The Canyon Lady Eagles won the Region I-5A Track and Field meet on Saturday in Lubbock. [David Erickson/ Press Pass Sports]
LUBBOCK— It might be exaggerating it to say the Canyon girls owned the Region I-4A meet Saturday afternoon, but from the beginning of the day to the end, things belonged to them.
Winning in the field and on the track, Canyon consistently piled up points throughout the day, ending it with a victory in the 1600 relay which assured the Lady Eagles the team title at PlainsCapital Park Lowrey Field. Canyon finished with 122 points on the day, 16 points ahead of second-place Argyle.
“I really can’t say that it could have been better,” Canyon coach Ray Baca said. “We had a lot of kids who stepped up and we had a lot of kids this weekend who said ‘I’ll do what you need me to do.’ We changed some relays up a little bit and everybody bought in. The excitement was just awesome and the performances were really, really good. It’s just exciting to see where our team is right now going into the state meet.”
Canyon’s gold rush started early, as Kashlee Dickinson, arguably the most prohibitive favorite in the field, lived up to her hype in the pole vault. It ended when Abree Winfrey crossed the finish line as the anchor leg in the mile relay, clinching the team title for Canyon and earning Winfrey her third gold medal of the day.
Winfrey was a star on the day for Canyon, winning the 800 and 300 hurdles earlier in the day.
“Our team did awesome and everyone did the best they could,” said Winfrey, a junior. “We won regionals and that was the goal. The main goal was just to get there in all of the events. They definitely weren’t my best times, but that’s all right. We weren’t worried about times.”
Winfrey won the 800 in 2 minutes, 17.96 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 44.99 both of which were just off her preliminary times but still good enough to hold off challengers. Her day ended by anchoring the mile relay team which also included Thalia Solis, Whitney Willeford and Samara Ramirez which won in 3:55.90, cutting seven seconds off their prelim time.
There was a feeling of exceeding expectations when Winfrey crossed the finish line to end the meet.
“The feeling was amazing,” Winfrey said. “Our time was awesome. We didn’t think we were going to run that fast. Our team really pulled through.”
Canyon’s Kashlee Dickinson set another Texas Panhandle record in the pole vault clearing 13-6 at the Region I-4A Track and Field meet in Lubbock on Saturday. [David Erickson/ Press Pass Sports]
Dickinson, also a junior, set the tone for the day by delivering with a personal best, meet record and Texas Panhandle record vault of 13 feet, 6 inches, as she easily established herself as the dominant performer in the event. When it came down to just Dickinson and Stephenville’s Keidra Mills to determine who was going to be the gold medalist, it was clear Dickinson was the class of the field.
Mills entered the meet with seed mark of 12-0, well behind Dickinson’s best of 13-4.
“When I started my warmup I wasn’t very confident because things weren’t going as well as I thought they would, but then I got over the lower heights and I just decided to go straight to 13-6,” Dickinson said. “I thought my form was better but I can still work on it to get ready for state.”
Dickinson waited until the bar was set at 11-6 to enter the competition. She cleared 11-6, 11-9 and 12-3 on the first attempt each time as the competition was whittled down to her and Mills.
With the bar at 12-6, Dickinson opted to pass, putting the impetus on Mills, who missed all three attempts. That gave Dickinson the gold, and an opportunity to get a personal best without any pressure.
“I skipped a couple of heights so I wouldn’t tire myself out for the higher heights,” Dickinson said. “I was thinking about just doing 13-3 just to get the meet record but people told me just to go for it and I did and got it.”
Dickinson missed her first attempt at 13-6, but easily cleared the bar in her second. It clinched her lofty status in the field.
“At first before I get higher in the heights it gets kind of nerve-wracking because it could be that bad day you have, but today just wasn’t,” Dickinson said. “I’m hoping to PR again at state.”
Sophomore Hannah Stuart had about as easy a time as Dickinson did in cruising to victory in the 1600 for her second gold medal of the meet. Stuart, who won the 3200 on Friday, roared to victory in the 1600 with a 5:04.25, more than 10 seconds ahead of teammates Avery Brown, who was also second to Stuart in the 3200 in completing a distance sweep and a pair of berths at the state meet for Canyon.
Stuart led virtually the whole race and was never threatened after the first lap.
“If I have competition at the state meet, I’ll try to stay right behind or with somebody who I know can push me,” said Stuart, who finished fifth in the 1600 at state. “I either take off at a comfortable distance or try to use somebody to push me. I’m pretty happy with (the time) since like the 3200 it’s two seconds off my best time. Once I get down to Austin I can drop a lot more off.”
