WACO, TX — DeSoto girls track and field coach June Villers said one of the best parts about her team’s performance at the Class 6A Region II meet Saturday was it felt normal. The routine was normalcy through excellence, and enough state qualifiers for the Lady Eagles to extend their state-title streak.
Strong performances in relays as well as sprints and hurdles events let DeSoto roll to the region title at Midway High School’s Panther Stadium. DeSoto finished with 114 points, well ahead of Bridgeland (63), Rockwall (59) and rival Duncanville (44).
The spearhead was DeSoto qualifying all three of its relay teams for state, which puts it in position to win its fifth consecutive state championship. It had won in 2016-19 before the 2020 state meet was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It absolutely feels normal, and nothing has felt normal in two years,” Villers said. “It felt like old DeSoto, before all the craziness.”
DeSoto’s performance had bookends with wins in the 4×100- and 4×400-meter relays.
DeSoto got a nice surge from its second leg, Ja’Era Griffin, in the 4×100 and she teamed with Jalaysi’ya Smith, Trinity Kirk and Mia Abraham to win 45.77 seconds. In the 4×400, Logan Neely put DeSoto ahead on the third leg, and the team of Amelliah Birdow, Lacie Deboskie, Neely and Caitlin Shaw won in 3 minutes 46.78 seconds.
DeSoto did have a mild disappointment in the 4×200 as Duncanville anchor Kayli Hill pulled ahead in the final 100 meters to give her squad — including Aaliyah Gipson, Laroncia Alexander and Makhiya McDonald — a win in 1:38.66, edging out DeSoto’s squad of Neely, Shaw, Kirk and Abraham (1:38.70).
Those two teams will have a chance for another thrilling finish at the UIL State Track and Field Championships on May 8 in Austin. The top two qualifiers in each region and the top third-place team from the four regions qualify for state.
Abraham said she was proud of how the relay teams performed but was quick to temper her enthusiasm.
“I feel good about it, but we still have a lot we can improve on,” said Abraham, who also helped DeSoto’s 4×200 team qualify for state in 2019. “We can work on handoffs and little technique stuff to make us better. The handoffs in the 4×100 and 4×200 were pretty good today, and we’re excited about that.”
Griffin was DeSoto’s catalyst in the sprints. She had a strong start to win the 100 meters in 11.39 seconds, edging Spring Westfield’s Ani Vea Gilbert (11.42).
Griffin was a step ahead of the field in the 200 as well, winning in 23.89, while Gilbert finished second again (23.94). Griffin qualified for state previously in the 100 in 2019 as well as part of DeSoto’s 4×100 teams in 2018 and 2019.
Smith also had a strong individual day, combining fury with strategy to sweep the hurdles events.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Smith sprinted ahead in the first 25 meters and wasn’t challenged in setting a personal best of 13.39 seconds. In the 300 hurdles, Smith, a Southern Cal signee, was more of a stalker, lurking in the field with teammate Logan Neely until they pulled away in the final 100 meters with Smith winning in 43.07.
“In the 100 I saw we had the weather and I knew I wanted to PR, so I went out with the mindset to run as hard as I could,” Smith said. “In the 300 we wanted to get out really smooth and at the end let the wind carry us home.”
Cedar Hill boys place third
Strong performances by two relay teams helped the Cedar Hill boys place third as a team overall. The Longhorns finished with 48 points.
The Cedar Hill boys’ 4×100 team of Kaleb Green, Diallo Good, Brian Rainey and Dacorey Ware won with a time of 41.05 seconds. Ware caught Duncanville’s anchor leg, Roderick Daniels Jr., when Daniels suffer a pulled hamstring about 10 meters from the finish. Temple was second in 41.30 followed by Duncanville (41.31).
Cedar Hill’s 4×200 team of Green, Robert Richardson, Ware and Good placed second in 1:25.68 behind Killeen Shoemaker, which won in 1:25.30 thanks to strong showing by anchor Monaray Baldwin. Duncanville also suffered hard luck in the 4×200, finishing fourth in 1:27.43. Ware is also in the running to qualify for state in the 200, finishing third in 21.59 seconds.
“We have a small, good group of kids. A lot of them are seniors too. They had an opportunity and they made the most of it,” Cedar Hill boys coach Kevin Benjamin said. “You never know what can happen at state with what Converse Judson, Allen and The Woodlands can send, but if you have two relay teams there I think you’re in the mix.”
The Woodlands won the team title with 70 points, finishing ahead of rival The Woodlands College Park (57). Duncanville placed seventh with 29 points.
The best finish of the day may have been in the 110-meter hurdles. Rockwall’s Sam Alves used a strong kick in the last 30 meters to win in 14.05 seconds, edging Conroe’s Shama Levenstone (14.06). Mesquite’s Cameron Boger won the 300 hurdles title in 37.96 seconds.
Cedar Hill triple jumper nearly tops PR
By her standards, the goal for Cedar Hill girls triple jumper Brya Brewer on Saturday was modest: qualify for state. She nearly had her best day anyway.
Brewer easily won her event, sailing to a distance of 42 feet 111/2 inches on her fourth attempt. That was just a half-inch away from the Texas Tech signee’s personal record (43.0).
Brewer may have received a boost from a strong northern wind, but she added that the wind made her alter her footwork.
“I thought I had it. I feel like the wind carried me in the preliminary jumps. I adjusted my steps and it was more of a long stride in the finals, and by then it wasn’t as windy,” Brewer said.
Hip injury forces Rockwall standout pole vaulter to withdraw
A hip injury that flared up Friday forced Rockwall standout Olivia Cade to withdraw from the pole vault, her best event.
Cade was unable to compete in the pole vault on Saturday because of a left hip flexor. Cade said she suffered the injury last week and aggravated it while competing in preliminaries of the 100- and 300-meter hurdles as well as with Rockwall’s 4×400 relay. Cade was able to compete in running events Saturday.
Cade won the 2019 Class 6A Region II title with a height of 12 feet, 6 inches. Cade has signed with Texas Tech, where her primary event will be the pole vault.
“Of course I’m disappointed. I really wanted to come out here and try for state,” Cade said. “Obviously this year has been tough because of COVID and practices were hectic. I will compete in the pole vault at Tech. I didn’t want to risk my future.”
Cade said she wanted to focus on earning points for her team in other events on Saturday, and she was successful. She was the anchor of Rockwall’s 4×400 team that included Amaya Turner, Olivia Lowrey and Elizabeth Laurence that placed second in 3:50.80 and qualified for state. Cade was also part of Rockwall’s state-qualifying 4×400 relay team in 2018.
Cade also finished fourth in the 100 hurdles (14.37) and the 300 hurdles (44.70).
Molly Haywood of Tomball won the region title with a height of 13-6.
