Abilene High's Villa, Murray set personal bests at Region I-6A track meet

Carson Field, Abilene Reporter-News
·1 min read
Abilene High's Andruw Villa (right) runs next to El Paso Eastwood's Andres Gurrola in the boys 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington on Friday.
Abilene High's Andruw Villa (right) runs next to El Paso Eastwood's Andres Gurrola in the boys 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington on Friday.

ARLINGTON — Abilene High opened the Region I-6A track and field meet Friday at Maverick Stadium with two personal bests.

Sophomore Andruw Villa ran a 9:25.82 in the boys 3,200 race to finish in fifth place and earn two team points for the Eagles.

Freshman Mason Murray got 10th in the girls 3,200 with a time of 11:29.99.

Neither athlete qualified for the state meet, but both ran well en route to setting personal records.

“It was a bittersweet moment,” Villa said. “I didn’t qualify, like I wanted to, but I still got a PR by a few seconds. I’m still proud of it.”

Abilene High's Mason Murray runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.
Abilene High's Mason Murray runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.

In the boys 3,200, Plano West’s Hudson Heikkinen earned gold, finishing in 9:15.32. Natalie Cook of Flower Mound, an Oklahoma State signee, set a meet record in the girls race, posting a time of 9:54.66.

As underclassmen, Murray and Villa will both have chances to qualify for the state meet in years ahead.

“It’s pretty motivating,” Villa said. I’m keeping up with a lot of these seniors and juniors and I’m a sophomore. It’s pretty motivating to think about where I’ll be in my senior year.”

After finishing second at the area in the 1,600, Villa will compete in the regional finals in that event Saturday evening.

Abilene High's Andruw Villa runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.
Abilene High's Andruw Villa runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.
Abilene High's Mason Murray runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.
Abilene High's Mason Murray runs in the 3,200 at the Region I-6A track and field meet in Arlington.

Other Abilene High athletes who were to competed Friday were Noah Hatcher (110 hurdles prelims, 300 hurdles prelims), Devare Payne (110 hurdles prelims, high jump) and Logan Smith (pole vault).

► Go to reporternews.com for the latest results from the Region I-6A track and field meet.

Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to reporternews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene High's Villa, Murray set personal bests at region track meet