The performances of Winfrey, Dickinson and Stuart were almost expected, but Baca didn’t want that to take the excitement off the victory.
“When you have kids like Hannah, Kashlee and Abree, sometimes it’s a sad deal that you just expect it out of them and you don’t get as excited when they win, but man, they’re cornerstones of our team right now,” Baca said. “When you can start a meet off like we did yesterday in the 3200 with Hannah and Avery going first and second, it gives you a lot of peace that things are going to go really good. Those younger ones really learn from them.”
A long jump area sweep
If there was one event in Class 4A where the area schools were dominant, it was the long jump, as Amarillo area schools swept the boys and girls events.
Before ending the day as the third leg in the 1600 relay, Willeford won her first gold with a personal best leap of 18-6 in the long jump. In the boys event, Pampa’s Jordan Lacy came through on his last attempt to take gold with a leap of 22-6.
WIlleford’s winning leap wasn’t so dramatic, as it came early in the meet. It was almost 10 inches better than her qualifying mark, and it held up for the event.
“I knew it was far when I jumped it and it was just cool to hear everybody there cheering for me and it was just a big moment,” said Willeford, a senior. “I was still worried in the back of my mind, but I knew it could get me pretty close. We came in with the mindset that we’d need every point and that it was going to matter. We took care of business and it was awesome.”
Lacy, who entered the event as the top seed with a jump of 22-7, had a best of 22-3. To win the region title, he had one last chance.
“I got done and I said ‘This could be it,’” Lacy said. “I was looking when they turned the counter and I couldn’t believe it honestly. It was kind of an advantage with the people around me and them pushing me because I know I could jump like that, but there was a little bit of pressure on me knowing what if you don’t jump it again. At the end of the day you have to keep trying.”
Dumas sprinter Emmanuel Ibanez and the 1600 relay won gold at the Region I-4A Track and Field meet in Lubbock on Saturday. [David Erickson/ Press Pass Sports]
Dumas boys win mile relay
The mile relay was another glamour event for local schools. On the boys side, Dumas ended the day by winning with a time of 3:19.84 to punch a ticket to state.
Oliver Ortiz made up a 10-yard deficit on the final leg and roared to victory as Emmanuel Ibanez, Brayden Boggs-Rushing and Juan Romero joined him on the victory stand. Ortiz already had a ticket to state by virtue of a close second-place finish in the 400.
“I’m pretty satisifed with the performance even though all the legs could have done better,” Ortiz said. “They gave me the stick in second place and I knew I was going to finish the job. It was a pretty satisfying finish as long as we came in first. There’s always room for improvement. I had everybody counting on me. My coach told me I might actually have to catch someone and that’s exactly what I did.”
The University Interscholastic League Class 4A state track meet is set for Thursday, May 12, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
For full results of the Region I-4A track meet, please visit, http://www.spato.us/results/hs2022/lubbreg/
Region I-4A Amarillo-area qualifiers
Girls
100
No qualifiers
200
No qualifiers
400
No qualifiers
800
Abree Winfrey, Canyon, 2:15.65
1600
Hannah Stuart, Canyon, 5:04.25
Avery Brown, Canyon, 5:14.82
3200
Hannah Stuart, Canyon, 11:04.42
Avery Brown, Canyon, 11:26.67
100 hurdles
No qualifiers
300 hurdles
Abree Winfrey, Canyon, 45.13
400 relay
No qualifiers
800 relay
No qualifiers
1600 relay
Canyon (Thalia Solis, Whitney Willeford, Samara Ramirez, Abree Winfrey), 3:55.90
High jump
No qualifiers
Long jump
Whitney Willeford, Canyon, 18-6
Triple jump
No qualifiers
Pole vault
Kashlee Dickinson, Canyon, 13-6
Discus
No qualifiers
Shot put
No qualifiers
Wheelchair shot put
Emma Searl, Pampa, 8-10 ¾
Wheelchair 100
Emma Searl, Pampa, 35.25
Wheelchair 400
Emma Searl, Pampa, 2:56.31
Boys
100
None
200
None
400
Oliver Ortiz, Dumas, 48.92
800
No qualifiers
1600
No qualifiers
3200
No qualifiers
100 hurdles
No qualifiers
300 hurdles
No qualifiers
400 relay
No qualifiers
800 relay
No qualifiers
1600 relay
Dumas (Emmanuel Ibanez, Brayden Boggs-Rushing, Juan Romero, Oliver Ortiz), 3:19.04
High jump
No qualifiers
Long jump
Jordan Lacy, Pampa, 22-6
Triple jump
No qualifiers
Pole vault
No qualifiers
Discus
No qualifiers
Shot put
No qualifiers