2006 -- Mike A. Myers Stadium, University of Texas, Austin TX
An Awesome Day in 5A
157 DyeStat Elite Marks in Class 5A alone at TX State Meet!
Event-by-Event Breakdown by John Sullivan - Photos by Bert Richardson
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BOYS
Eisenhower 1-2 in 100 and gold in the 4x100 & 4x200 to run away with team championship
1. 59 Eisenhower
2. 36 Garland
3. 34 Elsik
4. 28 Southlake Carroll
100 (+1.3w)
Eisenhower jr Brandon Myers and sr Randy Johnson 1-2, with US#6 10.42 and 10.44, in between anchoring and leading off respectively the 4x100 and 4x200 champs. Johnson also won silver last year. The Woodlands sr Ryan Montague, teammate of Karjuan Williams in Louisiana last year, took the bronze with a 10.51 PR.
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200 (+0.9w)
Austin jr Mychal Dungey, a relative unknown, wowed his hometown crowd with his US#3 20.95 winner. Garland soph Jacques Caldwell was next in 21.08. Defending champ Spring Woods sr Daniel Johnson was unable to advance from the tough Houston region. National record holder Roy Martin, 20.13 for Dallas Roosevelt in 1985, was on hand to dole out the medals for this event.
Dungey offered this about his relative inexperience at this high level: “This was my 1st time at the State meet. My best time coming in was 21.48 at Regionals (2 weeks ago).”
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400
Waco sr LaJerald Betters sped US#4 46.94 to repeat in a display of his talent as the #1 US returnee. This race came after his silver-medal performance in the triple jump. West Brook sr Drenard Williams was closest at 47.29, followed by Cedar Hill jr Romie Blaylock at 47.39 and North Crowley jr Marcus Boyd with 47.45 – top four all making Dyestat Elite.
800
Alief Taylor sr Chris Jones led the field through a conservative 1st lap and kicked away the last 200 to take the title in 1:52.33. Many thought Jones was the favorite last year, but he paid the price for a hard early pace and faded to 4th. Much better outcome this year as his 47.73 400 speed was too much to handle at the end. Cy-Falls soph Blake Shaw also finished well to snare the runner-up spot in 1:54.18.
Said Jones: “It was hot and my coach warned me about following anyone who went out too fast. I listened to him and changed my style from last year.”
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1600
A&M jr Duncan Phillips was the top returner (and #9 US returner) as his great soph 4:10.96 was good for 2nd in 2005. Phillips stayed in the pack through a pedestrian 2.13.5 pace and then dropped the hammer to finish in 4:13.41 – sub-2:00 for the last 800 and 58.4 for the last 400. Arlington sr Matt Daniels rallied on the last straight to grab 2nd in 4:14.97, passing Southlake Carroll soph Colby Lowe who ended up 3rd in 4:15.32.
Phillips was the early season favorite, but had been plagued by back soreness since mid-season, which caused him to drop the 3200 to concentrate on this event.
Splits: 64.5, 2:13.5 (69.0), 3:15.0 (61.5), 4:13.41 (58.4)
(Leaders: Blake-Shaw lap 1, Lowe lap 2, Phillips 3 & 4)
3200
The anticipated battle of 3 Foot Locker finalists was reduced to 2 when Duncan Phillips dropped this event to focus on the 1600, due to concerns about a sore back. And to no one’s surprise, Southlake Carroll soph Colby Lowe and The Woodlands sr Daniel Gerber turned it into a 2-man race. Lowe led throughout until Gerber passed him with 500 to go. Gerber opened up a slight lead, but Lowe closed on the backstretch and made his final move with only 50m left. Lowe captured the gold in 9:05.17 as Gerber tied up badly, finishing 2nd in 9:08.03.
Lowe felt that “the race was awesome. I wanted to run well since you never know when you might have another chance for a state title. When he went around me (just before the bell lap) I was feeling great so I just went with him.”
