The Ropes Eagles, Sundown Roughnecks, Whiteface Antelopes, Smyer Bobcats and Morton Indians all competed at the Boys 2A District 5 & 6 Area Championships this past Friday at Sundown High School. The meet was highlighted by the Eagles winning their third consecutive Area Championship, as well as numerous local athletes finishing in the top four to advance to Regionals.
In the 4x100-meter relay, the Eagles relay of Zayden Pittman, Maddux Sierra, Branson Simental and Kolter Dockery won the Area Championship with a time of 43.12. The Roughnecks relay of Josh Hogan, Corey Pormanes, JC Jenkins and Ryan Pope placed fourth with a time of 44.66.
In the 800-meter run, Smyer’s Austin Martinez placed runner-up with a time of 2:03.73.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Cesar Chavez (Whiteface) was the Area Champion with a time of 15.49; Nathan McAdams (Sundown) placed runner-up with a time of 15.63 and Stetson Haden (Ropes) placed fourth with a time of 17.62.
In the 100-meter dash, Dockery was the Area Champion with a time of 10.73, Pope placed runnerup with a time of 11.24 and Max Benevedes (Smyer) places fourth with a time of 11.31.
In the 4x200-meter relay, the Eagles team of Pittman, Sierra, Jaivyth Cruz and Dockery placed runner-up with a time of 1:31.89.
In the 400-meter dash, Jaydith Shelton (Sundown) placed third with a time of 52.23 and Branson Simental (Ropes) placed fourth with a time of 53.68.
In the 300-meter hurdles, Isaak Soliz (Whiteface) was the Area Champion with a time of 40.73; McAdams placed third with a time of 42.65 and Chavez placed fourth with a time of 44.07.
In the 200-meter dash, Sierra placed third with a time of 22.74, and in the 1,600-meter run, Martinez placed runner-up with a time of 4:47.21. In the 3,200-meter run, Chase Schumm (Ropes) placed third with a time of 11:10.18 and Samuel Chavez (Morton) placed fourth with a time of 11:23.96.
In the 4x400-meter relay, the Eagles relay of Pittman, Simental, Kason Warrick and Isaiah Acosta placed fourth with a time of 3:38.73.
In the high jump, Soliz was the Area Champion with a jump of 6’4”.
In the pole vault, Mike Williams (Ropes) was the Area Champion with a vault of 13’-0”; James Rampy (Smyer) placed runner-up with a vault of 11’-6”, Cooper Day (Sundown) placed third with a vault of 11’-0” and Pittman placed fourth with a vault of 10’-0”.
In the long jump, Pope was the Area Champion with a jump of 20’-11.50”; Brayden Villarreal (Morton) placed third with a jump of 19’-11” and Acosta placed fourth with a jump of 19’-9”.
In the triple jump, Jose Aleman (Sundown) placed fourth with a jump of 39’1.50”, and in the discus, Kaden Riker was the Area Champion with a throw of 140’-8”.
In the shot put, Victor Saenz (Ropes) was the Area Champion with a throw of 50’-10”.
In the Area team standings, Ropes would win the Area Championship with a total score of 116, edging out the runners-up, Wink, by 12 points.
“We knew Wink and Mc-Camey would be tough team competitors, but the guys did a great job of staying focused and getting the job done,” Eagles Head Track & Field Coach Beau Riker said. “Victor Saenz, Mike Williams and Maddux Sierra all set new personal records. Saenz beat his own school record once again. We had some kids step in to help with relays, and I’m proud of their effort. I like the work that this team puts in each day and the way they present themselves and compete. I’m excited to see them excel at the Regional meet in Canyon.”
Meanwhile, Sundown placed fifth with 64 total points, Whiteface placed fourth with 40 total points, Smyer placed eighth with 31 total points and Morton placed 10th with 10 total points.
All of the Regional qualifiers return to action at the 2A Region 1 Championships on May 1-2 at West Texas A&M.