Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Ridge sprinters head of KISD class
By SANDRA ENGELLAND
Four meets into the season, senior Rico Minor has won every 100-meter race he has entered, including the ultra-competitive Coppell Relays on March 1. Minor posted a 10.84 at the Dragon Relays March 8, one of the best times in the area.
Clinton Collins, a sophomore running the 200, also has one of the fastest times in the Metroplex.
Minor runs in the 400- and 800-meter relays, along with Aaron Fisher and Taylor Burns. Chris Taylor runs on the shorter relay, while Collins takes the baton in the 4-by-200.
“Our 4-by-2 relay is standing out,” Ridge coach Paul Weaver said. “They set a school record and a meet record at the last meet.”
At the Possum Kingdom Relays on March 15, the 800-meter relay ran 1:29.21.
In field events, pole vaulter Jeffrey Rodriguez continues to earn top places. His best jump in competition is 15 feet, six inches, but Weaver said Rodriguez cleared 16 feet in practice.
“He’s a special talent,” Weaver said. “He works really hard and trains hard.”
The coach said that the vaulter is attracting attention from Division I colleges.
Weaver expects a challenging road at the district meet. Last year’s championship team featured some talented seniors and junior Josh Fifield, a multi-event scorer in hurdles and jumping who moved to Indiana.
Birdville, Brewer and Azle have strong teams that could also compete for district honors, Weaver said.
Fossil Ridge is hosting the Panther Relays today on their own track. Field events and the 3200-meter run begin at 4 p.m.
Fossil Ridge Lady Panthers
Fossil Ridge’s girls are off to a good start as the team won the Argyle Relays on March 13.
The biggest surprise on this year’s roster is freshman Alisha Keys. Keys’ time of 12.08 in the 100 meters is one of the fastest so far this year in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Coach Vicki Larson said, “She wasn’t even going to come out for track. I had to convince her to do it.”
At Argyle, Keys earned 38 points in individual events: the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump.
One of the team leaders this year is junior Morgan Pettway. Larson said, “She’s been really stepping up. This year, she has really come into her own.”
Pettway is the team’s best 400 meter runner and part of the 4-by-400 relay that is posting times close to the four-minute mark. The shorter relay teams are also performing well and placed first at Argyle and wining the sprint relay at Southlake.
Sophomore Erin Morris is setting some of the area’s best times in the 100 meter hurdles. Freshman Hanan Saafir is also gaining points for the team in the 100 and 300 hurdles.
Larson is pleased with the team’s improvement in field events this year.
Junior Michele Smith is earning points in the throwing events.
In addition to Keys in the long jump and triple jump, the Lady Panthers have two other talented freshmen jumpers: Drina Davenport and Brook Hunter. Davenport is also one of the team’s best sprinters.
The Ridge girls finished second in District 6-4A last year to Boswell and Larson said winning district this year is achievable.
“I think we could do it,” she said. “We just really have to be focused and have a goal.”
Central Lady Chargers
Like the Lady Panthers, the Central girls are strong in middle distance and lead by their best 400 runner, senior Morgan Canty.
The Lady Chargers’ 1600-meter relay has also gotten close to four minutes. Joining Canty are Quadri Newson, Michaela Stevenson and Brooklyn Roberts.
Newson is an outstanding freshman who has one of the best 200 times in the area, with a 25.5.
“She works hard every day,” Coach Nikki Hyles said. “She’s got a lot of speed, combined with her work effort.”
Newson is also part of a very good 800-meter relay team.
The Lady Chargers won the 4-by-200 and 4-by-400 relays at Southlake.
Although Central lost one of the best 800 runners in the state with Kearci Jobe graduating, the team again has two strong 800 competitors. Juniors Erika Carranza and Ericka Stam have both posted 2:24 finishes.
Hyles said that Carroll, with a large, balanced group of athletes, is the team to beat in District 5-5A.
“We are competitive in the district, she said. “We would like to pull out a win.”
Central Boys
On the boy’s side, Central has one of the area’s best sprinters in senior DeAndre Hicks. Hicks has one of the fastest times in Tarrant County in the 100.
Hicks set the school record in the event. “He’s having a very good senior year,” Coach Rory Durham said. “We also have quite a bit of youth on the team, but they’re doing well and getting better each meet.”
The Chargers won their last meet, the Pioneer Relays March 13 at Boswell.
Their sprint relay broke the school record and features Hicks, sophomore Cameron Newson, and juniors Jake Patterson and Neal Vaughn.
The team has also had some good performances in distance, with sophomore Nathan Parker setting a new school record in the 3200 and junior Eric Montou running well in the 800 and 1600.
Durham said that senior Drew Harvey has been one of the best performers in field events, matching a school record in the shot put.
Central hosts a meet April 3, with field events starting at 3:30 p.m.
Keller Lady Indians
The Keller girls have solid performances from veterans and some promising newcomers.
With one of the best cross country teams in the state, the squad’s primary strength is in distance events, and seniors Laleh Mojtabaeezamani and Kelly Dawson set the pace.
At the Argyle meet, Mojtabaeezamani placed first in the 800 and second in the 1600. Dawson took first in the 1600 and third in the 3200. Sophomore Ashley Vincent set personal records in the 1600 and 3200, placing third and first, respectively.
Coach David Coker said he had been pleasantly surprised by some incoming freshmen. Bridgette Jenkins and Katie Polaski have run good times in the 400.
“I’m pretty happy with our freshmen girls,” Coker said. “We have a little more speed than we’ve had in the past.”
At Argyle, the Keller girls placed either second or third in each of the relays, with many of the runners underclassmen.
In field events, senior Taylor Theodore has one of the area’s top marks with 11 feet, six inches in the pole vault. She won the event at Argyle and Coppell. Because of wet conditions, there were no field events at the Carroll meet.
Junior Kaitlin Nichols has also been turning in some strong performances in discus and shot put, placing first and third in those events at Argyle.
The Lady Indians have struggled to get in much practice in the jumping events because of the construction work at Keller ISD Stadium. Jumpers go to Keller Middle School one day a week for event practice.
Keller Boys
The boys also have the challenges of construction on the stadium.
Coach Duane Kroeker said, “We’re plugging right along with the weather and facility issues we have.”
Keller’s Ryan Smith and Austin Rector have been running well so far. Smith, a junior, won the 800 at Argyle.
Sophomore Austin Wittington is strong in the 400, long jump and triple jump. He won the 400 at Argyle and placed third at the Southlake meet.
All three are on the mile relay team, which has been earning points.
Hurdlers Ryan Piersall, Oscar Cadena and Hayden Ronck have been doing well. Piersall and Cadena have two of the area’s best times in the 300, while Ronck is stronger in the 110 race.
In pole vault, Andrew Swegler has been contributing points to the team.
Kroeker said the Indians’ goal is to keep improving while preparing for the District 5-5A meet April 14-15.
As is the case on the girls’ side, Southlake Carroll is the team to beat. The Dragons won last year by more than 100 points.
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