Lions, Lady Lions advance to Regional Track Meet

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

A dozen Lions and Lady Lions gave strong enough performances during last week”s District 17-4A Track and Field Meet to earn bids to the Regional Meet on May 3.

En route to a fifth-place overall finish, the Varsity Lions earned three first-place finishes and sent five athletes forward to the Regional Meet, which will be

held in Huntsville, Texas, on Monday and Tuesday, May 3-4.

Distance runner Nate Moore led the team on the track, earning two District Championships. Moore ran the 1,600-meter in 4:32.8, and the 3,200-meter in 9:50. His dual District Champions earned him bids to the regional finals in both events.

Teammates Robert Uhr and Noah Tunningley both contributed to the team”s overall standing with strong performances in the 3,200-meter run. Uhr placed fourth in the district with a final time of 10:12, and Tunningley came in sixth at 10:19.

David Dinh also earned a spot in the regionals as district runner-up in the 800-meter run. Dinh finished the race in 2:02.1.

Finishing behind Dinh in the 800, out of qualifying range but strongly enough to contribute to the team”s 86 overall points, were Mack O”Neill, who finished fifth in 2:05.1, and Uhr, who placed sixth at 2:08.3.

Elsewhere on the track, hurdler Joseph Bell placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles, marking a time of 16.2. Dinh offered a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter run, with a time of 54 seconds.

Two Lion relay teams placed strongly enough to contribute points, but missed qualifying
for regionals.

The 800-meter relay team consisting of Bell, Landon Rivera, Kendall Till and Chris Jackson placed fifth, with a total time of 1:39.0. The 400-meter relay team, Dominique Hardaway, Till, Jackson and Chad Randle, also placed fifth, offering up a time of 44.6 seconds.

Lions were dominant on the field, placing two athletes in the top three in both the shot and discus, and qualifying another three athletes for the regional finals.

Bell rose well above the pack in the discus, earning first place with a 141″06″ throw. The second-place competitor was teammate Jordan Huckaby, who also earned a bid to regionals with a 133″07 throw.

Joe Bosquez placed second in the shot put, securing his own position at regionals, with a
43″10″ throw. He was followed by Huckaby, who placed second with a mark of 41″11″.

Dion Turner placed sixth in the shot put, with a 38″11″ mark.

Hardaway also competed in the triple jump, placing fourth with a distance of 40″02″.

Finally, Rivera placed fifth in the pole vault with a height of 11″.

The Varsity Lady Lions also put up a strong fight against tough district competition, earning 88 team points and finishing fourth. Five individuals and one relay team will advance to the Regional Meet as a result.

Defending District Champion Gabby Galvan solidified her standing as one of the district”s top throwers, retaining her title in both the shot put, with a 38″10″ throw, and in the discus, with a mark of 120″03″.

Sprinter Sacora Manning also struck gold, placing first in the 100-meter run with a race time of 12.75 seconds.

Galvan and Manning will be joined at the regional meet by two district runners up, Samantha Cowan, who earned her bid with a second-place time of 27.1 seconds in the 200-meter run, and Alysia Perales, who completed the 1,600-meter run in 5:59 for her silver.

Finally, the relay team of Isis Johnson, Desiree Roland, Manning and Alexandria Carter earned a spot at Regionals, placing third in the 400-meter relay with a total time of 50.8 seconds.

Roland will also be competing at the regional level in the 110-meter hurdles, after finishing third in the district with a total time of 15.6. Johnson was only a few seconds behind, finishing fifth in 17.7.

Distance runners Ali Colurciello and Alex Lindsey both performed well, despite near misses at regional qualifications.

Colurciello placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run with time of 13:12, while Lindsey placed fifth in the 800-meter at 2:24.5. Colurciello also placed fifth in the 1,600-meter run, with a finish time of 6:00.4

The Lady Lions also earned points by placing two additional relay teams in the top six in
their races.

The 1,600-meter relay team comprised of Perales, Cowan, Chanti Cypher and Cowan completed the race in 4:35.4.

In the 800-meter relay, the team consisting of Cassie Arredondo, Alexandria Carter, Johnson and Cowan placed fourth.

The regional qualifying meet will take place on Saturday, April 24, 2010, and the regional finals will be held on Monday an Tuesday, May 3-4 at Bowers Stadium on the Sam Houston State University campus in Huntsville.