Lady Bulldogs win 1A State Championship
Hampered by injuries, Decatur boys place third at meet in Mineral Springs
Members of the Decatur Lady Bulldog track team display their trophy and banner after winning the 1A State Championship at Mineral Springs High School on May 2. Members of the team include Bronwyn Berry (from left), Stephanie Sandoval, Destiny Mejia, Coach Shane Holland (back), Leticia Fuentes, Desi Meek, Paige Vann, Abby Tilley and Deysi Rubi (kneeling).
MINERAL SPRINGS — A hush fell over the track facility at Mineral Springs High School as teams from all over Arkansas waited in anticipation for the results of the 1A Girls State Track meet May 2.
High in the press box on the south side of the stadium, the final results were being tabulated. At 9:30 p.m., the announcer came over the public address system, “The winner of the Girls 1A State Track title is, Decatur High School with 92 points.”
The eight-member track team, along with its counterpart from the boys’ team, erupted in a spontaneous show of elation as Desi Meek and Destiny Mejia made their way to the awards table to pick up the team’s second straight 1A state trophy and banner.
The 1A/2A state meet began at 9:30 a.m. with the longest run of the day, the 3,200 meters. Participating in that race was David Devilla, one of the Bulldogs’ distance runners. He finished third, earning Decatur its first six points of the meet.
The boys struggled with injuries throughout the day, hampering their efforts to take the lead in the meet. Taylor Haisman, who won the district title in the pole vault, kept pace with several more experienced vaulters throughout the event. But an injury he suffered in practice hampered his efforts at the 10-foot mark. He missed his first two tries. On his third and final attempt, Haisman clipped the bar with an arm, causing it to fall. He finished the event in seventh place, earning the Bulldogs two points. He later went on
to win his third straight gold medal (one in 2A and two in 1A) in the 800-meter run.
The boys, sitting in fourth place overall, had a shot at another second-place finish with one event left, the 4x400-meter relay. Johnny Brandon ran the first leg for Decatur, followed by Caydan Bingham and Jimmy Mendoza. Haisman ran the anchor leg. Brandon set the pace for the race as he jumped out in front. It was all Decatur from that point on as the relay team took the gold for the second straight year in 1A state competition.
The boys missed second place by six points but managed to pull off a third-place overall win with 61 points (Mineral Springs took second with 67 points), earning two gold, one silver and one bronze medal.
The star of the day for the Lady Bulldogs was Desi Meek, who brought home two state championships in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles for the second year in a row. Besides the gold in these events, Meek earned two silver medals and a bronze.
Destiny Mejia also took her second gold medal in the girls’ high jump. She won the event with a jump of five feet, three inches, just one inch shy of a personal best. She was given a chance at the five-foot, four-inch, mark but declined.
It came down to the final event for the 1A championship between Decatur and Acorn. The girls 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Stephanie Sandoval, Deysi Rubi, Abby Tilley and Paige Vann needed to take first place to win the meet but settled for fourth. Fortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, Acorn had no entries in the last two events, giving Decatur the title with 92 points (14 ahead of Acorn). Meek accounted for 42 of those points.
It was a total team effort for both the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs. All 15 members contributed points to the final count. Listed below are the results and the point count of each athlete in his/her respective events.