Sports Texoma

When it comes to winning a state team track title, two things are required — depth and success in relays.

A pair of local schools will try to be in the mix for the Class 2A boys track title this weekend down in Austin but will have plenty of competition for the crown.

Pottsboro and Gunter each qualified a pair of relay teams in the three races. But so did Van Vleck, Jefferson, Godley and Corrigan-Camden. The odds are that one of these six schools will come out on top because the point totals are much bigger in relays than in individual races.

Godley may be the locals’ biggest threat, having won the 400 relay over Gunter by 0.07 seconds and the 800 relay in front of Pottsboro at the Region II meet.

And since they are all competing against each other — most notably the 1,600 relay, which includes the Tigers and Cardinals — the overall winner may come down to a single race.

The Tigers will look to Nikki Mixon, Paul Nicholson, Leo Castorena and Chad Tucker on the 400 relay while Tucker and Nicholson will team with Jared Franze and Dalton Lee in the 1,600 relay.

“You have to be in the relays to win,” Gunter head coach Mark Neely said. “We’re not really thinking that way. It’s way in the back of our mind it’s possible.”

The Cardinals will pick their four runners from nine athletes for the two races — Clint Pearson, Terry Land, John Hayes, Adrian Dabrio, Larry Ellis and Nate Janzen in the 800 and Land, Hayes, Dabrio, Kevin Garcia, Nathan Collier and Lowell Hennen in the 1,600, which the Cardinals won at the region meet by more than four seconds over Gunter.

“We’re going down there as a team and I’m going to put the four best guys out there,” Pottsboro head coach Keith Bates said. “The favorite going in is probably Corrigan-Camden. There’s probably four different teams that could win it, including us.”

In addition to the relays, Pottsboro can rack up points in three other events. Collier, a senior, is the region champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200, winning both races by sizable margins.

“I’m approaching it that Nathan Collier’s going to give us 20 points,” Bates said. “I think he has a great chance to be a state champion in both events.”

Dabrio also qualified in the 400 and could provide a crucial point or three to the Cardinals’ final total.

Gunter can also pick up points from Tucker, who will race in the 100 meter dash.

The final event of the night will be the 1,600 relay with Pottsboro, Gunter, Jefferson and Corrigan-Camden all entered.

Jump around

Van Alstyne senior Suzy Prikryl and Melissa senior Krista Kaetterhenry lead a bevy of those competing in jumping events at the state meet.

Prikryl is returning to state in the 3A high jump after a fifth-place finish last season while Kaetterhenry is back at the 2A meet following a sixth-place finish. Prikryl won the Class 3A Region II meet over Whitesboro’s Courtney Davis, who will also jump on Saturday.

Sherman’s Ben Pressley will participate in the 4A long jump on Friday while Bonham has a pair of jumpers at state — Myran Roundtree is in the long and triple jump while Michael Johnson is in the high jump.

At the 2A level, S&S’ Eric Bartels will take part in the long jump, K.J. Finney of Honey Grove is in the triple jump and Pilot Point’s Hunter Svane is in the high jump.

Tom Bean’s Delaney Allison is the only local athlete who will combine jumping and running as one of the contestants in the 2A girls 100 hurdles.

Pirates ship five

Collinsville senior Coby Ragsdale, the lone area athlete to make state in Class 1A in an individual event, will run the 200 while teammates Scott Ragsdale, Mitch Lawdermilk, Ethan Williams and Chris Carney will run the 1,600 relay.