By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, June 11, 2009
Decatur's Cynthia Carrillo was one lap away from watching her third and final trip to the UIL state track and field meet end with no medal. The senior was in seventh place entering the final 400 meters of the 1,600 race Saturday afternoon in Austin.
That's when she did a little soul searching and decided that she was not going to graduate without the only state medal that has eluded her. In an unbelievable finish to her decorated high school career, Carrillo passed four runners on the final lap to secure third place at the last second and get on the medal stage for the first and last time.
"When we started the last lap, I could feel the last girl behind me, and I realized that racing for last was not how I wanted things to end for me," said Carrillo, who admitted she was already tired after the second of the four laps. "I could not see the girl I had to catch for third, so I just started running and just hoped I would get close enough to have a chance."
Carrillo's gutsy performance summed up the weekend for Wise County as a dozen area athletes turned in impressive performances to shine at Mike Myers Stadium at the University of Texas. Seven of the 13 Wise County standouts brought home medals in what was the most successful trip in years.
Seniors Paige Klein and Travis Montgomery and freshman Jordan Ward - all of Alvord - along with Decatur freshman Zuleima Palomo, Slidell freshman Bobbi Clemmer and Northwest junior Chris Bain all ran their way onto the medal stage, finishing in the top three of their respective races.
Carrillo brought home the second to last medal for Wise County in a finish that even she can't believe she pulled off. The Midwestern State signee was at least 75 meters behind the third-place runner in the final lap of the race when she realized she was in the midst of a fight for eighth place.
After realizing she was battling for last place in front of the estimated 10,476 fans, Carrillo found an extra burst of energy that allowed her to make an improbable run in the 98-degree temperatures. She passed the first runners into the sixth and fifth spots halfway through the last lap, including teammate Hanna Galloway.
"When I caught up to Hanna I told her to follow me, but she couldn't," Carrillo said. "I looked up and I could finally see the girl in third place that I needed to catch so I just kept running as hard as I could and hoped I did not run out of time."
After moving into fifth place still in an all-out sprint, Carrillo cruised by Maria Salinas of Luling to move into fourth place. That set up the dramatic finish as the Lady Eagle sizzled down the final 50 meters of the track and finally passed Amber Moore of Longview Spring Hill in the last 10 meters to win the bronze with a time of 5 minutes, 26.65 seconds. Moore was just a step back at 5:26.87.
Galloway, who qualified for state in two events, came in seventh after she clocked a 5:40.06.
Saturday's action got under way with Clemmer, who made it to Austin in two events in her first try. The ninth grader did not disappoint herself as she captured a silver medal with a second-place time of 2:22.18 in the 800, just behind winner Jaylen Rodgers of Hamlin at 2:21.54.
"I'm happy to get a medal as a freshman," Clemmer said. "Next year I'm running for the gold."
The Lady Greyhound returned to the track an hour later to compete in the 400 where she finished sixth overall after clocking a 1:02.31.
The action came to a successful finish for Wise County when Northwest speedster Chris Bain competed in a pair of sprint races. The junior was solid as he captured the seventh and final medal for the area when he took third in the 100 at 10.52 seconds, his best time of the season. Prezel Hardy of Killeen Ellison won the gold with a state-record time of 10.08.
Bain was back at it less than an hour later when he captured fourth place in the 200 as he clocked a 21.55.
A pair of freshmen turned in spectacular performances and stole the show in front of more than 15,000 on Friday. Palomo and Ward ranked in the bottom half based on qualifying times in their respective events, but each rose to the occasion and came away with a pair of third-place finishes.
Palomo made her first trip to Austin one she won't soon forget. The freshman jumped out to a fast start in the 3,200 and broke two records en route to earning her bronze. The ninth grader posted a blazing time of 11:29 minutes, which crushed her personal record of 11:41 she set two weeks ago at regionals and broke the Decatur High School record of 11:36, which was set in 2002 by Savannah Matzinger.
"This feels great. I wanted to get on stage so bad, but I did not think I would because of how good the girls were in the race," the giddy 14-year-old said. "Getting third is as great an accomplishment as winning state as a team in cross country. In cross country, it takes a whole team to win, but this was just me and I'm so happy to finish in the top three."
Galloway, the District 5-3A champion in the 3,200, was unable to match her season-best time as she finished sixth overall at 11:59. Argyle's Colbea Harris won the state title with a time of 11:07, just ahead of second-place Heather Sterling of Canton at 11:11.
Ward, who competed in the 800 relay just 30 minutes before chasing the gold in the 300 hurdles, came through with her best time of the season. She ran a steady race and held the third spot for the final 200 meters of the race for a bronzed and personal-record time of 45.45 seconds, just behind winner Lauren Garrott of San Antonio Cole at 44.43.
Friday night's action got under way for local athletes with the girls' 800 race as Boyd's Katie Mark competed for the second straight year. After holding the second spot for the first half of the race, the sophomore slipped back in the last 400 meters and finished eighth with a time of 2:27.
Klein, who advanced to the state finals three of her four high school years, held the fastest 100 time in the state, but she finished second with a time of 12.40 seconds, just behind winner Jasmine Armstead at 12.27.
This was the second straight year for the Alvord senior to take the silver medal. Klein wrapped up her high school career 20 minutes later in the 200. The Tarleton State signee finished sixth with a time of 25.62, behind champion Shakita Webb of Anahuac at 25.07.
In the boys' 100 race, Montgomery also brought in the state's fastest qualifying time of 10.57 seconds, but he was unable to duplicate that in Austin. The senior did post a blazing time of 11.08 to finish third and take home the bronze medal. Aarhon Flores of Floydada won the title at 10.81.
Montgomery's second and final event was the 200 where he was ranked sixth. That's exactly where he finished, posting a time of 22.03, which was better than his regional time of 22.09.
Klein was also on the track between her sprints to anchor the 800 relay team. Ward and Sam Rogers, and Kailey Watkins, made up the quartet that finished fourth with a time of 1:45.14, more than two seconds better than at regionals three weeks ago. Alvord ranked sixth going into the state finals.
