Hurricanes churn into regional meet
The Hightower girls track team got a bit of revenge last week at the 23-24 area championships.
The Lady Canes defeated Alief Elsik, 118-103, to win the area title last week at Crump Stadium. Elsik beat Hightower at the District 23-6A meet two weeks ago.
Hightower scored more than half of its points by winning all three relays. Mitchelle Aneke, Birexus Hawkins, Taylor Finley and Evette Blanks ran on two relays apiece.
There were plenty of top-notch individual performances, too.
The Lady Canes took the top two spots in the 100-meter dash with Aneke and Jurney Alexander. They did the same in the 400 dash with Jyria Smith and Tyler Rose. Rose and Smith are both on the 1,600 relay that is ranked among the best in the nation.
Blanks won the 200 dash, and Hawkins won the 300 hurdles.
Several Hightower boys also qualified for the regional meet, including Gabriel Oladipo, who won the area title in the discus and shot put.
The next step for Hightower is the Region 3-6A championships, which will be held in League City Friday and Saturday. Clements to state
Three Clements tennis players will compete at the Class 6A state tournament May 16-17 in College Station. The doubles team of Sanjna Tripathy and Nikita Pradeep qualified for the third consecutive year by winning the Region III6A title.
They advanced to the semifinals in 2014 and lost in the first round in 2015. Tripathy’s freshman sister, Meghna, also qualified for state by winning the girls singles title. Travis leads race
Fourteen up and fourteen down sounds like a good start for a pitcher. It turns out it’s pretty good for entire baseball teams, too. Entering this week, Fort Bend Travis was sitting pretty atop the District 23-6A standings with a 14-0 record.
Entering this week’s two-game set against third-place Dulles, the Tigers had given up 16 runs in district play. They need only one victory this week to clinch the district championship. Stafford at regionals
Nine athletes from Stafford have qualified for the Region 3-4A track and field meet Thursday and Friday in Kingsville. All three relays also qualified.
Caleb Parker led the way at the area meet by winning both hurdles events and the high jump. He also ran on the 1,600-meter relay.
Lynette Amaram is well on her way to gaining a chance to defend her 800-meter state title. She advanced to the regional meet in that event and in the 1,600 run.
Other Stafford regional qualifiers are Cameron Montgomery, David Allison, Edwin Godfrey, Jalen Currey, Kenneth Bodwin, Gloria Tshibanju and Cheyenne Hill Johnson. Falcons emerging
Kinkaid head softball coach Beth Rodriguez hopes history repeats itself at this week’s Southwest Preparatory Conference Spring Championships.
A year ago, four teams from the South Zone reached the semifinals at the SPC softball tourney, with Episcopal claiming the title. It could happen again, although Rodriguez would prefer the Falcons to be the one hoisting the trophy.
“I could see the South finishing 1-4, but Fort Worth Country Day is coming on strong. They really dominated the North,” Rodriguez said. “It’s going to tough. Every round will be a challenge.”
St. John’s clinched the No. 1 seed from the South Zone, followed by Episcopal, Houston Christian and Kinkaid.
“We went 0-for-3 against the top three teams from the South,” Rodriguez said. “St. John’s has the best pitching, but Episcopal and Houston Christian are really good, too. Hopefully, we’ll get another shot at them.”
The softball competition gets under way with firstround games on Thursday, April 28. The quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Friday, April 29, culminating with the championship and trophy games on Saturday, April 30. Action will take place at the SPC’s three Fort Worth schools – All Saints, Country Day and Trinity Valley.
To contend for the title, Kinkaid is counting on more heroics from senior captain Kelli Montgomery. A University of Houston signee, Montgomery is a standout pitcher/third baseman who is hitting close to .650 on the season.
“Kelli is playing with a lot of confidence, especially at the plate,” Rodriguez said.
Senior utility player Sarah Lasater is the Falcons’ most versatile performer. Laster, another co-captain, has starred at third base and in center field while producing offensively in the lead-off spot.
Kinkaid also has benefited from the emergence of several rising freshmen, most notably catcher Morgan Parker and pitcher/ second baseman Olivia Stuart Ison. Tracksters aim high
Kinkaid will try to snap a several-decade drought by winning the SPC girls track and field title this week at Dallas St. Mark’s.
The Falcons have no real weaknesses, according to head coach Cheryl Mitchell.
“We’ve got a girl who can score in every single event,” Mitchell said.
But will it be enough for Kinkaid to knock off the other favorites? Defending champ Dallas Greenhill, St. John’s and Dallas Hockaday are equally loaded, setting up which should be a dramatic finish.
One of the keys to success could be Kinkaid’s relays, all of which are capable of ranking in the top three.
The 4x100-meter relay features seniors Taylor J. Cowan, Jenny Miller and Gracey Wallace and sophomore Kennedy Gamble. Wallace, Gamble and sophomores Caleigh Doran and Kate Erickson make up the 4x400 relay, while Erikson, sophomore Ali Ammons and up-and-coming freshmen Laine Jacobe and Ellie Lucke will join forces on a young but exciting 4x800 relay.
Individually, Gamble should rack up plenty of medals. In addition to her relays, the Falcons’ fastest sprinter figures to reach the podium in the 100 and 200.
One of Kinkaid’s most well-rounded athletes, Miller will compete in the 100, 200, high jump and long jump.
Ammons, the Falcons’ best distance runner, has rededicated herself to the sport and plans to be a factor in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Kinkaid’s boys have more modest aspirations, with head coach John Beckwith aiming for a top five showing.