LUBBOCK – Rider’s A’Zhariah Veasy didn’t know what to expect Saturday when she arrived at Lowrey Field.

What had been a promising weekend took a nosedive Friday afternoon when she tweaked her hamstring running a leg on the Lady Raiders’ mile relay.

But Veasy had worked too hard this year to have a setback on possibly the last meet of her high school career.

She avoided a setback for a fourth-place finish in the triple jump and then surprised many who saw her go down the previous afternoon by winning gold in the Region I-5A 400 by .01 of a second.

“Honestly I was hoping I could push through the pain the whole time,” Veasy said. “I came out here not knowing if I was going to do it or not depending on how bad it was going to hurt.”

Veasy admitted to being scared after hearing a pop in her left hamstring the day before. She felt like she’d been shot in the leg and it looked like her state hopes were shot, too.

But Veasy did have some help recovering as Hirschi trainer Steven Offield was in town with the Huskies. He worked on Veasy Friday night and Saturday before she ran, even though the injury didn’t look good.

“It was going to be tough, I knew that for a fact,” Veasy said. “I was scared because I knew I was hurting.”

She wasn’t satisfied with her triple jump, a 37-4 ½ that was about two feet short of qualifying. But just being able to compete also gave her a sliver of confidence heading into the 400.

Using her long strides, Veasy had the lead around the last curve and then it was a matter of holding off a couple challengers. Veasy’s time of 58.05 was slower than her healthy prelim mark, but it was golden with Lubbock Coronado’s Raven Woodson finishing second at 58.06 and Aledo’s Lydia Lawrence third at 58.25.

“I was trying to hold them off honestly because I was in so much pain,” Veasy said. “If they don’t pass, I’ll be fine, but then they came up and I had to go a little bit harder.”

Veasy hobbled to the medal stand to receive her medal and then scratched out of the 200. Trying to run one more race wasn’t worth the risk of worsening the hamstring.  

“I’m really thankful to get back to state again and want to make a bigger appearance,” she said. “Better than last year.”

Vernon, Graham go 1-2 in girls 4x200

Vernon’s Rayah Coleman had her own hamstring problems, scratching out of the 200 the day before. But she was feeling better Saturday and led the Lady Lions to a golden 1:43.62 in the 4x200.

As soon as she crossed the finish line, Coleman embraced Graham’s Rosie Schaffer, who anchored the Lady Blues to a silver and school-record time of 1:43.89.

The two District 6-4A teams had battled back and forth in recent weeks with Graham coming out on top at area. Now they can celebrate a trip to state.

“It was a really big blessing for us,” said Vernon’s Bethany Jones, who ran with Shykerra Fanner, Avery Kinney and Coleman. “We just want to thank God and our family and our coaches for pushing us. For the next two weeks, we’re going to train hard because we’re going to do great at state.”

“We’ve been battling a lot of injuries and so we’ve all been having to keep our heads straight and tell ourselves we can do this,” said Graham’s Allison Lee, who ran with Summer Croxton, Claire Jones and Schaffer. “Yesterday was a big step for us and gave us a lot of confidence that we could come out there and do this today.”

 

Burkburnett’s Lewis earns second berth

A day after winning bronze in the 3,200, Burkburnett’s Sloan Lewis grabbed a silver in the mile with a time of 4:31.77. San Elizario’s Edwin Gomez, the 3,200 champ, finished two seconds ahead for gold.

Lewis earned a bronze medal in the mile at state last year and is looking

“I can’t be disappointed. I’m going to state – it’s an honor,” Lewis said. “I like the competition and I have respect for everyone out there. Running is what I enjoy, what I like to do.”  

REGION I-4A MEET 

BOYS

Team standings – 1. Hirschi, 68; 2. Midlothian Heritage, 52; 3. (tie) Big Spring, 51 and Brownwood 51; 5. (tie) San Elizario, 35 and Alvardo 35; 17. Burkburnett 14; 20t. Vernon 10.

Discus – 1. Jacob Mechler, Andrews, 174-0; 2. Paxton Hair, Andrews, 173-11; 3. AJ Gonzales, Big Spring, 144-7; 13. Will Hays, Graham, 128-2.

Long jump – 1. Jeremiah Colley, Big Spring, 22-8 ½; 2. Javen Banks, Hirschi, 22-5; 3. Carlos Gray, Mineral Wells, 22-3 1/2. 

400 relay – 1. Hirschi, 42.49; 2. Brownwood, 42.67; 3. Alvardo, 42.91.

800 – 1. Aaron Martinez, Big Spring, 1:56.83; 2. Tyler Walker, Midlothian Heritage, 1:58.00; 3. Fernando Borunda, Perryton, 1:58.62; 6. Jonathan Sanchez, Graham, 2:03.97; 10. Riley Elliott, Vernon, 2:06.80.

110 hurdles – 1. Mathew Bowser, Benbrook School, 14.51; 2. Ryan Bornemeier, Dalhart, 14.68; 3. Gatlin Martin, Abilene Wylie, 14.91.

