T&F: Frustration dampens CHS at Regional Meet
from teammate Jeremy Small (right) in the 4x100-meter relay
Monday at Turner Stadium in Humble. CHS qualified for the finals in
the event with a time of 42.37. (Photo by John Krueger)
HUMBLE -- The margin for error for track teams begins to shrink after teams advance past their district meets and head to regional. That margin was magnified Monday afternoon as two of Center's relay teams were disqualified in the preliminary round of the Class 3A Region III Track & Field Championships held here at Turner Stadium.
The most noted DQ came for the Roughrider 4x200 relay team of J'Von Jones, Ty Hubbard, Jeremy Small and Jacovian Johnson, who were hoping to advance to that coveted State meet after capturing top honors at the District 18-3A Meet with a time of 1:30.2.
"I really thought this relay was one of our better chances of not only making it to State, but possibly placing in the top three once we got there," said a distraught Center boys Head Track Coach Mickey Smith on Monday. "They were really peaking at the right time and getting their times down."
Meet officials did not allow athletes to use their own 'marks' at the Regional meet. Marks are used in relays so athletes can have their own individual indicators on the track as to where they will start running and where to make their handoffs.
Smith said when one of his runners was told he had to use the Humble ISD marks provided, he became confused as to where to get them and he was not ready when the official put up the white flag, indicating runners were ready for the start of the race; thus came the disqualification.
"It's really disappointing to get disqualified because of something like that; I'm just sick about it," Smith stated. "He just became confused and I feel the track official should have helped him out more or given him the time to get his marks and get them down."
Track officials appeared to give very little leniency when it came to athletes being on their spots on time. Coaches aren't allowed on the track area during the races.
West Orange-Stark had the top qualifying time going into Tuesday's finals in the 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:27.89.
Center's 4x100-meter relay foursome of Nakisha Bolton, Ashley Sigler, Requanoh Patton and Omattie Swindle also received a disqualification when it failed to make one of its handoffs within the allotted exchange zones. The group had qualified second at the district meet with a time of 51.026.
West Orange-Stark was the top qualifying team on Monday with a time of 48.95.
Center Boys' Results
In the field events of the Regional Meet, Roughrider Jeremy Small qualified for the finals of the triple jump in eighth place with a best leap of 43'0.5", and finished eighth in the region after failing to top his qualifying leap in the finals. His best jump in the finals was 42'5.25".
Center's Grant Belrose finished 11th in the Region in the pole vault, clearing 12'6", while teammate Joel Koonce posted the 13th-best height with an 11'6". Belrose had qualified with a 12'6", posting the second-best height at the league meet. Mark Thomas of Lorena won the Region III pole vault with a height of 15'6".
Jones struggled with spike problems in the high jump competition. Also, because of a delay in beginning the high jump event, he had to go back and forth between it and running events. He finished tied for ninth in the high jump with a height of 6'0". Mark Jackson of Taylor took top honors with a 6'8".
Johnson qualified for the finals in the 200-meter dash, posting the sixth-best time in the preliminaries and second-best time in his heat on Monday with a 22.55. He had won the district event with a 22.573.
Hubbard was also in the 200-meters after taking the runner-up spot to his teammate at district. He posted a time of 22.97 in the preliminaries, which was the 10th-best time, missing the finals. Cortney Davis of Gladewater had the top qualifying time of 22.10.
Demarcus Brown placed second in his heat of the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.11. He advanced to the finals with the sixth-best time after posting a 42.095 to finish third at district. Freddie Allen of Tatum had the best qualifying time on Monday with a 38.95.
The Center 4x100-meter relay team advanced to Tuesday's finals as Jones, Hubbard, Small and Johnson ran second in their heat and had the fifth-best overall qualifying time with a 42.45. That time was better than the district meet time of 42.672. West Orange-Stark had the top qualifying time of 41.42.
Smith elected to pull Jones and Small out of the 100-meter dash preliminaries, wanting them to save their energy for the relays.
Center Girls' Results
Although they had some outstanding efforts, no Center Lady Riders qualified for the finals on Monday.
Carla Harless posted a time of 2:48.54 in the 800-meter run, which was the 18th-best time in the preliminaries. Talea Turner of Waco Connally was the top qualifier for the finals with a time of 2:28.62.
Swindle ran a 13.29 in the 100-meter dash, which was 17th overall. Maeson Mondrik of Cameron Yoe posted the fastest time overall with a 12.19.
Swindle also competed in the 200-meter dash. She ran a 28.28, which was 19th overall. Aliyah Davis of Spring Hill went on to the finals with the best time of 24.88.
Alisha Harrison did not compete in the 110-meter hurdle event, nor did the Lady Rider 4x400-meter relay.