|
by Chris Kuykendall
Highlights of the Texas UIL (University Interscholastic League)
State
Track & Field Championships, Day Two, Saturday, May 11, 2002
11:30 am, Girls' 5A Long Jump
1) Francheska Ketchum, Alief Elsik (SO), 20-8 1/2w (+8.3)
2) Marshevet Hooker, San Antonio Southwest (JR), 20-5 1/2w (+5.3)
3) Erica McLain, Plano East (SO), 20-2 1/2w (+7.5)
A new face dethrones the defending state champion. All underclasswomen
in the top three.
4:00 pm, Girls' 5A Triple Jump
1) Erica McLain, Plano East (SO), 43-5 1/4w (+5.5)
2) Zuela Adam, Euless Trinity ( ), 41-6w (+4.5)
Hmm. A bit shy of an NCAA automatic qualifying standard. The wind
readings in the two horizontal events are representative of the
entire
day's weather.
1:35+ pm, Girls' 2A 800 Relay
1) Cisco, 1:42.71
Jim Anne Baker on the anchor wins 2002 state title number three.
2:35+ pm, Girls' 2A 200
1) Jim Anne Baker, Cisco (JR), 24.25w (+4.6)
Followed by number four an hour later.
3:15+ pm, Girls' 2A 1600 Relay
1) Cisco, 3:54.26
Number five, with a 54.0 anchor leg, to also win the team title,
number
six. See...
Bill Hart. "5 Golds: Baker's Efforts Help Cisco Girls Defend
Crown."
Abilene Reporter-News, May 12, 2002.
http://www.reporter-news.com/1998/2002/sports/cisco0512.html
6:00 pm, Girls' 5A 400 Relay
1) Alief Elsik, 45.51
This was the all-time third best clocking among Texas high schools.
6:10 pm, Boys' 5A 400 Relay
1) Dallas Carter, 40.55
2) Duncanville, 40.72
Yawn. Texas fans are a bit spoiled by the five sub-40s by Fort
Worth
Wyatt in 1998 and the one by Houston Forest Brook last year.
6:20 pm, Girls' 5A 800
1) Mindy Sullivan, Lubbock Coronado (SR), 2:11.65
2) Kelly Cordell, Houston Memorial (SR), 2:12.07
3) Jennifer Hunt, Dallas Skyline (SR), 2:12.82
4) Mackenzie Edwards, El Paso Franklin (FR), 2:14.43
Last year, Sullivan had a mild eye-opener clocking at the regionals.
Then in Austin, she traversed the first lap in an audacious 61.9,
and
understandably began tiring at about 650 meters. Cordell closed
and
took the lead at the top of the homestretch, but Sullivan tied an
invisible string and hung tough, then found a reserve and inched
back
ahead nearing the wire. Both broke a 20-year-old UIL meet record,
at
2:08.38 and 2:08.48, posting the year's second and third fastest
U.S.
high school times. Minutes later, Jonathan Johnson of Abilene (now
a
1:47.88 freshman at Texas Tech) broke a 32-year-old UIL meet record
on
the boys' side. The two 5A 800 races were the best fifteen minutes
of
the 2001 state meet.
2002 promised a girls' rematch. In the meantime, Sullivan finished
3rd
at the Golden West Invitational in Sacramento, earned a Track &
Field
News top five national high school ranking, and won last November's
state 5A cross country. She accepted an invitation to run collegiately
for Florida. The SEC likewise grabbed Cordell, who will go to Georgia.
This year's competition placed two more faces in the starring cast.
One, Hunt, had a runnerup 2:10.01 at the U.S. Junior Olympics
(intermediate) in Sacramento last July. That put her among the top
15
in the 2001 national list for the 800, in Jack Shepard's U.S. high
school statistical annual. Then, at the regionals two weeks in advance
of this year's state meet, Hunt's clocking was faster than those
achieved by Sullivan or Cordell at their respective regionals.
Also expected to be in the UIL mix in 2002 was Edwards, a freshman,
who
ran 7th grade during 2000 in Oldham County, Kentucky, then relocated
to
El Paso as an 8th grader. Principally a miler, she made Shepard's
2001
national list for the 1500 with a 4:40.79 to win the Junior Olympics
in
Sacramento (youth). Perhaps more impressive was a 4:41.91 in
Albuquerque to qualify for Sacramento from the Region X Junior Olympics
meet. In the case of Albuquerque, NCAA rules award women at a
comparable pace (Division III) about a six-second altitude adjustment.
