The Decatur Lady Eagles won the girls 2-mile team title with 25 points at the Azle Invitational Sept. 12 at Azle’s Santo Forte Junior high School. CHANCI NICKS | FOR THE MESSENGER
Decatur sophomore Maddyx Coffman ran 12:58.30 to secure the gold medal at the Azle Invitational girls 2-mile run Sept. 12 at Azle’s Santo Forte Junior High School. CHANCI NICKS | FOR THE MESSENGER
Decatur sophomore Maddyx Coffman battled down the stretches of the Azle Invitational last week, and picked up her first win of the season.
Coffman secured her first individual gold in the girls 2-mile race in 12:58.30 — beating runner up Camille Taylor of Argyle Liberty Christian (13:17.40) by more than 19 seconds.
“It just feels amazing to win, and I’ve worked really hard for it,” Coffman said. “There’s a lot of places on the course where there’s thick sand — it’s almost like you’re running on a beach, and it was difficult because I kept slipping and falling… I’m just glad I could push myself and check off my goal of winning a gold medal. But my main personal goal is to run under 12 minutes this year.”
The Lady Eagles finished with 25 points to claim the team title, beating Whitesboro (48) and Liberty Christian (58).
Freshman Skylar Sicking (13:19) also brought home one of the race’s top prizes, running more than 1 second behind Taylor to take bronze — her second straight third-place finish.
“I thought it was going to be a rough start since I heard the course was sandy and pretty hard, but I didn’t feel like it was as bad as I was expecting,” Sicking said. “I kept a pretty straight pace the whole time. It was a little rough because it was hotter than normal.”
Decatur coach Quentin Lasseter praised Coffman and Sicking for stepping up to lead the program despite being underclassmen.
“Today’s results for Maddyx and Skylar is really a testament to what they did during summer training,” Lasseter said. “It’s really showing off now. Maddyx was able to get in front of everybody, and Skyler was right there behind her. That’s what they’ve both been doing all season.”
Decatur’s team finish was also aided by a fourth-place finish from junior Reagan Nicks (13:24.60), who has missed the last two months with an injury.
“I’m proud because I just wanted to finish the race and get back,” Nicks said. “This week was my first week practicing again, and my goal was just to finish. I was pretty stressed when I was hurt, but I felt a lot of relief when I got back on the course. I think we’ve got a chance to go far this year if we continue to push ourselves and stay healthy. It’s going to take showing up at practice every morning and really bonding as a team — that’s one of the most important things.”
Lasseter thought the two-time state qualifier raced well in her return to the course.
“Reagan did a fantastic job for her first race back,” he said. “I didn’t put any expectations on how she finished or what her time was. The main thing was seeing the joy on her face knowing she’s competing again. It’s been a long time, so just the fact that she’s out here competing and healthy just means the world. I keep telling her it’s only up from here.”
Junior Rainey Gokey (13:39) and junior Kinlee Wheeler (14:01) also ran in the top 10, placing eighth and 10th, respectively.
Junior Tessa Rogers narrowly missed a top 10 finish, clocking 14:01.70 — less than a second behind Wheeler.
Decatur’s additional top 20 runners were freshman Jaylene Arredondo (15th, 14:26) and junior Janie Holmes (17th, 14:40).
Decatur senior Tate Clackler finished second (18:15.19) in the boys 5K race at the Azle Invitational Sept. 12 at Azle’s Santo Forte Junior High School. CHANCI NICKS | FOR THE MESSENGER
In the boys 5K, Decatur picked up the team silver with 64 points behind meet champion Joshua (31). Fort Worth Paschal placed third with 69.
The Eagles were led by senior Tate Clackler — a 2024 state qualifier — who picked up his second consecutive individual silver medal in 18:15.19 — finishing behind meet champion Nolan Werth of Paschal (17:44.10).
“It was a good day as any to run,” Clackler said. “The competition was pretty good — [Werth] had me the whole race, and I was tailing him. The course is eroding and there’s a lot of sand, so it’s pretty tough.”
Lasseter said he likes what he’s seen from Clackler this season, both on and off the course.
“Tate’s been just tremendous,” the coach said. “You can tell by his finishes the last couple of weeks that he’s been very consistent. He went out there and competed hard despite the conditions… Tate’s one of our two seniors, and then the rest of the guys are younger. He’s not only doing a good job in practice, but he’s doing a good job of leading the boys, and they’re following his leadership.”
Decatur added three more runners in the top 20 — junior Rayson Siebeneck (seventh, 19:05.16), junior Gavin Grado (13th, 19:32.26) and senior Benjamin Bond (20th, 19:57.66).
Clackler — the lone Eagle runner to advance past the District 7-4A race last season — wants to help the Eagles’ team find a way to advance out of league meet.
“Obviously, our hope is to win, and I think we’ve got the capability to do it,” Clackler said. “The expectation is to at least get top 3 at district — that’s the bare minimum I want from these guys. We’ve got what it takes to at least make it to regionals, but I do think we should win district.”
Decatur’s next meet is the McNeil Invitational Friday at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. Decatur will then host the Reunion Run Sept. 25 at Joe Wheeler Park.
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