Lions, Lady Lions advance to regional meet

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

The Lockhart High School Track and Field Teams competed in the District 26-AAAA Track and Field Meet at Clemens last Wednesday, April 11 and Thursday, April 12. The LHS teams competed their hearts out. I can say that because I was there and from what I saw, the LHS track and field teams literally ran, jumped, threw, tossed and all a

round competed their little hearts out like Olympians in training. It was a beautiful sight to see. Ordinary students, (albeit gifted, talented, blessed or whatever other adjective you wish to use), doing extraordinary things. The students pushed themselves well beyond their limits and excelled in many of the events. The meet was full of exhilarating races and some unfortunate falls and defeats. I recalled the late seventies Wide World of Sports catch phrase “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” as I marveled at the tremendous athleticism and incredibly mature attitude that was displayed by each and everyone of the LHS participants. Parents should be proud of all of their athletes.
The Varsity Girls team placed second with 108 points. The Varsity Boys team placed fourth with 70 points. The Freshman Boys placed second with 104.5 points.
Varsity Boys and Girls advancing on to the Regional Meet in San Marcos are first place winners, Teie Harris in shot-put with a mark of 37″07, Jaimee Bennett in discus with a mark of 115″11, Livi Massey with a time of 5:30 in the 1600 meter run, Rory Tunningley with a time of 4:28 in the 1600 meter run and a time of 9:56 in the 3200 meter relay, CeCi Smith with a time of 26.0 in the 200 meter dash and a time of 59.0 in the 400 meter dash and finally, Desiree Roland with a time of 15.9 in the 110 meter hurdles.
Second place winners advancing are Tara Greiger with a mark of 17″3 in the long jump and a mark of 36″7 in the triple jump, Aly Daily with a mark of 11″6 in the pole vault, Nick Yunkun with a time of 10:03 in the 3200 meter run and Clay Culpepper with a time of 4:32 in the 1600 meter run.
Third place winners are Terrance Waldon with a mark of 42″08 in the triple jump, James Bonn with a time of 10:04 in the 3200-meter relay, Nick Yunkun with a time of 2:01 in the 800 meter run, Ceci Smith with a time of 12.3 in the 100-meter dash and Taylor Brite with a time of 47.9 in the 300 meter hurdles.
Other first place winners are the Junior Varsity Boys 1600 relay team of David Dinh, Ryan Gonzales, Roy Garcia and Kenny Brite. Dinh also placed first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:52 and the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06. Garcia also placed first in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:01.
Second place winners include Nick Villarreal with a mark of 115″11 in discus, Marcos Gonzales with a time of 10:39 in the 3200 meter run, Ryan Gonzales with a time of 2:08 in the 800-meter run, Bianca Juarez with a time of 13:25 in the 3200 meter run and Roy Garcia with a time of 10:36 in the 3200-meter run.
Third place winners include Kenny Brite with a mark of 5″06 in the high jump and a time of 24.4 in the 200 meter run, Cameron Peters with a time of 10:52 in the 3200-meter run and a time of 4:56 in the 1600 meter run, A.J. Maderal with a time of 2:10 in the 800-meter run, Junior Sauceda with a time of 12.0 in the 100 meter run, Ryan Gonzales with a time of 5:07 in the 1600 meter run.
As I mentioned at the beginning the boys and girls of Lockhart did their very best and represented LHS with dignity and respect. They are all winners as far as I”m concerned. I was most amazed and moved by how they cheered each other on and consoled each other as the meet went on. Nic Alford displayed tremendous courage and an unshakable will to finish at any cost despite a painful injury that occurred during an earlier race, truly displaying the heart of a champion. At the end of the meet, Coach Hippensteel made it clear he was incredibly proud all the runners and field participants. He praised them all for their efforts and encouraged them to continue training and perfecting their skills. He also thanked the coaches who worked incredibly hard to get to the meet then invited Coach Moses to speak. Moses tried to speak and found himself unable to hold back his emotions. After composing himself enough to thank all the students for their efforts he made a tearful, heartfelt farewell speech. Moses will be moving to the Nixon school district.
The LHS track team will participate in the Regional Qualifying Meet at Texas State in San Marcos on Friday, April 20. See you at the Regional Meet.
agarza@post-register.com.