Splits: 67.1, 2:15.9 (68.8), 3:24.2 (68.3), 4:34.0 (69.8), 5:42.5 (68.5), 6:54.5 (72.0), 8:03.9 (69.4), 9:05.17 (61.3)
(Gerber led lap 7, all others Lowe)
110H
Carter jr Oscar Spurlock cruised to an impressive 13.42 (+2.3w) win. The wind was over the allowable limit, but is #19 all-time under all conditions. Copperas Cove soph Robert Griffin, the National AAU 400H Youth record holder with a 52.79 400H as a freshman last year, took silver in 13.80.
Spurlock commented about his big lead at the midway point: “I was looking around, wondering where everyone was.” He plans to compete in the Golden West meet in June.
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300H
Southlake Carroll sr Clint Renfro led the charge with a US#2 36.25 PR. This son of an ex-Dallas Cowboy receiver “finally” got a state title after consecutive runner-up finishes. He had tough luck those years as he trailed US#2 Jason Richardson in 2004 and US#1 Jamaal Charles last year – both all-time US top-20 performers. Klein Forest sr Jason Perez ran US#4 36.78 to edge Cy-Fair sr Wesley Bray’s US#5 36.79 for the silver.
Renfro was glad to get a PR though it was not, in his mind, the perfect race. “My steps were alright, but feel like I can run a step or two faster. Overall, I’m happy with my performance.”
4x100
Eisenhower blazed a 40.05, the #3 time in high school history. Garland followed in 40.30, the 2nd-best time in the country and #23 all-time. Elsik was third in a US#4 40.49 as 7 teams bettered the Dyestat Elite 42.00 standard.
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4x200
Eisenhower ran the same 4 athletes in the same order as the 4x100 and it paid off in a US#1/#4 all-time 1:24.10. Elsik. the incoming US#1, took 2nd in US#2/#10 all-time 1:24.47. Garland was next with a US#3/#13 all-time 1:24.61. In 4th was US#4/#29 all-time Klein Forest in 1:25.02 followed by Duncanville in US#5 1:25.18. This was the deepest 4x200 in history as only one other entire year (2003) had 5 finishers ahead of Klein Forest’s 4th place effort.
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| The boys 4x400 relay saw anchor Brandon Washington run off Arlington Bowie, then come through in the end. At right, the foursome stands up for the 3:11.99. |
4x400
The last event stacked up as a true grand finale with the 4 fastest teams in the US in the field. Another interesting fact was that not one of the teams had a participant in the open 400. US#1 Ft Bend Marshall retained their top ranking and ran a season best 3:11.99 for the win with splits of 48.6, 47.9, 49.2 and 46.3.
In a back-and-forth battle with the top 2 in contention on the final straight, McNeil nabbed 2nd in 3:12.26 US#2, followed by Arlington Bowie in 3:12.80 US#3. Bowie actually led at the 2nd and 3rd exchanges. Previous US#1 Cy Falls managed “only” 3:14.40 for 4th.
Marshall sr anchor Brandon Washington expressed satisfaction. “After 4 years you want to go out like this. That’s how champions go out, on top.” He also explained, “We’ve been hurt all year and only ran our top four 3 times on this relay. Our 3rd leg pulled up just 2 days ago so we ran with an alternate today.”
LJ
Irving sr Adron Tennell, the top returnee after a 4th last year, soared 25-7.75 (+2.3w) to take the crown. It’s the top mark in the country under all conditions. In an unusual twist, Abilene sr Lyle Leong took silver with a jump of 24-8.25which is the “true” US#1 as he had a legal +1.0 wind.
TJ
South Grand Prarire sr Malcolm Williams was the only entrant to break 50’ as his 50-1.25 was a winner. Waco sr LaJerald Betters, the defending champ, warmed up for his 400 title with a 48-10 silver medal effort.
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| Abilene sr Lyle Leong defended his title and cleared a big 7-1 in the process. |
HJ
Defending champ and Abilene sr Lyle Leong cleared 7-1 on his 2nd attempt for the title, an improvement of 4” over last year’s winning jump. North Shore sr Johnathan Whittaker was over at 7-0 to match his runner-up spot from last year though 3” higher. Current US#1 Mansfield jr Grant Lindsey was 3rd at 6-8. Leong had good, but unsuccessful, attempts at 7-2.
