Both the girls and the boys track teams won their third straight TAPPS 2A title. The Lady Cardinals scored 145 points to run away from the competition as second-place Waco Live Oak Classical School recorded 83 points.
The St. Paul boys got their third straight title by the narrowest of margins as they recorded 96 points, with First Baptist Academy at their heels with 95 and third-place Ovilla Christian was third with 94 points.
Im really excited for the girls. They work extremely hard day in and day out. They had a lot of pressure coming in as back to back State Champions, girls coach Dana Beal-Sestak said.
Im happy for the two seniors who participated and qualified. To win three straight state championships is an amazing accomplishment. It speaks to the dedication and work ethic of these young ladies. Everyone single girl contributed to this title.
Im just very proud of the team. They fought back from adversity and they never quit. Great team effort, boys head coach Jake Wachsmuth said. We knew it was going to be tough. Track meets have highs and lows. Winning by one point makes you really appreciate the fact that every single person on the team was important.
Lady Cardinal junior Parker Clay set a new TAPPS 2A state meet record in the shot put. she had a best throw of 43 feet to best the 39-9 1/2 distance set by Ashley Field of Marble Falls Faith Academy in 2008. Clay had throws of 36-9 3/4, 38-8, 40-2 1/2, 42 8 1/2 and 41-3 in her other throws.
Parker has put in a lot of hours and hard work to accomplish not only a state championship but to set a new state record. She qualified for the Texas Relays and that experience helped her prepare for the pressure of participating at state, Beal-Sestak said.
In other first-place finishers for St. Paul, Clay won the discus with 128-4, Emma Morgan got 9-6 in the pole vault, the 800-relay got first in 1:51.96 and the 1600-relay team won in 4:19.83.
Senior Emma Morgan won her third state title in the Pole Vault while recording her personal best vault. She also ran a personal best in the 3200 and 1600, Beal-Sestak said.
As a whole we accomplished a lot of personal records. It was a complete team effort with everyone exceeding their past performances. To do that in such a huge arena speaks to their competitiveness."
"While each relay ran their best time, the 4x200m relay won its first gold in five years and we won our first ever 4x400m relay.
For the boys, Austin Barton won the discus with 125-5.
Austin Barton and Ryan Bell provided great leadership. They have been a part of all three state champion track teams. Great seniors, Wachsmuth said. We had a lot of great performances over the two days but to me, Austin and Ryan led the team by their efforts. They each competed in five events. Hopefully our younger kids will follow their lead in the future.
( see also this Victoria Advocate Sports article )
2017 TAPPS 2A State Track & Field Meet Results:
TAPPS 2A GIRLS Field Events: Shot put 1st, Parker Clay, 43-0 4th, Christine Wagner, 29-9 1/2. Discus 1st, Parker Clay,128-4. High jump 4th, Mallory Pokluda, 4-6. Long Jump 8th, Irena Fikac, 14-3 3/4. Pole vault 1st, Emma Morgan, 9-6. Triple jump 3rd, Grace Irvin, 33-4 3/4; 7th, Irena Fikac, 31-5; 8th, Delynn Pesek, 31-1 1/2. Running Events: 100 8th, Mallory Pokluda, 13.62. 100 hurdles 3rd, Grace Irvin, 17.33; 5th, Riley Johnson, 17.61. 300 hurdles 3rd, Riley Johnson, 50.21. 200 8th, Emma Hull, 28.71; 9th, Mallory Pokluda, 28.78. 800 4th, Bailey Blair, 29.72. 1600 4th, Emma Morgan, 5:45.88; 6th, Bailey Blair, 6:01.68. 3200 4th, Emma Morgan, 12:46.99; 6th, Bailey Blair, 13:16.39. 400 relay 2nd, Gracey Novosad / Emma Hull / Elyssa Wagner / Hope Kapavik, 53.32. 800 relay 1st, Gracey Novosad / Mallory Pokluda / Grace Irvin / Elyssa Wagner, 1:51.96. 1600 relay 1st, Riley Johnson / Hope Kapavik / Grace Irvin / Elyssa Wagner, 4:19.83. __________________________________________________________________ TAPPS 2A BOYS Field Events: Shot put 2nd, Austin Barton, 42-3 1/4. Discus 1st, Austin Barton, 125-5; 3rd, Josh Haynes, 116-0; 7th, Weston Geiger, 105-4. High jump 6th, Will Knox, 5-8. Long jump 3rd, Ryan Bell, 19-6 1/2; 9th, Conor Kresta,16-3/4. Pole vault 4th, Will Knox, 10-6; 5th, Josh Haynes, 10-0. Triple jump 2nd, Ryan Bell, 41-2 1/4. Running Events: 110 hurdles 6th, Cole Brown, 18.35. 300 hurdles 5th, Patrick Green, 43.98 400 6th, Austin Barton, 53.38. 800 8th, Lane Jackson, 2:13.17. 1600 5th, Lane Jackson, 10:31.54. 3200 4th, Lane Jackson, 10:31.54. 400 relay 4th, Zach Davis / Ryan Bell / Conor Kresta / Austin Barton, 45.37. 800 relay 8th, Zach Davis / Ryan Bell / Joseph Natal / Conor Kresta, 1:38.04. 1600 relay 4th, Patrick Green / Ryan Bell / Austin Barton / Cole Brown, 3:39.65.