Monday, April 27, 2009

Wylie track girls in good position at Region

By MARK WILSON
Sports Writer

ODESSA - The Wylie girls track team just keeps going, and going, and going....

The Lady Bulldogs positioned themselves Friday for a possible repeat victory in the chase for the girls team trophy on the opening day of the Region I-3A track meet at Ratliff Stadium.

The Wylie girls qualified for today's finals in all three relay events, posting their fastest times of the year in all three. Wylie also has nine qualified for regional in individual events.

"I think we've got a real good chance of getting all of them out," Wylie coach Kerry Hibbits said of the relays. "We improved our 800 relay by about 21/2 seconds (to 1:45.65, the best prelim time). They competed real well."

The Lady Bulldogs had one subpar handoff on the sprint relay, but their time of 50.2 was still the second-best of the day behind the 49.7 of Childress.

Breckenridge notched the fastest time in the girls 1,600-meter relay, at 4:07.62. Dimmitt was second at 4:09.24 and Wylie third with a 4:09.75.

The finals in all running events other than the already-completed 3,200-meter run will be held today at Ratliff, with the first of the four remaining field events - the girls triple jump - kicking off the action at 10 a.m.

First and second place finshers in each event qualify for the state meet in Austin.

Krissy Nigar of Clyde qualified with her best long jump ever to take second place behind Faleshia Jackson of Childrss. Nigar, whose previous best was her 17-101/2 in winning the District 6-3A long jump title, easily topped that mark with a leap of 18-11/2. Jackson shattered her best mark of 15-5 with a jump of 18-21/2.

Nigar said she became a little complacent at one point in the competition, when she had the best jump.

"I think it's good that I got second," said Nigar, who was fifth in the regional meet a year ago. Now I won't be satisfied with this.

"I really wanted to get first, but I'm happy with getting to go to Austin. I really think I can jump better, and I think I can at state. The weather conditions were real good. It's just need to get tougher mentally."

Eastland high jumper Chad Foreman didn't have a good day - except for the fact that he qualified for Austin.

David Crum of Lubbock Cooper took first in the event, at 6-8.

Foreman, who has gone 6-10 this season, managed to take second place despite only clearing 6-6 Friday. He tied Iowa Park's Shawn Fulfer at that height, but a tiebreaker giving credit for fewer jumps gave Foreman the state berth over Fulfer.

"I passed at 5-10. I got lucky," said the 6-6 senior, who didn't have one of his better days despite the perfect weather - with a high in the upper 80s and light wind. "You only have so many jumps in you, and (5-10) is a low height.

"Today was a perfect day. Warming up, I felt like I had a 6-10 in me, or possibly seven feet. I just had a few mental errors.

"I missed once at 6-6, and that broke my concentration. My first goal was to get out, and then I wanted to break the regional record (6-10) - and possibly break the school record, which is seven feet. Maybe in Austin."

Foreman will have at least one other Eastland teammate with him in Austin. Sophomore Morgan Moylan also took second without coming close to her previous best mark.

Her toss of 119-6 was second to the 124-2 of Julea Ricks of Iowa Park, and Comanche's Kristi Tyson was third with 117-11. Moylan, who had a pesky wind to deal with during her event, had posted a 134-4 throw earlier this season.

"The wind kept catching the discus and throwing it up, and my form wasn't quite as good" she said.
Moylan was still thrilled with qualifying for Austin after taking seventh place a year ago as a freshman.

"It's great," Moylan said. "I just came in with all coach (Ronnie) Hughes had told me to do, and somehow pulled it together."