CRUISE CONTROL: Refugio boys coast to first UIL state track title since 2001

AUSTIN — The start of Friday's running portion of the UIL State Meet was as thrilling as they come.

Refugio sophomore Ernest Campbell ran down three competitors on his anchor leg of the boys 400-meter relay to help the Bobcats win the event and start their charge to the Class 2A state title.

The ending was anything but thrilling, but a happy one nonetheless.

Refugio took any excitement out of the end of the meet before the gun went off on the final two events, coasting to a team title with 77 points, its first since 2001. Second-place Hamilton ended with 47 points.

J. Henry Moore's fourth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, coupled with a sixth-place finish from Hamilton's Taylor Long secured the championship for the Bobcats, a year after finishing second to Shiner at the UIL State Track Meet.

Campbell wore three gold medals by the end of the meet, along with hoisting the state championship trophy, anchoring victories in the 400- and 800-meter relays and winning the 100-meter dash.

The sophomore sped to a time of 10.32 to claim his second consecutive title in the fastest race on the track, besting Kerens' Jared Brackens, who came in as the top qualifier.

Refugio's 400 relay (Antwaan Gross, Jordan Kelley, Marvin Fox, Campbell) clocked a 41.93 in winning gold. Kelley, Fox, Moore and Campbell set a new Class 2A record, bypassing rival Shiner's old mark by clocking a 1:28.09.

"My lean first at the finish line helped me," Campbell said. "The record means a lot. We've been working hard to get it all year."

The Bobcats also got points in the triple jump from Gross (third), 300 hurdles from Chai Whitmire (sixth place) and Moore in the 400 (fourth).

Head track coach Adam Spiegleman said working toward the state championship was a week-by-week process.

"We took it meet by meet," Spiegleman said. "We had been building toward this with the kids we had coming back. We felt like this was a possibility. It was the goal. We didn't shy away from it."

The team race was effectively over after the Bobcats set the record in winning the 800 relay and Campbell made an "it's over" gesture after crossing the finish line in first.

Spiegleman said Campbell's spectacular anchor leg in the 400 relay set the tone on Friday.

"For him to do what he did ... we knew Timpson and Marlin could fly," Spiegleman said. "To do what he did set the tone for the whole day."

Kelley, one of three seniors that scored for Refugio on Friday, said after the team finished second in 2021, the team knew it could win a state title.

"After the end of last year, we always knew we had a chance to come out here and win a state title," said Kelley, who ran in all three relays. "This group of kids has put in nothing but hard work this year and it paid off tonight.

"Coming into the mile relay, we knew we were going to get pushed early by Beckville. There were 3:22s in the field and our PR was a 3:29 this year. We came here and PRed by eight seconds (3:21.09) and I couldn't be more proud of this team."

Even though they had the team title in the bag, the Bobcats pushed in the 1,600 relay and Moore nearly caught the leader from Centerville with 100 meters to spare, before settling for second, to claim 56 points from the relays alone.

"It has meant a lot to have been a part of this program for four years, but to go out with a state title, something we hadn't done in 21 years, means even more," Kelley said.

OTHER FINISHERS

• Moody had a pair of dual qualifiers in sprinter Darrell Nation and hurdler Clarence McGill.

Nation finished sixth in the 200-meter dash, an event he favors with a 21.27. His 10.73 100 time was good for eighth in Class 5A.

McGill, making his second trip to the UIL State Meet, finished eighth in the 110 hurdles (14.83) and eighth in the 300 hurdles (38.24).

McGill will run track and play football at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II school in North Carolina.

• While the Refugio boys had much of the spotlight, the Bobcats girls had a solid day under the radar.

Freshman Ciara Tilley finished second in the Class 2A girls shot put (39-10.5) and her classmate Riley Haug (1:00.30) took third in the 200-meter dash.

Junior Peyton Oliver took fourth in the 2A girls 200 (12.37) as the Bobcats racked up 18 points in the team race.

• Gregory-Portland's Madison Snody narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the Class 5A girls pole vault.

Snody, a sophomore, cleared 11-6 to finish fourth. Flour Bluff senior Olivia Mitchell took sixth with a clearance of 11-0.

• Riviera hurdler Jared Wallace initially finished in fourth place, but after a disqualification, the Seahawks senior made the medal stand.

Wallace's time of 15.29 took third after Albany's Adam Hill was disqualified.

• Veterans Memorial junior Toni Woods clocked a 57.85 to finish ninth in the Class 5A girls 400.

Quinton Martinez covers all things sports in South Texas. Support local coverage like this by checking out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Refugio boys coast to first UIL state track title since 2001