Haskell Maidens vying for podium finish behind well-rounded team

AUSTIN — The Haskell Maidens have become a force in Class 2A track and field.

A year ago, for example, they placed second as a team at the state meet.

Haskell has a chance to one-up that this weekend.

The Maidens placed first as a team at the Region II-2A meet in Springtown on April 24, posting 106 team points. They are sending three relay teams — sprint, 800 and 1,600 — to this year’s Class 2A state meet, which is Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.

Haskell also has two individual athletes competing: Lanayah Green (triple jump) and Harley Medford (shot put).

“Our hard work and dedication to track has paid off,” senior Emma Roewe said.

Roewe, senior Brittany Andrews and sophomore Savanna Camacho are competitors on all three of the Maidens relay team. There is a different fourth runner in each race. Jolie Torres runs the sprint relay, Green runs the 800 relay and Asia Billington runs the mile relay.

With times of 50.14 and 1:44.44, respectively, the Maidens’ sprint and 800 relays enter the state meet as the top-seeded teams. And Haskell is second in the 1,600 at 4:03.24.

A built-in chemistry between each of the athletes has made the Maidens a force in the relays.

“We have really good teamwork,” Andrews said. “We rely on each other in all the relays, so we’re either handing off to each other or cheering each other on.”

The Maidens’ individual competitors also have a chance to be on the podium. Green and Medford enter state as the fourth seed in their events.

Maidens head coach Mindy Myers, a state champion in track when she attended nearby Munday High School, credited the program’s success to the wide variety of different skill sets from within the team.

“It’s nice because you know you’re going to get points from other areas,” Myers said. “It just makes you more well rounded. To have that capability is really nice.”

Though Haskell earned a podium finish a year ago, the Maidens weren’t satisfied with that. They want to win.

The Maidens took off one day after regionals but the following Monday, they were back in the heat, preparing for the season’s culminating event.

“We always put in the work, before and after school,” Camacho said. “We’re all wanting to win.”

Andrews added, “We don’t need breaks.”

Myers has lofty goals for her team.

She wants Maidens on the medal stand in every event they compete in. And more than that, she wants to see improvement in times and distances from each of her athletes.

“If we take care of business, do what we’re supposed to do, it’s all going to work out good,” Myers said.

Haskell’s student-athletes don’t see these aspirations as unreasonable — they have similarly high hopes.

“We want to win the whole thing,” Roewe said. “We’re excited to represent our community. We want to do well so everyone knows where Haskell is.”

Other 2A competitors to watch

Several other athletes are strong contenders to win medals in Class 2A.

Sarah Cotter of Albany is tied for the top seed in girls high jump at 5-3.

Also from Albany is Adam Hill, who is .01 off the top seed in the 110 hurdles. Hill enters at 15.00, while Ropes’ Kutter Partington is at 14.99. And just .01 behind Hill is Colorado City’s Jordan Raschke at 15.01.

From Stamford, Charles Moore has the top time in the 200-meter dash, while Dylan Faulks is fourth in the 300 hurdles. Bresha Applin is fourth in the girls 200, while Tylee Jo Bevel is two inches below Cotter’s high jump seed at 5-1.

Coleman has a couple of athletes expected to perform well. Senior Devinar Roberson is the top seed in the boys high jump and triple jump, and he’s also a qualifier in long jump. On the girls side, Jordan Rae is a medal contender for the Bluekatts in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.

And from Anson, Meadow Gallentine’s distance of 41-07.75 is the top seed in the girls shot put.

Lehr, Saling, O’Malley headline 3A

From Class 3A, a few athletes won first place at the Region I-3A meet.

Alyssa O’Malley of Merkel won four gold medals at regionals in high jump, pole vault, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. O’Malley is tied for the No. 2 seed in the 100 hurdles (14.83) and a medal contender in the other three events as well.

Just .07 behind O’Malley in the 100 hurdles is Clyde’s Payton Phillips, who is the fourth seed entering state.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the boys 800 both hail from the Big Country. Chase Lehr of Breckenridge ran a 1:54.45 at regionals to win gold, followed close behind by Jim Ned’s Chris Saling (1:55.40).

Breckenridge also has a strong 800 relay team, which enters state with the third-best time. Adrian Ruiz is a part of that team and is the No. 3 seed individually in the 200 (22.01). Sean Cooksey is also a leg of the team, and he is the second seed in the 100.

Several 4A athletes vying for medals

Stephenville’s Ben Kirbo comes into state at pole position. His clearance of 15-6 in the boys pole vault is the best in the class, three inches above Argyle’s Mitchell Thompson.

Also from Stephenville, senior Jaylee Matthews enters state second in the girls discus throw with a distance of 143-11.

From Snyder, Jay Castillo is the top seed in the 400. He has a seeding time of 48.65 seconds.

Big Spring’s Niomi Wines is just one inch off the best height in the Class 4A girls high jump. She cleared 5-5 at the Region I-4A meet in Lubbock on April 26. Wines is also a qualifier in the 200-meter dash.

Sweetwater senior Harrison Foster has the third-best seeding time in the 300 hurdles and fourth-best time in the 110 hurdles. Foster won regional championships in both events at the region meet.

Adrian Solis of Big Spring is the three seed in the 800-meter run at 1:56.61.

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: Haskell Maidens vying for podium finish at state track meet