So Edwards' 1500 time was equivalent to about a sea-level 4:35.9,
and in
turn to about a sea-level 4:58 eighth grade mile. In the 2002 regionals
in Lubbock, she ran a respectable 2nd to Sullivan in the 800, then
won
the 1600 in 5:02.63 to defeat local rival Monique Ortega of El Paso
Montwood, as well as Sullivan. Ortega had won the November 2000
5A
state cross country, the year before Sullivan became the cross country
state champion.
Notwithstanding the assembled talent, a 2:07+ or lower failed to
materialize. Sullivan led through the first lap in 63.8, more
conservatively than last year. Cordell, despite a relatively slow
regional (ankle and hip problems that threatened to keep her out
of the UILs), proved again to be the main competition, and made
another
late move, as in 2001.This time, Sullivan repulsed it without ever
yielding
the lead, showing good strength in the homestretch. Hunt got 3rd
in
keeping with the form chart. Edwards, up with the leaders most of
the
way, couldn't keep up the pace over the final straightaway and faded.
See...Dave Shelles, "Sullivan Takes State Track Crown,"
Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal, May 12, 2002.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/051202/hig_0512020038.shtml
6:30 pm, Boys' 5A 800
1) Will Fitts, DeSoto (SR), 1:51.40
Fitts placed 2nd to Johnson last year and had a 2001 season best
of
1:50.08.
6:40 pm, Girls' 5A 100 Hurdles
1) Angel Boyd, Converse Judson (JR), 13.70w (+3.0)
2) Diana Pickler, Rowlett (SR), 13.71w (+3.0)
3) Julie Pickler, Rowlett (SR), 13.79w (+3.0)
An exciting race. Boyd burst out ahead early. From across the way,
below the west side press box opposite the finish line side, it
looked
like Diana just caught her at the wire. It was an illusion, however,
due to a slight viewing angle. Last year the Pickler twins went
1-2,
Diana and Julie in that order.
6:50 pm, Boys' 5A 110 Hurdles
1) Kerron Clement, La Porte (JR), 13.48w (+3.3)
2) Jason Richardson, Cedar Hill (FR), 13.81w (+3.3)
Clement, in lane eight, quickly shot out in front and relinquished
little if any ground when Richardson became the main chase man.
7:00 pm, Girls' 5A 100
1) Marshevet Hooker, San Antonio Southwest (JR), 11.28w (+4.4)
2) Zenobia Reed, Houston Lamar (SR), 11.73w (+4.4)
Stunning. A Flojo-like margin. Hooker rebounding from her long
jump
loss earlier in the day.
7:10 pm, Boys' 5A 100
1) Edorian McCullough, Garland North Garland (SR), 10.08w (+5.0)
2) Ivory Williams, Beaumont Central (SO), 10.12w (+5.0)
3) Daniel McLemore, Duncanville (SR), 10.35w (+5.0)
4) Quincy Boles, Killeen (SR), 10.45w (+5.0)
Unlikely as it was, something about the race seemed even faster
than
the windy 10.15 and 10.16 in the 4A sprint the night before. Also
surprising was the someone in lane two who was sticking close to
the
favored McCullough in lane one. Then the times flashed on the
scoreboard, producing an obvious crowd reaction.
7:30 pm, Boys' 5A 400
1) Jeremy Wariner, Arlington Lamar (SR), 46.52
2) Marvin Stevenson, Alief Elsik ( ), 47.39
Wariner at the regionals in Lubbock had run 45.57, the fastest
U.S.
high school time of 2002, so this competition in Austin was
much-anticipated. From lane three he clearly took command into the
second curve. Kelly Willie in 4A, however, was fastest in Austin.
7:40 pm, Girls' 5A 400
1) Ebonie Floyd, Alief Hastings (SR), 53.80
Second here was Jennifer Hunt of Dallas Skyline who had placed
3rd in
the 800.
7:50 pm, Girls' 5A 300 Hurdles
1) Alandra Sherman, Houston Eisenhower ( ), 41.96
Diana Pickler of Rowlett clocked 41.65 but was disqualified. The
guess
afterwards was a trailing leg. If there was an announcement, I missed
it.
