High school track & field: Several Palestine athletes receive Academic All-State honors

Juwan Lee, Palestine Herald-Press, Texas
·2 min read

May 23—The Palestine Wildcats had several members of the track and field teams receive Academic All-State honors for this past season, including an All-State honoree in Dreylon Spurlock.

Spurlock was named to the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association All-State team. The sophomore finished with a gold medal at district, area and regionals to earn his spot at the state meet. He clocked his best time of the season at state with a 21.50s run. He finished at 21.9s in the district, 22.32s at area and 21.72s at regionals.

"One thing I preached is for them to understand what we are as Palestine," head coach Brandon Hargers said. "I feel like he's one of the top runners in the state. He worked hard and accomplished a lot to be a sophomore. I still feel like he doesn't know how fast he is. Sky's the limit for him."

Wildcats Ty Stedman, Reese Hargers, Shedrick Dudley, Carson Freeman, SaVarion Martin, Don Brooks, La'Deveon Thompson and Isaiah Hill were all Academic All-State runners.

For the Ladycats, Savannah Alder, Camila Dominguez, Ay'lasia Fantroy and Jocelyn Musil were Academic All-State athletes. Selest Edwards, Kyi'Marri Ester, Musil, Chimsi Okonkwo, Jaylah Spurlock and Jayla Ward were All-State track and field competitors.

The Ladycats 4x100 relay team of Ward, Okonkwo, Ester and Musil placed eighth at state with a time of 48.56s. That time overtook their time at regionals by nearly a full second.

"My first year we had a senior-led team and this is what you hope for," head coach Carlos Simmons said. "A lot of programs can't make it to state in four years, let alone two months. I'm proud of their achievements. They've left an example for the future of Palestine track."