Lion teams win big in District 17-4A

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

The Lockhart Lions Track and Field teams earned titles in two out of three divisions of the District 17-4A Track and Field Championships on Thursday, April 16 at Del Valle High School.

Varsity Lions
The Varsity Lions scored 150 points overall in the meet, crushing their nearest competitors, the Del Valle Cardinal

s, who scored 112. The Elgin Wildcats rounded out the top three with 88 points, followed by the Hays Rebels (76), the Lehman Lobos (70), the Manor Mustangs (64) and the San Marcos Rattlers (57).

Leading the Lions with 25 points was the team’s only triple-gold-medal winner, James Bonn. Bonn, a senior, cruised to victory in the 800-meter run, finishing in 1:58, and the mile run, which he finished in 4:31. Bonn also anchored the winning Mile Relay team, running his leg in 50.3, as the team cruised to a victory in 3:26.4. Other Champion Mile Relay team members were David Dinh (53.4), Daetron Head (51.1) and Xavier Thomas (51.6).

Stacey Bell’s gold-silver combo added 18 points to the team victory, as he finished first in the Shot Put with a 51’1” thrown, and second in the Discus at 133’10”:

According to LHS Coaches, freshman Nate Moore may have become the first freshman in school history to be crowned a district champion in Track and Field, coming from behind to win the 3,200-meter run in 10:19. With only 400 meters (one lap) to go in the race, Moore was in third place. During the final lap, he sprinted past the leaders to win the gold.

Senior Xavier Moore surprised the crowd by soundly defeating track star and Rice University signee Donte Moore of Manor with a time of 10.53 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

Other regional qualifiers on the team were:
Marcos Gonzales – 3,200-meter run, second place (10:21);
D. Dinh – 800-meter run, third place (2:03.6);
Ryan Gonzales – 1,600-meter run, third place (4:40.8); and
X. Moore, Dylan Messerly, Dominique Hardaway and TJ Terrazas – 4×100 Relay Team, third place (43.6).

Rounding out the Lions’ team in the winning performance were:
Brooks Pittman -high jump, sixth place (5’08”);
Ryan Gonzales – 3,200-meter run, fourth place (10:29);
AJ Maderal – 800-meter run, fourth place (2:05.6);
D. Head – 400-meter run, fourth place (52.1);
Ricky Rodriguez – 300-meter hurdles, fifth place (42.7);
X. Moore – 200-meter dash, fifth place (22.5);
X. Thomas – 200-meter dash, sixth place (22.8);
Alfredo Maderal – 1,600-meter run, fourth place (4:41.3);
Christian Estrada, D. Messerly, Randy Castillo and X. Thomas – 4×200 Relay Team, fourth place (1:34.6).

The Lions will compete in the Regional Qualifiers’ Meet on Friday, April 24, at Canyon High School. Next week, they will travel to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville on May 1 to compete in the Region III Track and Field Meet.

JV Lions
After facing tight competition throughout most of the day, the JV Lions pulled ahead of their district rivals to score 131 team points to earn the District 17-4A Championship. Nipping at the Lions’ collective heels were the Elgin Wildcats, who finished the meet in
second place with 110 points.

Lions Karl Grieger and Noah Tunningley led the Lions on the field and the track respectively, with each earning two gold medals.

Grieger was named District Champion in the Shot Put with a throw of 41’4” and in the Discus with a throw of 117’0”.
Tunningley, a distance runner, earned gold on the track by placing first in the 3,200-meter run (10:46) and in the 1,600-meter run (4:58).

JV Lions earning silver medals were:
Joseph Bell – Discus (116’03”);
Roy Garcia – 3,200-meter run (11:13);
Bobby Dinh – 800-meter run (2:07) and 1,600-meter run(5:04); and
Tyler Tolley, Kendall Till, Chris Jackson and Gonzales – 4×200 Relay (1:37.7).
Third-place finishers were:
Mack O’Neill – 800-meter run (2:09);
J. Bell – 110-meter hurdles (17.3);
K. Till – 400-meter run (56.7); and
B. Dinh, M. O’Neill, C. Jackson and N. Tunningley – 1,600-meter relay (3:45.0).
Other Lion competitors were:
J. Bell – Long Jump, fifth place (19’04”);
J. Gonzales – Triple Jump, fifth place (39’02”);
Sebastian Llamas – High Jump, fourth place (5’06”);
Jordan Huckabee – Shot Put, fourth place (37’08”), Discus, fourth place (109’07”) and 110-meter hurdles, sixth place (20.0);
Mitchell McRee – 3,200 meter run, fourth place (12:06);
Kyle Medina – 300-meter hurdles, fourth place(44.4); and
Roy Garcia – 1,600-meter run, fifth place (5:08).

Freshman Lions
The Freshman Lion Track and Field Team also gave a strong showing on Thursday. Although they did not come home with a team championship, the Freshman Lions boasted three individual championships and a number of silver and bronze medals.

Samuel Post emerged as team leader during the District Championships, earning gold medals in the 800-meter run and the 400-meter run. Post finished the 800 in 2:14 and blazed through the 400-meter course in 57.2.

Teammate Eli Spring conquered the field in the 1,600-meter run, finishing in 5:14.

Joe Anchondo earned silver in the 3,200-meter run, finishing the course in 11:40. Anchondo was followed to the finish line by teammates Eli Spring, who finished third in 11:49, and Andrew Grimm, who took fifth place in 12:06.
Caleb Peters earned silver in the 800-meter run, finishing just behind Post in 2:17. Peters also earned a bronze medal in the 1,600, finishing the course in 5:25.

The 1,600 Meter relay team comprised of Post, Peters, Grimm and Spring placed fourth, completing the race in 4:10.0.
Rounding out Freshman Lion competition, Grimm placed fifth in the 1,600-meter at 5:31.

Additional information provided by Doug Alfier