PV
San Marcos sr Jason Colwik improved 2 spots to take the pole vault crown at 16-6. Clear Brook jr Maston Wallace secured 2nd place at 16-3. Colwik attempted 16-9, but came up short.
SP
Lake Highlands sr Marshall Newhouse got a big PR at 62-2.25 to surprise 2005 champ DeSoto sr Jason Guillory who PR’d at 61-3.5 for the silver. Newhouse received his gold medal from his cousin, Fred Newhouse, the Meet Referee as well as Olympic gold & silver medalist in the 70s.
DT
A&M sr Chris Cralle spun the disc 187-3 to top the field in his 1st State meet appearance. Tyler Lee jr Tyler Fleet was next at 177-7.
GIRLS
Alief Taylor captured team crown on the strength of 4x100 and 4x200, wins plus silver in both horizontal jumps.
1. 62 Alief Taylor
2. 47 Ft Bend Marshall
3. 35 De Soto
4. 32 Skyline
100 (+1.6w)
Clear Brook soph Erica Alexander dashed a US#2 11.46 100 to beat a talented and experienced field. Plano sr Porscha Lucas followed in US#4 11.49 while Alief Taylor sr Elizabeth Adeoti’s US#5 11.50 and Heritage jr Brittany Carr’s US#7 11.54 were all within .10 of the win.
Alexander overleaned at the finish as she felt the field approaching and ended up doing a complete flip in midair. She confirmed afterward that she used to compete in the floor exercise in gymnastics and that came in handy as all she suffered was a stiff neck after sticking the landing.
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200 (+0.5)
The top 7 were all under the Dyestat Elite standard with Plano sr Porscha Lucas the winner with a US#2 23.51. Clear Brook soph Erica Alexander added the silver to her earlier 100 gold with a US#4 23.66. Heritage jr Brittany Carr was next in US#6 23.88.
400
Ft Bend Marshall sr Brandi Cross led from the gun and repeated with a US#2 53.00. A&M soph Whitney Harris finished 2nd at 54.94.
Cross said, “I’m a senior this year, have sisters on the team and just wanted to have fun. I was a little disappointed to not run 51. I wanted to break my own record (52.46 from 2005).”
800
A&M sr Victoria Walker ran a strong last 200 to capture the 800 title in US#3 2:10.08. Westfield soph Brintney Green led most of the way and ended up 2nd at 2:11.50.
Walker was ecstatic. “Did it really happen? I’ve wanted this for so long. I didn’t want to lead in this wind so I ducked in behind Brintney (Green). When it got to 200 to go, I just let everything go.”
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1600
Westfield jr Nichole Jones looked like she saved something while winning the 3200 earlier in the day. She took the lead from the gun in the 1600 and pushed herself to a 4:44.77 US#3 clocking. A senior trio of Richardson’s Jillian Rosen in 4:53.54, Kingwood’s Dani Selner in 4:55.89 and The Woodland’s Cheryl Spring in 4:58.63 also broke 5 minutes.
Splits: 71.8, 2:21.7 (69.9), 3:32.0 (70.3), 4:44.77 (72.8) - Jones led each lap
3200
Defending champ Westfield jr Nichole Jones Jones fell on lap 4, but got up quickly. She didn’t lead until 500m to go, but then moved away to a US top-10 10:25.33 victory, setting a new meet record. Fellow Foot Locker finalist and state XC champ Southlake Carroll sr Brooke Upshaw had pushed the pace throughout and was rewarded with a PR 10:28.03, which also bettered the previous meet best.
Jones stated, “The conditions felt humid and I was worried about that. I’m glad I ran a better time than last year (10:32.67) and I got the record which I was going for.”
She added, “I’m planning to run the 5000 at Junior Nationals in Indianapolis (in June)”.
