St. Stephen’s boys chase down SPC track and field title

The boys track and field team at St. Stephen’s won the Southwest Preparatory Conference championship last weekend in Dallas, earning the school’s first conference title in the sport.

St. Stephen’s held a 20-point lead over St. John’s School of Houston entering the final event — the 1,600meter relay — and the Spartans needed only to place sixth or better in the closing race to clinch the team title.

After the first three legs of the relay, St. Stephen’s junior Cameron Conyers chased down the two runners immediately ahead of him to secure a sixth-place finish for the Spartans.

St. John’s won the event, earning 20 points for its firstplace finish, while St. Stephen’s picked up six points.

The Spartans broke several school records during the meet.

Conyers set school marks in the 200 meters (21.47 seconds) and the 400 meters (48.76), and he was part of the Spartans’ victorious 400-meter relay that finished in 42.84 and included sophomore Zach Taylor, junior Jamal January and senior Robert Allen.

January also scored valuable points for St. Stephen’s with a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles (15.23) and a third-place effort in the 300 hurdles (39.98).

Spartans sophomore Crayton Carrozza won the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 34.28 seconds, and his sophomore teammate, Travis Dowd, placed second while dropping his personal best by 14 seconds. Carrozza also finished second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:28.21 while Spartans senior Andrew Abikhaled took third in 4:31.65.

In the 3,200-meter relay, the Spartans team of senior Ben Schneider, senior John Sansbury, Abikhaled and Carrozza also set a school record with an impressive first-place finish of 8.05:51. Sansbury added a first-place finish in the 800 (1:57.68), with Abikhaled grabbing third in 1:59.27.

Westlake in running for rugby title: Westlake will be among the four boys rugby teams competing at this weekend’s state tournament at Huns Field in East Austin.

The Chaparrals will be joined by two squads from the Houston area — The Woodlands and Cypress-Fairbanks — and a team from Dallas, the Quin Colts.

The tournament semifinals begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, and the title match will start at 11 a.m. Sunday. Westlake is the three-time defending state champ.

Admission costs $5, and on-site parking at Huns Field, 4107 Nixon Lane, also will be $5.

During the tournament, representatives from the Austin Huns rugby club will be accepting sign-ups for the club’s youth rugby program.