Burnet’s Aviles, Hendrickson’s Thompson among area athletes with a chance at multiple medals
By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com
The UIL state track and field meet begins Thursday and continues through Saturday. Here is a preview of the state meet with athletes to watch, the schedule and links to a full list of qualification by classification.
The schedule
When: Thursday-Saturday
Where: Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas at Austin
Schedule
Field events start and the 3,200 start at 9 a.m. each day, while running events begin at 5 p.m.
- Thursday: Class 4A and 3A
- Friday: Class 5A and 2A
- Saturday: Class 6A and 1A
Austin-area qualifiers
Athletes to watch
Luke Bone, Austin High, junior, Class 6A boys 800: Bone has has the fasted seed time in the field of nine at 1:51.34. He’s just .07 seconds ahead of Alejandro Rosales of San Antonio Churchill.
Kelly Ufodiama, Cedar Ridge, senior, Class 6A girls 100 and 200: Ufodiama doesn’t have the fastest seed time in either event, but the field of qualifiers in the 100 are separated by hundredths of a second, so it’s anyone’s race. There’s a little more separation with seed times in the 200 field of athletes, but only by tenths of a second.
Joseph West, Stony Point, sophomore, Class 6A boys long jump: West has the best seed mark of the field in the 6A boys long jump at 24 feet, 4.75 inches. He will be challenged by Jayden Keys of Katy Tompkins and Jackson Norris of Humble Atascocita.
Aubrey Griffin, Stony Point, senior, Class 6A girls pole vault: It’s a pretty wide-open field with five of the nine competitors having a seed mark of 12-feet, including Griffin. That’s three inches short of the best mark (12-3) held by Katy Seven Lakes’ Carla Angueira-Colombani.
Jacob Henry, Vandegrift, senior, Class 6A boys shot put: Arlington Lamar’s Evan Martinez is the heavy favorite with a seed distance of 67-7.5. The second best is 59-4.25. Henry’s seed mark was 57-6.75, which puts him just outside the top three. However, the future University of Oklahoma wrestler is a medal contender.
Xavier Drumgoole, Round Rock, senior, Class 6A boys triple jump: Drumgoole has the second-best seed jump of the field at 50-3.75. However, it’s just 1.25 inches short of the top distance.
Isabel Conde de Frankenberg, Cedar Park, senior, Class 5A girls 800: The Oregon-bound mid-distance runner has the fastest seed time in the event at 2:09.32. She’ll be challenged by Kailey Littlefield of Lucas Lovejoy and Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion.
Amir Thompson, Hendrickson, senior, Class 5A boys 100 and 200: Thompson has the second-fastest seed time in the 100 at 10.50 seconds, which is .08 seconds behind the fastest set by Fort Bend Marshall’s William Mitchell. In the 200, his time of 21.20 puts him in medal contention, giving the senior the potential for two state medals.
Peace Ese, East View, sophomore, Class 5A girls 400: Ese’s seed time of 55.07 is in medal contention as the third fastest. This could be a tight race as the top five runners are separated by tenths of a second.
Lily Muzzy, Georgetown, junior, Class 5A girls triple jump and long jump: Muzzy is another Austin-area athlete with a chance at winning double medals this weekend. She has the best seed jump in the triple jump at 41-2.75 and is within striking distance in the long jump. Her long jump seed mark is 19-1, which is a group of six with jumps of 19-feet or better.
Victor Aviles, Burnet, junior, Class 4A boys 3,200, 1,600 and 800: Aviles may be the best athlete in the Class 4A state meet on Thursday. Aviles has a chance to medal in all three events the junior is qualified to compete. He has the fastest seed time in the 800 at 1:52.66, which is two seconds faster than the next fastest time. His times in the 3,200 and 1,600 are both the second-fastest in each event.
Swayde Griffin, Lago Vista, junior, Class 4A boys 110 hurdles: A medal contender, Griffin’s seed time of 14.35 seconds puts him as the fourth fastest in a competitive field separated by tenths of a second.
Kaylon Metcalf, Giddings, senior, Class 4A girls shot put: Metcalf has the second-best seed mark at 41-6 in the field of nine in the event. She’s also one of five with a throw over 40 feet.
Avery Koonce, Thrall, senior, Class 2A girls 100 and 200: The field in the 2A girls 100-meter dash is wide open. Koonce is just outside the top three but is in contention to medal. She’s also in contention for a medal in the 200.
Carson McCoy, Thorndale, senior, Class 2A boys 100 and 200: McCoy’s seed time in the 100 is just two-hundredths of second behind Rylen Morris of Honey Grove, who clocked 10.86 seconds. In the 200, McCoy’s seed time is in the top three that’s separated by three tenths of a second.
Bethany Preusse, Thorndale, freshman, Class 2A girls discus: The freshman is the favorite in the event and it’s not even close. Preusse’s seed distance of 145-9 is 10 feet further than the second-furthest distance. She’s also competing in the shot put.