AUSTIN – On top of the Panhandle Ettes outstanding showing, there were plenty of athletes from the Texas Panhandle and South Plains that came home with medals during the UIL Class 2A state track and field meet Friday and Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
One of the biggest surprises came on one of the final races of the night. Entering as a wildcard from regionals, the Gruver Lady Hounds mile relay team of Reese Grotegut, Quincy Schibler, Halle McLain and Payton Merkel, registered a season-best time of 4:04.42 to finish behind Panhandle for a silver medal.
The rest of this story is only for subscribers.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Merkel said. “We believed in ourselves and this was an amazing moment for us. I think being the wildcard and lane nine fueled us. We all did a great job.”
Earlier in the day, Gruver’s Mason Lankford carried on a tremendous athletic season by earning a bronze medal for a second straight year. As a freshman last season, Lankford landed bronze in the 300-meter hurdle race, and this year he was able to get another bronze in the high jump by clearing 6-feet-6 inches.
“It means a lot to get another medal,” Lankford said. “I hate I didn’t make it back in the hurdles, but our region was very good. At the beginning of the track season I wasn’t sure I wanted to high jump but I’m glad I did. Regionals was tough for me, but I feel I was able to get down here to state and compete, and it was awesome to get another medal.”
Farwell’s Alexis Wade ran a very strong 1600-meter race to medal for a second year in a row. Wade held her own to tally a time of 5:10.15 just two seconds off state champion Cara Sims of Elysian Fields. This is a second straight trip to the podium for the junior after getting bronze last season.
“It felt great to get second after getting third last year. I ran a strong race in the 3200 in the morning but didn’t medal but I broke through in the mile. I was able to get a strong finish in the final 300-meters.”
New Deal’s Nash Ginn ran a gutsy 110-meter hurdle race and made a splash by diving at the finish line which helped him get a silver medal and a time of 14.51. Making his first appearance at the state meet, Ginn made the most of his opportunity landing his first career medal.
“This means a lot to me. It’s not exactly how I wanted but it’s pretty close. It was a tight race and this was an awesome experience.”
Making her second appearance at the UIL Class 2A state meet, Stratford’s Madi Braden was able to walk away with hardware. The Lady Elk junior tossed out a throw of 128-9 on her third attempt to grab a bronze medal.
“I’m very thankful to be able to be back here at state and very happy to get on the medal stand,” Braden said. “There were a lot of nerves, but I’m thankful for coach (Casey) Lantelme. He did a lot to help me. I knew if I competed like I was able to I could get on the stand. I feel like I had a great season and I was able to win a regional championship.”
For a second year in a row, Wellington’s Major Brown landed on the podium thanks to a strong leap. The Skyrocket senior, who took bronze last year in the long jump, popped off a leap of 45-9 to end his high school career with another bronze medal.
“It’s a huge accomplishment to medal two years in a row,” Brown said. “My mother (Shannon Brown) passed away a few years, so I know she was watching over me and I was glad to get this for her. I went into state without pressure and I wanted to make this last jump count.”
Abernathy’s Caden Bird saw a tremendous year pay off with a bronze medal in the 200-meter race. In front of a great crowd at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Bird blazed a time of 22.01 to get third place.
“It gave it all I had and I was able to get on the medal stand. This has been a great season and I’ve enjoyed it with my team. I am just so thankful to be able to run with my guys all year, and I loved getting to run here at state and seeing all these people.”
CHECK OUT THE RESULTS
For a look at the complete results from Friday’s state track and field meet, please visit https://www.milesplit.live/meets/746342/schedule