While there wasn’t a team champion from the Amarillo-area during the Region I-1A track and field meet, that didn’t stop Texas Panhandle athletes from putting on an individual show on Friday and Saturday on the campus of South Plains College in Levelland.
The meet was definitely a showcase of just how good Class 1A is in West Texas with several individuals making their way to Austin in multiple events.
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One person that isn’t a stranger to running on the big stage of Mike A. Myers Stadium at state is Booker’s Adrian Rosales. Rosales is headed to state for a fourth straight year after quite the performance in front of a packed house. Rosales opened his meet winning the 3200-meter race once again clocking a 9:57.39 to win by more than 15 seconds.
On Saturday, what Rosales did was incredible. Rosales was scratched from the 800-meter race to help replace teammate Julian Barton in the mile relay. Previous to the mile relay, Rosales won his second gold medal 1600-meter run with a 4:36. Not 20 minutes later, Rosales is taking the handoff as the anchor of the Kiowas mile relay team and helping them to victory running a tremendous final lap chasing down Motley County on the final curve to win a third gold and help Booker to a time of 3:31.26.
“Adrian is a great young man,” Booker track and field coach Nadine Barton said. “His work ethic and drive on and off the track are exceptional. He brings his “A” game to practice daily. This season he has learned to push himself past the comfort zone and it was evident here at regionals when he won three gold medals in a very competitive meet. His willingness to drop the 800 and anchor the mile relay speaks volumes of his character.”
While teammate Barton was scratched from the mile relay team due to a nagging injury, Barton gutted out his day by winning the 200-meter sprint and the 400-meter race. Barton didn’t show any signs of an injured hamstring blazing a 22.39 for a gold in the 200-meter. He then looked even better with a 49.37 to win the 400 for his second gold.
“Julian is a competitor who has trained pretty much year-round for the past four years,” said coach Barton, who is also Julian’s mother. “He has had a bit of a setback this season with a hamstring strain that happened a few weeks ago. He’s rehabbed since and was about 90 percent going into regionals. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed for someone as much as I did during his races. Now we focus on getting him race ready for state so he can let it loose. He has worked so hard to get to this point and I couldn’t be prouder as a coach and as his mom.”
Barton isn’t a stranger to the state meet. As a sophomore he anchored the Follett mile relay to a state championship and was a state runner-up in the 3200.
Booker went on to finish third as a team at the regional with 60 points. Whitharral was the team champion scoring 86 points.
On top of the Booker boys, Happy had a solid afternoon advancing three individuals to the state meet. Hayes Bressler continued to dominate the pole vault winning a regional gold medal with a leap of 14-6. Teammate JC Dyer followed with a silver by clearing 12-feet, and hurdler Kole Gibson qualified in the 110-hurdles getting a silver medal with a time of 16.17.
White Deer’s Caynden Mynear continued his strong season getting on the medal stand two different times. Mynear ran a personal-best 2:01.9 to win the 800-meter race and earned silver behind Rosales in the 1600-meter run thanks to a 4:44.33.
Other athletes qualifying for the UIL state meet are Nazareth’s Kayle Rogers, who proved he can do more than football and basketball. Rogers advanced to state with a trip to the silver medal stand in the shot put throwing a 46-3. Miami’s Kristopher Gorecki took silver in the discus to advance with a 131-7 3/4. Shamrock’s Cross Stambaugh made it out in the long jump with a silver medal leap of 21-4, and the Valley sprint relay team of Damian Valdes, Taevion Ramos, Eean Hartman and Mical Ferrel clocked a 44.83 for a silver in the sprint relay.
On the girls’ side, there were also quite the standout performances including Valley senior Trinity Schlueter.
The Colorado Mesa basketball signee and All-State player for the Lady Patriots had her best day on the track to date showing off her impressive speed by qualifying for state in three events.
Schlueter showed up around superb competition starting her afternoon winning silver in the 100-meter dash with a 12.62. Schlueter then turned it on gaining confidence the rest of the day getting a gold medal in the 400-meter race with a 59.86, then moments later ran a great 200-meter race sprinting to a time of 26.45.
“Trinity has always worked hard and been very persistent in her workouts,” Valley girls track coach Amy Bowles said. “This year she really focused on her starts coming out of blocks with more time and more effort. Her goal was to get out in all three events, and she did that running relaxed and confident. The competition was close and pushed her to run harder and run her best times of the year. It was so fun to watch.”
This is Schlueter’s second straight year to the state meet after medaling in the 400-meter and the 200-meter as a junior last season.
Silverton’s Maddie Francis and Claude’s Shealee Brannon were also a highlight of the regional meet with double gold medal outings.
As she has all year, Francis dominated both hurdle events Saturday. Francis left the competition in the dust starting in the 100-meter hurdles clocking an impressive time of 14:76. Later in the day, Francis was once again on the gold medal stand winning the 300-meter event in dominant fashion with a 46.15 to win by more than two seconds.
Brannon started the regional Friday by outlasting the field running a time of 12:16.51 for a gold medal in the 3200-meter race. On Saturday, Brannon powered through once more in the 1600-meter run with a 5:38 for another gold.
McLean is taking a foursome to state after a big weekend. The Lady Tigers scored 53 points to get third behind co-champions Klondike and Borden County which each had 64 points.
Hailo Moon and Quin Billingsley grabbed a gold in the discus and pole vault events. Moon won gold in the shot put tossing a 37-6 to punch a ticket to state for McLean while Billingsley vaulted 9-3 for a gold medal.
Teammate Kasidy Russell is going in both hurdle events getting silver in the 100-hurdles with a 16.67 and a 48.89 in the 300-meter event, and Gracee Henderson advanced in the 800-meter run thanks to a 2:27.85.
White Deer saw a pair of Does qualify Friday and Saturday. Faith Jackson won two silver medals starting in the long jump (17-7) and then the 200-meter race (26.51). Teammate Makayla Chaney earned silver in the 3200-meter (12:19.09) and the 1600-meter event (5:45).
Other area athletes advancing are Texline’s Faith Sneller who won a gold medal in the triple jump popping off a 35-2 to make it to Austin. Wildorado’s Giselle Esparza took silver in the triple jump with a 35-1 1/2. Claude’s Breanna Perez qualified in the discus with a 118-11 1/2 and Happy’s Jentry Bressler claimed silver in the pole vault clearing 9-feet.
Check out the results
The top two competitors from each event qualified for the UIL Class 1A state track and field meet set for May 1-3 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
For a look at the full results from the Region I-1A meet, please visit https://www.spatotrack.com/results/highschool/2025/levelreg/