The world slows down as the runners set up on the blocks. Hitting their final warm-up stretches it was time to race. As they get into the blocks, the stadium falls to a hush. The gun goes off and they go off.
April 19 at regional competitions was filled with qualifiers for state, the girls 4×200-meter qualified to state competitions at UT Arlington along with Bramer, and the boys 4×100-meter along with McFarlane for the 110-meter hurdles and Maldima for the 100 and 200-meter dash.
April 12 marked a day of records and qualifications as the annual area meet at Denton Braswell High School was a huge success for the Coppell boys and girls track teams.
On the Cowboys side, they managed to squeeze in six qualifications marking success for the team.
“We had some outstanding performances on the guys’ side,” boys coach Eric Hill said. “We went out there and competed, which was the number one thing I needed them to do.”
On the girls side, eight girls qualified for regional competitions, with three school records broken in the span of one night.
“What can I say?” girls coach Landron Wren said. “We sent 10 out of 13 to regionals and the records are truly awesome because it shows their consistency and dedication towards the sport.”
Senior Ayrion Sneed, junior Harry Hassmann, senior Rodney Ates and junior Matthew Maldima qualified and won the 4×100-meter relay. Senior Aidan McFarlane qualified and won the 110-meter hurdles. Maldima won both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Senior Cole Stehly qualified for the 800-meter run. Finally for the guys, sophomore Brandon Veail qualified for high jump.
On the girls side, sophomore Sophia Williams, senior Sedem Buatsi, senior Scarlet Corbaley and senior Emma Williams qualified and set a new school record for the 4×200-meter relay. Sophomore Ainsley Bramer qualified and set a new school record for discus of 127’2 as well as first place for shot put. Williams qualified and set a new school record of 24.36 for the 200-meter dash as well as qualifying for the triple jump. Junior Kennedy Paul qualified for high jump, and junior Maddie Gross qualified for shot put.
“It was awesome to see so many athletes representing our school,” Hill said. “They showed up and that’s all that we can ask for.”
Coming into the meet, both coaches were preaching rest and recovery. They made sure light workouts took place and that the athletes were recovering well.
“Rest is crucial to doing well at a meet,” Hill said. “We were preaching sleep and recovery the whole week and the results speak for themselves.”
As the state meet is Saturday, May 4, Coppell will be looking to strike and put their name in the record books.
“I want these girls to do good not for me but for themselves,” Wren said. “I know we have what it takes to get to state and if they know it too we can win,”
For the Cowboys, it is the same mentality.
“These guys have to come and take it,” Hill said. “They needed to compete and bring their best and I am glad that we accomplished that.”
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