The Texas Panhandle was well represented at the TAPPS state track and field meet Friday and Saturday at Waco Midway’s Panther Stadium.
The Oak Christian Academy and Ascension Academy made quite the medal haul to highlight the meet for Amarillo private schools.
The Oak Christian Academy boys’ team finished second overall in TAPPS Class 1A with 69 points. Fredericksburg Heritage was the team state champion with 144 points.
Reagan Sparkman was the spark plug for The Oak Christian Academy as the senior left the track with three gold medals Saturday. Sparkman started his day by winning his first gold medal in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:00.26 to win by over two seconds. Later in the afternoon, Sparkman clocked a gold medal time of 4:33.30 to win the 1600-meter run by over 11 seconds. Sparkman wasn’t done there. Moments later, Sparkman helped the mile relay team to a gold medal with a time of 3:36.87.
Teammate Blake Austin also had an impressive showing. Austin used his speed to register a time of 22.24 to win the 200-meter dash, and took silver in the 100-meter dash (11.19). Austin also anchored the mile relay team to a gold medal, and Hudson Hughes was a vital member of the mile relay team while taking home a bronze in the 800-meter race (2:05.48).
Ascension Academy finished off a strong track and field season with six individuals coming away with medals during the TAPPS Class 2A state track and field meet.
Senior Kathleen Bartley ended her stellar career with a gold medal in the pole vault and a bronze in the high jump. On Friday, Bartley tied a school-record by clearing 10-feet to win the pole vault event. This is the fourth straight year Bartley has medaled at state in the event and the second time to win a gold. Bartley then won a bronze in the high jump with a leap of 4-8.
On the boys’ side, Wyatt Cox won a silver medal in the discus as the senior set a new school-record with a toss of 131-6. In the running events, Owen Chow carried his momentum from the regional meet with two trips to the medal stand. Chow blazed a time of 50.66 to claim a gold medal in the 400-meter race. Later in the day, Chow, along with teammates Zachary Parker, Gabriel Miller and BJ Britton, tallied a time of 3:34.21 to earn a bronze medal in the mile relay. Chow also finished fourth in the 200-meter sprint (23.16).
The Oak Christian Academy and Ascension Academy weren’t the only two schools to represent Amarillo. San Jacinto Christian Academy’s Siscely Mincher won a bronze medal in the 100-meter hurdles clocking a 17.37.
Check out the results
For a look at the full results from the TAPPS state track and field meet, please visit https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/645313/results