8:00 pm, Boys' 5A 300 Hurdles
1) Kerron Clement, La Porte (JR), 35.78
2) Jason Richardson, Cedar Hill (FR), 37.49
The Saturday race I didn't know I was waiting for. More impressive
even than the various 4A and 5A boys' sprints, 100 to 400. Clement
is
tall in stature (ideally for the event), and was clean and silky
smooth
over the hurdles. Good stamina as well. This was not close. He took
down the U.S. high school junior-class record with a mark that puts
him
in the high school all-time top ten, just back of the 35.76 and
35.77
achieved by Bayano Kamani and Bryan Bronson as seniors. Last year
Clement's best was 36.32, so...next year? One would like to see
him in
the 400 hurdles. A performance awesome in both style and speed.
8:10 pm, Girls' 5A 200
1) Marshevet Hooker, San Antonio Southwest (JR), 23.25w (+2.8)
2) Kandace Tucker, Irving MacArthur (SR), 23.97w (+2.8)
Another Flojo-like margin. All evening, just one sprint talent
after
another. See, on the San Antonian...
Raul Dominguez, "Hooker Wins Fifth State Gold," San Antonio
Express-News, May 12, 2002.
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=160&xlc=698665&xld=160
8:20 pm, Boys' 5A 200
1) Jeremy Wariner, Arlington Lamar (SR), 20.48w (+4.5)
2) Edorian McCullough, Garland North Garland (SR), 20.58w (+4.5)
3) Ivory Williams, Beaumont Central (SO), 20.70w (+4.5w)
Very close to the 5A boys' 300 hurdles as a meet highlight. McCullough
and Williams from the lightning-fast 100, going up in distance,
versus
Wariner from an impressive 400, coming down. McCullough proceeded
to
smoke the curve in lane four. Wariner in lane eight looked too far
back. Then, rather than make it up all at once with a big burst,
he did
the 200 equivalent of Gabriela Szabo's controlled catchup from the
other
year at Prefontaine. Again, the angle from the far side was misleading,
suggesting a closer race than the scoreboard subsequently indicated.
See...Kathleen O'Brien. "Golden Idol: Lamar Sprinter Following
a Texas
Tradition." Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 8, 2002.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/3219797.htm
8:30 pm, Girls' 5A 1600
1) Mackenzie Edwards, El Paso Franklin (FR), 5:00.22
2) Monique Ortega, El Paso Montwood (JR), 5:00.94
3) Brittany Brockman, Houston Langham Creek ( ), 5:01.56
Brockman and Ortega had finished 3-4 in the 3200 at 9:00 am, won
by
Valerie Lauver of Allen (10:51.83) who was also an entry in the
1600.
Brockman had the year's only sub-5:00 time coming into meet. Edwards,
with less time to freshen up, was at the starting line a bit over
two
hours after completing the 800.
She ran very intelligently, gluing herself right behind the leaders
in
the early going, mostly in 4th on the rail. The pack was tight and
legs
were jumbled and moving in close proximity, producing some risk
(as it
looked from the stands) of a fall. Edwards outwardly seemed calm
and
collected, however, and before proceeding any farther than was wise
on
the inside, she nicely unboxed herself and went toward the lead.
Ultimately, in the last 150 meters or so it became apparent it was
a
two-woman race between the El Pasoans. Ortega made a charge from
close
range at the top of the backstretch, and may have even gotten a
smidgen
ahead for oh so fractional a moment. Whereupon Edwards responded
and
executed a gentle pullaway over the last 70 meters. For now, Texas'
westernmost city is the state epicenter of the girls' mile, and
of
girls' mile fan opportunities. See...
Matthew Aguilar. "Freshman Runs to Mile Win; Franklin Girl
Holds Off
Montwood Star." El Paso Times, May 12, 2002.
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/sports/highschools/20020512-196752.shtml
8:50 pm, Girls' 5A 1600 Relay
1) Dallas Skyline, 3:42.61
Hunt, from the 800 and 400, on the third leg.
9:00 pm, Boys' 5A 1600 Relay
1) Dallas Carter, 3:14.11
2) Houston Eisenhower, 3:14.54
3) Dallas Kimball, 3:14.79
4) Duncanville, 3:14.82
A hotly contested race, making up for some of the mishaps in the
4A
1600 relay.
Generally see also...
Rachel Cohen. "Splits Worthy of Encore Race," Dallas Morning
News, May
13, 2002.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/topstories/stories/051302dnspohstaffolo.5a51f.html
It's late. I'm too tired to edit carefully. I'm sure there will
be
some sharp eyes catching a few typos.
Chris Kuykendall
Austin, Texas
Texas State Meet
|
