Galvan, Moore to compete in State Track and Field Meet on Friday

The Lockhart Track and Field program has qualified two athletes for the 2011 UIL State Championships on Friday, May 13.

This is the 21st consecutive Track and Field season that at least one Lockhart athlete has qualified for the State Meet. This year, LHS wills end two: senior Gabby Galvan has qualified for the discus throw, while junior Nate Moore has qualified for the 1,60

0-meter run.

This is Galvan’s third consecutive year to appear at the State Meet. She finished fourth at State as a sophomore, and placed fifth overall as a junior. Each year, Galvan has competed in the discus throw.

According to coaches, Galvan has been an outstanding shot put thrower throughout her storied career, narrowly missing qualifying for State in the Shot Put at the Regional meet in San Antonio on May 3. Galvan placed third, only inches away from going to State in two events.

Galvan who has been throwing six months per year since she was in the seventh grade and recently signed a scholarship to Oklahoma State University. She was a coveted recruit in large part due to the fact she not only throws the Shot Put and Discus, she can also throw the Hammer and the Javelin.

Galvan was the USATF National Champion in the Hammer Throw in 2009. She came back to the USATF National meet in 2010 and claimed the Championship title in the Discus.

Galvan has not only been outstanding as an athlete, she has also performed at a very high level in the classroom where she has been academic All-District four consecutive years.

Galvan will compete in the Class 4-A morning session at 10:30 a.m.

Moore will compete approximately 11 hours later, at 9 p.m., in the 1,600-meter run. He may be the most unlikely competitor ever to reach the State Finals in any event, coaches said.

After winning the 800-meter District title on April 11, Moore only had 90 minutes to recover for his next race, the 1,600. With temperatures near 90, Moore failed to qualify in the 1,600-meter race, by virtue of a fourth-place finish out of a field of 21 runners.

Only the top three finishers at the District meet qualify for Regional.

A few days later, word came that Moore could run because one of the three athletes who had beaten him had become ineligible.

At the Regional meet, the top two athletes in every event qualify for State automatically, out of the 24 athletes who have previously qualified. In the 800-meter run, in which Moore was the District Champion, he failed to make the finals.

He had one last chance to qualify for State in the 1,600, and he ran a tremendous race, finishing third with a time of 4:19.8. – 20 seconds faster than his District time, and 10 seconds better than his season best.

Until this year, only the top two runners from each region qualified for State. The UIL then decided to allow the fastest third place qualifier from any of the four Regional track meets because of the nine-lane track facility at the University of Texas. Moore’s time was easily the fastest third place time. In fact, his time would have won two of the four Regional meets.

The meet will be held at Mike Myers stadium on the University of Texas campus. The track stadium is located in between IH-35 and the UT football stadium, and LHS Head Track Coach Scott Hippensteel reminds the community that these two athletes would appreciate any support the community can offer.

(Courtesy of Scott Hippensteel)