Splits: 75.8, 2:39.4 (83.6), 3:58.6 (79.2), 5:15.2 (76.6), 6:33.9 (78.7), 7:52.6 (78.7), 9:10.3 (77.7), 10:25.33 (75.0)
(lap 1-2 pack with Jones & Upshaw, laps 3-6 Upshaw with Jones close, laps 7-8 Jones)
100H (+2.5w)
Humble jr Karen LaCour won her 1st state title with a 13.83 effort. Lufkin jr Demeeka Jones snagged silver in 13.96. Skyline jr April Williams, the 2005 winner, had an early lead and appeared on her way to repeating , but hit the 3rd from the last hurdle hard, then the next while coming to a complete stop.
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300H
Skyline jr April Williams had a chance to redeem herself after a disastrous 110H. And she seized the opportunity, getting out quickly and holding on for a 42.06 US#5 win. La Porte jr Brittany Mason improved 7 places to finish 2nd in 42.31.
Williams wasn’t sure what went wrong in the 100H. When asked about her quick start here, she said, “The 300H was the only race I had left so my goal was to win.”
4x100
Another loaded relay field, this one kicking off the 5A evening running session. True to form, Alief Taylor brought the stick home first in 46.10, just off their previous US#3 46.08. Close behind were Judson with a US#4 46.25 and Ft Bend Marshall with US#5 46.34. Skyline, a top contender in this race and expected to be in the hunt for team honors, had trouble at the 1st exchange and was DQ’d.
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4x200
Alief Taylor foursome of sr Teih LeBan, sr Elizabeth Adeoti, soph Tara Prier, and sr Shunda McPherson matched its 4x100 gold by ripping a US#2/all-time #8 1:35.83. Skyline was well back for silver in 1:38.14.
Tara Prier spoke for the group after the race. “We feel a lot of pressure and just try not to show it. All four of us are trying to follow in our coach’s footsteps (Karen Hawkins, 1980 US Olympic team) and get to the Olympics as well.”
4x400
Ft Bend Marshall had won in 2005 and, with 400 individual champ sr Brandi Cross on the anchor, was favored this year. As expected, Marshall finished 1st in US#3 3:40.05. Splits were 56.0, 55.5, 55.4 and 53.1. Hightower was in contention throughout (led midway through legs 2 and 3) and was next with a US#5 3:41.27, followed by De Soto in US#6 3:44.87.
Cross was cruising on the anchor when Brittany Washington moved up to her shoulder on the final turn. Cross then found another gear to pull away. She stated, “That’s one thing I’m going to work on this summer - running by myself. That’s a flaw that I have and I’m going to fix it.”
LJ
Round Rock sr Sonetria Mayfield struck, gold leaping 19-5.75 (+3.9w). Alief Taylor sr Shunda McPherson added to her medal haul (relays and jumps) with a silver-worthy 19-5.25 mark (+3.4w).
TJ
DeSoto sr Eunique Hamilton-Demus bounded US#3 40-4.75 (+1.2w) for the title over Alief Taylor sr Shunda McPherson at 40-1.25 (+2.4w).
HJ
Copperas Cove sr Valerie Hancock sailed over US#6 5-9 to take high jump honors. Amarillo’s Kelsey Lloyd was the runner-up at 5-8. Missing was 2005 champ Destinee Hooker whose 6-0.5 was the top returning US mark. She graduated “early”, skipping what would have been her senior track season, in order to enroll at the University of Texas in January where she’s cleared 6-2.25 for the Longhorns.
PV
Mansfield frosh Shade Weygandt vaulted a US freshman record 12-9 to capture the title. Southlake Carroll sr Kristen Keith capped a successful career by also clearing 12-9 for silver.
Shade commented, “I went to state to have fun and get experience and I ended up winning the whole thing. Now that is a great feeling!”
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SP
Irving Nimitz sr Jennifer Ugochukwu got off a toss of 43-10, which was good for gold. Mesquite sr Jordyn Brown was 2nd at 43-6.50.
DT
Deer Park sr Ashley Bryant and PSJA North sr Jiovanna Martinez both improved one place to finish 1-2 at 149-4 and 143-7 respectively.