Johnson County athletes qualify for UIL state track & field championships

May 1—Among the five individuals and three relay teams from Johnson County that qualified for the UIL state track and field championships this past weekend is Grandview junior Easton Hatleberg.

Hatleberg had a dominant performance at the Class 3A Region III championships at Midway High School in Waco as he qualified for state in both of the throwing events.

In the shot put, Hatleberg not only established a personal record and school record, but he set a new meet record for Class 3A Region III with a throw of 55 feet, 3.25 inches to earn a regional title, besting the rest of the competition by a staggering six-plus feet.

Hatleberg also finished second in the discus throw with a mark of 152 feet, 4 inches to advance to state.

Grandview Coach Jesse Jones said the expectations for Hatleberg early on in the season were to qualify for state, and he did just that — in impressive fashion.

"We have been confident on him advancing to state all season," Jones said. "As to whether being the regional champion or not, that was up in the air. There were some really good performances from the other areas that he was competing against. Easton is a confident young man so he went in with the intention and expectation to win both. Shot put is his better event so he was confident that he could win that event for sure. Discus, for me, I was hoping for him to just advance, period. Whether it was second or possibly as the wild card I would have been happy. But of course he is a typical high school kid that is wanting to win the gold regardless."

Jones believes the best is yet to come for Hatleberg.

"Easton started the season really well," Jones said. "He had some throwing clinics and worked a lot since the end of football season and during the winter. So that explains why he was able to start the season so strong. The middle of the season was actually a little frustrating because he injured his foot and it was enough to not put him out for any time but it was enough to hinder his performances from week to week.

"Incredibly he was still finishing very well at the meets despite being hurt. So the progression here lately is due to the fact that he is finally getting back to being 100%. So, it also goes without saying that we don't feel like he is peaking right now. We are hoping and are confident for that to happen in Austin."

With room to grow moving forward, Jones said he believes Hatleberg has a chance to not only medal, but win a state title, especially in the shot put.

"We are hoping to win," Jones said. "To medal as a junior would be a huge accomplishment but a state championship is not out of reach.

"Easton works his tail off when it comes to the throws. He is extremely passionate about it and enjoys working on it. He also throws the hammer and javelin in the offseason. Because of this, Easton has been able to become very technical in the throws. He has for sure surpassed my knowledge in the event so I take zero credit for his success at this point. I am basically going to be his chauffeur to Austin and then give him a handshake and a hug when it is over — hopefully by the winner's stand."

The UIL track and field state championships are scheduled for May 11-13 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

Other state qualifiers

The Burleson Centennial Lady Spartans had a very successful team outing at the Class 5A Region I meet in Lubbock over the weekend. The Lady Spartans finished as regional runner-up with 58 points, trailing regional champion Mansfield Timberview by only two points.

The Lady Spartans' relay teams claimed two first-place finish and gold medals.

The 4x100 relay team of London Tucker, Micah Tucker, Kennedy Mosley and Kyla Ferguson took first place with a time of 46.40 seconds while the Lady Spartans' 4x200 relay team of London Tucker, Micah Tucker, Mosley and Ferguson finished first with a time of 1:38.86.

London Tucker also advanced to state individually in two events. She took second place in the girls 100-meter dash with a personal-record and school-record time of 11.65 seconds to qualify for state. Tucker also finished third in the girls long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 5 inches to advance to state as a wild card.

Representing Burleson High School at state will be the Lady Elks' 4x400 relay team of Kerrah Evans, Chaise Palmer, Tyler Tutu and Kathryn Evans, which finished second with a time of 3:56.97.

Qualifying out of Class 4A is Alvarado junior Candra Bridgewater, who placed third in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 58.64 seconds to qualify for state as a wild card berth.

In Class 3A, Keene freshman Brynleigh McFarlin won a Region III title in the girls 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:04.03. McFarlin also placed third in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:39 but just missed a state berth.

And rounding out the state qualifiers for Johnson County is Rio Vista sophomore Jace Coleman, who took first place in the boys 800-meter run at the Class 2A Region II championships with a time of 2:04.11.

Strong finishes despite no state berths

While the Godley Lady Cats didn't have anyone advance to state, they still had a strong showing at the Class 4A Region II meet with several personal records.

Godley junior Veronica Duran took third place in the girls 300-meter hurdles with a personal-record time of 45.79 seconds but missed qualifying for state as a wild card by 0.07 seconds while junior Logan Reed finished third in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches but didn't advance to state as a wild card.

Godley freshman Stephanie Favela set a new school record and personal record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:05 to finish sixth. Favela also posted a new PR in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 5:35 to finish ninth.

Godley junior Riley Tanley finished eighth in the girls discus throw with a mark of 99 feet, 7 inches. Tanley, a three-time regional qualifier, has improved her standing at regionals each year (from 12th place, to 11th, to eighth). And Godley freshman Sadey Hughey set a new PR in the girls 1,600-meter run at 5:48 to finish 14th.

The Alvarado Lady Indians' 4x200 relay team placed third with a time of 1:45.72 but missed out on qualifying for state.

Representing the Cleburne Yellow Jackets at the Class 5A Region I meet were Jaiden Reed and Collin Graeve.

Reed finished 11th in preliminaries in the boys 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.41 seconds but missed qualifying for the finals. Graeve placed seventh in the boys high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches. Graeve took second place at the area meet with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches.