Regional track meets feature large group from county

Posted 4/28/22

At this stage of the spring, fans are accustomed to reading of the spectacular individual performances which may launch a track and field athlete out of the area to regional competition and possibly beyond. 

Seldom, however, do local track teams take area titles – it is just a very, very difficult thing to achieve.

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Regional track meets feature large group from county

Posted

It has already been a long scholastic sports season in Wood County and one of the best on record. Alba-Golden, Mineola and Quitman have already each been busy in playoffs throughout the year. 

Fans of local sports have had their choice of just which playoff game to attend. It has been a great sporting year and promises more to come. 

At this stage of the spring, fans are accustomed to reading of the spectacular individual performances which may launch a track and field athlete out of the area to regional competition and possibly beyond. 

Seldom, however, do local track teams take area titles – it is just a very, very difficult thing to achieve. Once area meets commence, the competition stiffens smartly, and participants are drawn from a huge area in East Texas. To win an area title, as a team, is an amazing accomplishment.

For sports fans where else would one want to be than in Wood County this year?

Here are the amazing results from last weeks’ area track and field competitions:

Alba-Golden Boys Track and Field Area (2A Districts 15/16) Champions

Mineola Girls Track and Field Area (3A Districts 13/14) Champions

Quitman Girls Track and Field Area (3A Districts 13/14) Second Place 

Alba-Golden Girls Track and Field Area (2A Districts 15/16) Second Place 

Mineola Boys Track and Field Area (3A Districts 13/14) Second Place 

Quitman Boys Track and Field Area (3A Districts 13/14) Fifth Place. 

For Alba-Golden, the boys secured their title by a huge margin – 36 points. Of note, the Panthers claimed the decisive win with only two first-place individual finishes. Jake Hallman took the 100-meter dash, and Luke Morrison won the pole vault competition. Amazingly, 15 Panther athletes added to the point totals to build that large winning margin. It was a total team victory. 

The Lady Jackets also took their area title. Olivia Hughes continued her stellar year by winning the 400-meter and 800-meter races. The 4x400-meter relay team of Shylah Kratzmeyer, Kozbie Riley, Carmen Carrasco and Olivia Hughes also took a blue ribbon, winning the points that claimed the championship. Eight event finishes contributed to the point total.

The Quitman girls team finished in a tie for second place with 88 points, one point behind the winning Mineola total. Brooklyn Marcee led the Lady Bulldogs with blue ribbons in the 100-meter hurdles and the pole vault. Quitman earned points from 14 other athletes.  

The Lady Panthers finished second at area. They leveraged seven second-place finishes. Of special note was the contribution of Cacie Lennon who took second-place ribbons in the 10-meter dash, the long jump, the shot put and was a member of the second-place finishing 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams. 

The Mineola boys team gave area champions Atlanta all they could handle. Mineola finished with 103 points, just ten points shy of the Rabbits. The Jackets benefitted from winning efforts by Jamarcus Kennedy (200 meters), J.J. Gandy (300m-meter hurdles), and Stephen Ogueri (shot put and discus). Eleven additional athletes rounded out their point total. 

The Bulldogs of Quitman finished in fifth place at the area meet. This is no small accomplishment, as there were 14 teams competing at the area meet. Ford Tannebaum took the 110-meter hurdles title, while the Bulldogs 4x400-meter relay (Dalton Crowson, Brandon Jimenez, Cason Johnson and Jack Tannebaum) secured a second-place finish.  

While area schools all undergo the cyclic nature of sports success over time, it bears special note that the Alba-Golden boys track and field team secured their first district championship and first area championship this year. It came in the same week that Panther baseball claimed their first baseball district pennant in school history.