100 – 1. Aye Aridegbe, Venus, 10.70; 2. Kevin Young, Benbrook School, 10.71; 3. Marlon Jones, Borger, 10.72; 5. Daimarqua Foster, Hirschi, 10.86.

800 relay – 1. Hirschi, 1:27.73; 2. Midlothian Heritage, 1:28.99; 3. Borger, 1:29.31.

400 – 1. Aaron Martinez, Big Spring, 49.99; 2. Estevan Mendoza, Denver City, 50.29; 3. Fernando Esquivel, Fort Stockton, 50.52. 

300 hurdles – 1. Drayden James, Glen Rose, 39.46; 2. Gatlin Martin, Abilene Wylie, 39.61; 3. Demetrius Uplegger, Venus, 39.65.

200 – 1. Gerrick McKinney, Hirschi, 21.48; 2. Langston Anderson, Midlothian Heritage, 21.62; 3. Jaylan Henderson, Waxahachie Life, 21.78. 

1,600 – 1. Edwin Gomez, San Elizario, 4:29.59; 2. Sloan Lewis, Burkburnett, 4;31.77; 3. Aaron Svetlecic, Alvarado, 4:39.03; 15. Riley Elliott, Vernon, 5:16.23.

1,600 relay – 1. Midlothian Heritage, 3:21.73; 2. Waxahachie Life, 3:21.75; 3. Big Spring, 3:22.49.

GIRLS

Team standings – 1. Waxahachie Life 76; 2. Brownwood 72; 3. Kennedale 70; 4. Abilene Wylie 51; 5. Stephenville 45; 6. Graham 31; 11t. Vernon 23; 13t. Hirschi 18; 24t. Burkburnett 2.

Pole vault – 1. Trinity Buitron, Brownwood, 10-9. 2. Ashley Amico, Dalhart, 10-6. 3. Kallin Bramlett, Stephenville, 10-6; 6. Morgan Shook, Graham, 9-6; 11. Jourdan Daily, Graham, 8-0; 12. Makenzie Graham, Graham, 8-0.

Shot put – 1. Nicole King, Graham, 36-6 ½; 2. Keasha Robinson, Lubbock Estacado, 36-5 ½;. 3. Breana Rosentreter, Gren Rose, 36-3 ½; 5. Bethany Jones, Vernon, 34-9 ½; 6. Jaila McBride, Vernon, 33-9.

High jump – 1. Ally Andress, Glen Rose, 5-8. 2. Ajanique Wells, Big Spring, 5-4. 3. Lauren Allen, Waxahachie Life, 5-4; 13. Danielle Stanfill, Vernon, 4-10.

Triple jump – 1. Dejah Fuller, Waxahachie Life, 37-10; 2. Shayden Toof, Stephenville, 37-4 ½; 3. Hailey Martin, Stephenville, 36-3 ¼; 10. Chloe Menard, Graham, 33-5; 11. Emily Schaefer, Graham, 33-1 ¼.

400 relay – 1. Kennedale 47.25; 2. Waxahachie Life 47.45; 3. Hirschi 49.12; 6. Graham 50.23; 8. Vernon 50.77.

800 – 1. Kyra Young, Brownwood, 2;16.57. 2. Leandra Benton, Abilene Wylie, 2:20.17. 3. Abbigayle Gollihar, Abilene Wylie, 2:25.15.

110 hurdles – 1. Kirrah Powell, Borger, 14.70. 2. Bailey McBee, Stephenville, 14.78. 3. Ambria Brekke, Abilene Wylie, 15.07. 

100 – 1. Alexis Brown, Kennedale, 11.64. 2. Karley Orman, Dalhart, 12.13. 3. Breonna Campbell, Hirschi, 12.28.

800 relay – 1. Vernon 1:43.62; 2. Graham 1:43.89; 3. Lubbock Estacado 1:44.50.

400 – 1. Danika Washington, Benbrook, 57.23. 2. Jayda Jones, Waxahachie Life, 57.65. 3. Aleyia Cotton, Brownwood, 58.87; 8. Ja’Kiah Pederson, Hirschi, 1:05.05.

300 hurdles – 1. Kayla Jenkins, Waxahachie Life, 46.44. 2. Madison Latham, Abilene Wylie, 46.49. 3. Trinity Buirtron, Brownwood, 46.61. 

200 – 1. Alexis Brown, Kennedale, 24.17. 2. Karley Orman, Dalhart, 25.08. 3. Skyler Lewis, Kennedale, 25.12; 5. Summer Croxton, Graham, 25.35; 7. Jada Shaw, Hirschi, 27.24; 8. Breonna Campbell, Hirschi 27.46.

1,600 – 1. Renee Elliott, Midlothian Heritage, 5:26.99. 2. Kyra Young, 5:30.63. 3. Bethany Roden, Pampa, 5:35.69; 6. Olivia Johnson, Burkburnett, 5:48.22.

1,600 relay – 1. Midlothian Heritage, 3:21.73. 2. Waxahachie Life, 3:21.75. 3. Big Spring, 3:22.49.