HS Track: Competition Heats Up During Running Events at The 13 & 14-6A Area Meet

CONROE, TX -- Track events during the District 13 and 14-6A Area Meet at Conroe High School put the best talents from the two districts on display during dazzling spectacles of athletic prowess.

Heat and unrelenting sunlight barraged the athletes who were participating in the running events. But the adrenaline of competition kept them pushing toward the finish line with the hopes of securing a top-four finish to move on to the Regional Meet.

Multiple competitors from the District 13-6A meet were able to maintain their level of expected performance, with The Woodlands Highlanders claiming the overall team victories for the meet in both the boys and girls.

Here are the results of the Track Events from Thursday afternoon’s action at Conroe High School:

Boys 3200m:

1st: Aidan Poche (College Park)

2nd: Brady Meredith (The Woodlands)

3rd: Bryson Meredith (The Woodlands)

4th: Elton Martin (The Woodlands)

Girls 3200m:

1st: Stoya Leydevant (The Woodlands)

2nd: Naomi Weller (The Woodlands)

3rd: Claudia Cano (College Park)

4th: Stella Wilder (The Woodlands)

Boys 4x100 Relay:

1st: The Woodlands

2nd: Grand Oaks

3rd: Conroe

4th: Nimitz

Girls 4x100 Relay:

1st: The Woodlands

2nd: Conroe

3rd: Nimitz

4th: Eisenhower

Boys 800m:

1st: Heath Grant (Willis)

2nd: Kaden Barney (College Park)

3rd: Tai Cook (The Woodlands)

4th: Alastair Edmond (The Woodlands)

Girls 800m:

1st: Darasimi Odelowo (The Woodlands)

2nd: Ashtain Chatham (Benjamin Davis)

3rd: Vanessa Vezga (The Woodlands)

4th: Lauren Alpha (The Woodlands)

Girls 100m Hurdles:

1st: Jayla Cooper (Nimitz)

2nd: Graycen Rabel (The Woodlands)

3rd: Valentina Tanajero-Lesser (The Woodlands)

4th: Sara Johnson (The Woodlands)

Boys 110m Hurdles:

1st: Jesse Natale (The Woodlands)

2nd: Chadrich Robinson (New Caney)

3rd: Gervon Vitz (College Park)

4th: Lane Leger (College Park)

Even with all but one other member of the field setting personal bests, Natale was still able to outperform the athletes he competed against. He attributes his performance against tough opponents to his trusted strategies during the race that have gotten him to this point.

“As long as I focus on my form and my technique, it will really push me in front of everyone else because a lot of people tend to get overwhelmed when they see people coming up on them,” said Natale. “But if you stay technical and if you stay focused, the race will go smoothly.”

Girls 100m Dash:

1st: Treasure Simmons (The Woodlands)

2nd: Lauren Faulks (DeKaney)

3rd: McKenna Griffin (Conroe)

4th: Alaina Nathan (Eisenhower)

Boys 100m Dash:

1st: Tanook Hines (DeKaney)

2nd: Var’Quan Green (DeKaney)

3rd: Kaden Gilbert (Benjamin Davis)

4th: Kaden Barnaby (Conroe)

Girls 4x200 Relay:

1st: Nimitz

2nd: Conroe

3rd: The Woodlands

4th: DeKaney

Boys 4x200 Relay:

1st: DeKaney

2nd: The Woodlands

3rd: Grand Oaks

4th: Conroe

Girls 400m:

1st: Addison Rogers (Eisenhower)

2nd: Eva Lantagne (Conroe)

3rd: Kerry’elle Carter (Nimitz)

4th: Ashtian Chatham (Benjamin Davis)

Boys 400m:

1st: Christian Witcher (Grand Oaks)

2nd: Christopher Turner (Spring)

3rd: Timothy Iwuji (Benjamin Davis)

4th: Dylan Walker (Grand Oaks)

A personal best of 46.77a for Witcher was more than enough to carry him through the finish line for an over two-second win against the rest of the competition. A younger Witcher may have overlooked the moment, but a seasoned and veteran runner now takes the time to appreciate his accomplishment and the work it took from his coaches.

“My coaches taught me how to be a better person, because I was arrogant and cocky,” said Witcher. “So, I’m going to be more humble and more consistent and mentally strong moving forward."

But the taste of victory still tastes sweet when the sounds and cheers of the crowd bear down.

“I’m just very grateful to be in the place where I am now, because I used to be nowhere near 46,” said Witcher. “But with my new coach, I’m starting to get running consistently in the low 47’s and mid 46’s. So, it’s just a great feeling to do what I can do.”

Girls 300m Hurdles:

1st: Graycen Rabel (The Woodlands)

2nd: Nina Dumlao (College Park)

3rd: Valentina Tinajero-Lesser (The Woodlands)

4th: KeAsia Ivery (Spring)

Rabel’s fantastic run saw her avenge her slim loss in the 100m hurdle event by winning the 300 m with a second faster time than the second-placed Cavalier. In the heat of the moment, Rabel attributed her bottomless engine to pure, naturalistic ability.

“It’s just the adrenaline of the race,” explained Rabel. “Starting out its nerves, but then as you’re running, you can turn that into adrenaline to finish out.”

Supporting Rabel and Tinajero-Lesser after the podium appearance were the swaths of coaches and fellow Highlander athletes who watched every step as Rabel rounded the track and finished strong.

“They’ve added a lot of mentorship and like, if I’m feeling down, they lift me up,” said Rabel. “But in the training aspect, they know every way to make me stronger and to get me where I’m able to perform as my best self.”

Boys 300m Hurdles:

1st: Jesse Natale (The Woodlands)

2nd: Bryson Champagne (Conroe)

3rd: Chadrich Robinson (New Caney)

4th: Timothy Thomas II (College Park)

Natale rounded out his day by sweeping the boys' hurdling events with a narrow victory over Champagne to take the Area title for the 300m to go along side his 110m hurdle gold.

“A lot of it comes from fueling between races,” said Natale. “What I do is take some honey in between races for that quick sugar. I feel like if a lot of people are sluggish in between races, if they’re running multiple events, they have to make sure they have enough energy on top of their minds being clear.”

Girls 200m:

1st: Treasure Simmons (The Woodlands)

2nd: Jayla Cooper (Nimitz)

3rd: Journie Williams (Eisenhower)

4th: McKenna Griffin (Conroe)

Boys 200m:

1st: Tanook Hines (DeKaney)

2nd: Darnell Jackson (Grand Oaks)

3rd: LeAnderay Collins II (Grand Oaks)

4th: Ty Green (College Park)

Girls 1600m:

1st: Stoya Leydevant (The Woodlands)

2nd: Naomi Weller (The Woodlands)

3rd: Ava Miller (The Woodlands)

4th: Keira Palmer (College Park)

Boys 1600m:

1st: Camden Gibson (College Park)

2nd: Bryson Meredith (The Woodlands)

3rd: Brady Meredith (The Woodlands)

4th: Elton Martin (The Woodlands)

Girls 4x400 Relay:

1st: The Woodlands

2nd: Conroe

3rd: Nimtz

4th: DeKaney

Boys 4x400 Relay:

1st: The Woodlands

2nd: Grand Oaks

3rd: College Park

4th: Eisenhower