HS Track & Field: Teams Conclude Field Events while Preparing for Upcoming Track Finals

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Cloudy weather did not deter the passionate athletes from the schools of 13-6A as they made their marks during the field events of the District Track & Field meet at The Woodlands High School.

An early start at nine o’clock in the morning had the athletes amped and ready to go for their respective events, with a large crowd funneling into the Highlander fields to watch. Parents, friends, and a handful of coaches from other sports were all in attendance for day one of three of the overall meet.

Multiple opportunities to earn the top four spots were available in every event, and the barrier of entry to the upcoming Area Meet was on most people’s minds.

Here are the top four results and the area qualifiers for each event during the field events.

Boys Triple Jump:

1st: Brian Nwugbana (The Woodlands)

2nd: J.J. Hurd (Conroe)

3rd: Byron Brown (Caney Creek)

4th: Caleb Cortez (College Park)

Girls Triple Jump:

1st: Shi’eana Hall (College Park)

2nd: Shanti Buchanan (The Woodlands)

3rd: Valentina Tinajero-Lesser (The Woodlands)

4th: Derielle Levy (Conroe)

Boys Long Jump:

1st: Byron Brown (Caney Creek)

2nd: Brian Nwugbana (The Woodlands)

3rd: Tomi Tanski (The Woodlands)

4th: Tyler Williams (College Park)

Girls Long Jump:

1st: Valentina Tinajero-Lesser (The Woodlands)

2nd: Alisa Sneed (Conroe)

3rd: McKenna Griffin (Conroe)

4th: Persia Hall (College Park)

Boys Pole Vault:

1st: Edward Ziegler (Grand Oaks)

2nd: Francisco Camacho (Oak Ridge)

3rd: Warren Henager (Willis)

4th: Tyler Andrade (Willis)

Girls Pole Vault:

1st: Kherington Andrews (College Park)

2nd: Kaeley Uhlig (Willis)

3rd: Alexa Nelson (Grand Oaks)

4th: Addy Leddy (The Woodlands)

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Andrews discussed the precious moments before takeoff and how she keeps it simple yet replicable.

“I just tell myself to commit and like, run hard,” said Andrews. “If I don’t, then I’m not going to get up.”

On top of the sure-fire advice, Andrews tries to fall back on the lessons taught by her coach in the specialized sport of pole vaulting.

“I’m constantly trying to remember what they’re saying, and then I try to implement it when I jump,” said Andrews. “If they saw me move my hand to grip, then I’m going to move it as needed.”

Boys High Jump:

1st: Alexander Nemzek (The Woodlands)

1st: Mateo Sanz (The Woodlands)

3rd: Caleb Cortez (College Park)

4th: Caleb Lummus (Oak Ridge)

In a sport where ties are few and far between, a duel between Highlander teammates resulted in Nemzek and Sanz agreeing on a tie after clearing a height of 1.98m. A friendly game of rock-paper-scissors left Sanz with the gold medal, but the shared spot at the top of the standings ensures that both will make it to the area meet.

“I love it. It’s awesome. Because whenever we practice, we’re always competing,” said Nemzek on facing his teammate in the final. “Come to the meets and it ends as a friendly and fun competition where I pushed past heights I didn’t think I was gonna get this year.”

Sanz took a more competitive mindset when facing Nemzek in the duel, eyeing him on level footing as the rest of the competitors coming for the title.

“It shows how great things are for us when our school is competing for first and second,” said Sanz. “But, I really want to beat [Nemzek] every day. In practice and competitions. So, I do treat him like a competitor from a different school, but it's a much friendlier competition.”

Girls High Jump:

1st: Anastacha McGowen (Conroe)

2nd: Caroline Ploetner (The Woodlands)

3rd: Eva Lantagne (Conroe)

4th: Prosper Bulfinch (Conroe)

Boys Discus:

1st: Chris Georgopoulos (College Park)

2nd: Tyler Grant (Grand Oaks)

3rd: Finn Walker (Oak Ridge)

4th: Jake Dorsett (The Woodlands)

Girls Discus:

1st: Riley Dube (Oak Ridge)

2nd: Kenna McZeal (Grand Oaks)

3rd: Colissa Payne (Oak Ridge)

4th: Abigail Watson (Conroe)

Dube was one of the many athletes competing in multiple events, with her participation and fourth-place finish in girls shot put earning her two spots in the area meet next Thursday.

“Normally, I practice both events throughout the week. So I have to have a steady game plan,” said Dube. “I like to envision what I’m going to do, compete with it, and once I’m done with that event, it’s a clean slate.”

Healthy competition between Lady War Eagles in both girls discus and shot put highlights the strengths within the Oak Ridge field team, as two reps will participate in area for both events.

“It’s so amazing that we’ve been able to build that throwers community at Oak Ridge,” said Dube. “We came in some of the top spots, and being able to get up there and get some points for our team is awesome.”

Support from Oak Ridge Volleyball Head Coach Tommie Sledge encouraged Dube to push for extra distance, with her spot at the War Eagle libero completing the build for an atypical dual-sport athlete.

Boys Shot Put:

1st: Tyler Grant (Grand Oaks)

2nd: Jake Dorsett (The Woodlands)

3rd: Jacob Saul (New Caney)

4th: Bobby Munsey (The Woodlands)

Grand Oaks’ Tyler Grant has been a fixture in the 13-6A shot put event, where he demands attention at the top spot. A two-foot lead over the rest of the field further demonstrates why Grant garners the eyes of other schools despite his smaller stature.

“I’m short, so I gotta have the most explosion,” explained Grant. “They put me through rigorous training, you know. Power cleans and all of the other Olympic lifts, making sure that I can translate that into discus and shot put.”

Girls Shot Put:

1st: Taylor Smith (Conroe)

2nd: Ella Boyer (Oak Ridge)

3rd: Kyra Rosencran (Caney Creek)

4th: Riley Dube (Oak Ridge)

The preliminaries for track were held on Wednesday, with the finals and conclusion of the meet set to take place on Thursday.