Wise small schools put on big showing in capturing state tickets
By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, May 21, 2009
Heavy rain welcomed athletes to the final round of the Class 2A, Region II track and field meet Saturday morning. Despite the wet conditions, six athletes later in the day earned a trip to the state championships June 5-6 at the University of Texas in Austin.
Those advancing include Paige Klein, Jordan Ward, Kailey Watkins, Jennifer Endsley and Travis Montgomery, all of Alvord, and Boyd's Katie Mark. Slidell's Bobbi Clemmer was Wise County's seventh athlete to secture a spot at state when she competed in the Class 1A, Region II finals in Nacogdoches.
The complete list of Wise County qualifiers will be determined this weekend after Decatur, Bridgeport and Northwest compete in their regional meets in Lubbock. The top two finishers in each event go on to the biggest meet in Texas.
The biggest surprise from the small schools came from Slidell where Clemmer, a freshman, became the first athlete to qualify for state in more than 15 years.
"This has been a lot of fun," Clemmer said of qualifying for state in her first year of high school. "I just moved here from Pennsylvania where I was home-schooled, so I've never been on a track team before."
Clemmer won the 800 meters regional title with a time of 2 minutes, 21.8 seconds to beat out nemesis Megan Caillier of Lindsay by two seconds. This was the fifth time in six attempts this season the Lady Greyhound has won this event.
The Slidell rookie took second place in the 400 where she finished with a time of 1:01.05, just behind Ashleigh Simmons of Hawkins at 1:00.64.
In 2A action, Klein proved to be the best once again as she won two individual events. The senior, who advanced to state last year, won the 100 with a time of 11.98, just ahead of Vanecia Spencer of Grandview at 12.05.
Klein, a Tarleton State signee, struck gold again in the 200 with a time of 25.35 seconds to beat out Alexus Daniels of Rice at 25.84. She also teamed up with Watkins, Endsley and Ward in the 800 relay and they took second place with a time of 1:46.20, just behind first-place Omaha Pewitt at 1:45.83.
Ward, another Wise County freshman to earn a trip to Austin, will also compete on her own after capturing second place in 300 hurdles at 47.97, just a step behind winner Kamy Cole of Brock at 46.97. Ward also finished fourth in the 100 hurdles.
In near misses, Klein was third in the triple jump with a distance of 36 feet, 5 inches. Also, Boyd's Desirea Nelson was fourth overall in pole vault after she cleared 10-0.
On the boys' side, Montgomery was the only Wise County qualifier for the second year in a row and will be competing in two events. He won the 100 championship with a blazing time of 10.57 to beat out Chad Tucker of Gunter at 10.67, and he finished second in the 200 at 22.09, just behind Deonta Henderson of Hooks at 21.99.
Boyd's Tim Fleming was expected to contend for a state ticket but a foot injury in long jump slowed him down and forced him to withdraw from the 300 hurdles. The junior stayed in the 110 hurdles where he finished sixth overall with a time of 15.52.
The Paradise boys, who won the district team championship four weeks ago, had several compete at regionals but fell short of a state bid. The 400 relay team of Jonathan Lee, Bryson Mack, CJ Kerr and Tyler Del Toro placed fourth with a season-best time of 43.70.
Also, the 800 relay team of Caleb Snell, Del Toro, Lee and Mack broke a school record with a time of 1:32.10. They broke the old mark by 2.33 seconds set in 2006 by Corbin Young, Matt Davis, Cody McKenzie and Bradley Bryant and placed sixth in the region.
"Everybody but Ryan and C.J. will be back next year so they have the opportunity to make a lot of noise next year and bring down all kinds of records," said PHS coach Jonathan Ryle.
A complete list of the top three in each event, as well as Wise County results, are below.
Pole vault - 1. Lauren McFarland, Rio Vista 11-0; 2. Deanna Garrett, Como-Pickton 10-6; 3. Ashleigh McFarland, Rio Vista 10-6; 4. Desirea Nelson, Boyd 10-0
110 hurdles - 1. Craig Shelton, Lone Oak 15.15; 2. Trey Doggett, Rio Vista 15.16; 3. Ethan Boyd, Godley 15.37; Additional - Matt Ponder, Boyd 16.16; Andrew Hill, Paradise 17.18
300 hurdles - 1. Craig Shelton, Lone Oak 39.56; 2. Erik Thomas, Pewitt 40.06; 3. Tommy Parker, Aubrey 41.42; 8. Matt Ponder, Boyd 41.63; Additional - Andrew Hill, Paradise 42.82
