Sports Texoma

AUSTIN — As the other member of the Whitesboro contingent competing at the state track meet, Courtney Davis arrived at Myers Stadium as something of an afterthought.

The lanky freshman may have been lost in the large shadow cast by Hayden Baillio, who now owns six career medals — five of them gold.

But Davis heads home having done something even Baillio was unable to do — win a state title as a freshman after taking gold in the Class 3A high jump on Saturday afternoon.

“The expectations weren’t there for her,” Whitesboro coach Toby Sluder said. “They are from now on.”

The Bearcats had a 100 percent success rate with Baillio defending both his discus and shot put titles. It was in between those competitions, however, when Davis stole the spotlight that will be on her for the next three years.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “I thought maybe I could get third or fourth.”

It took almost 15 minutes before Davis knew she was guaranteed a medal. She easily surpassed five feet but needed her final jump to get over five feet, two inches. 

“She’s become really resilient. Today she went from almost last to first,” Sluder said. “She did that at regionals. She was fourth and then all of a sudden she pops one.”

It took until her second try to get over the next two-inch increase and put her in the top half of competitors.

“I usually don’t do that,” Davis said about the early miscues. “It was kind of stressful.”

With almost all of the competitors having completed the round, the competition was briefly halted. The final attempt by Chandace Tryon of West Oso was still to come. Tyron had missed her first two tries at 5-4 but then had to go run the 100 hurdles. She returned and missed again, leaving Davis, Diboll’s Vanessa Jones and Whitney Flannel of West Columbia to fight for medals.

Davis, jumping from left to right each time, was the last of the three to go and she cleared five feet, five inches on first try and waited to see who would join her in the next round. Neither Jones nor Flannel did and they tied for second place.

With the title secured, Davis was allowed to continue alone. She set the bar at five feet, seven inches and made it over on her final try to improve on her personal best, which was 5-6, as well as the school record.

“I thought she could get in the top three definitely, looking at the other girls and what she’s done in practice,” Sluder said.

Van Alstyne senior Suzy Prikryl improved on her fifth-place finish from last season with a three-way tie for fourth-place at five feet, two inches.

But Prikryl was disappointed with how she ended up at that point. She cleared the first two heights with ease before missing on her first two attempts at 5-4. On her last chance to advance, Prikryl went beyond the allotted one minute of time allowed and was credited with a foul.

Pirates strike gold

The Collinsville 1,600 boys relay team came into the state tournament with the time to beat. No one was able to do it.

Scott Ragsdale, Mitch Lawdermilk, Ethan Williams and Chris Carney leave as Class 1A champions in the event after posting a time of 3:23.50 — better than a second in front of runner-up Tolar.

Coby Ragsdale, Scott’s cousin, placed seventh after a photo finish broke a tie for sixth with New Deal’s Logan Jackson. Both ran a posted 22.80 but Jackson was listed at 22.7932 and Ragsdale at 22.7962.

Capping a career

A setback in his first event didn’t stick with Myran Roundtree.

He took his fourth-place finish in the long jump during the morning session on Friday in stride. He had some lunch. Talked to some college coaches interested in his ability. Then he returned to the jumping pit with a new attitude.

The renewed approach helped the Bonham senior end his high school career with a bronze medal in the triple jump. His best leap was 48 feet and half an inch, a personal-best effort that put him safely in contention for a spot on the podium.

“After what happened earlier, I was a lot more focused,” he said. “I knew 48 was going to get it done.”

Roundtree slipped to third heading into the finals but was never seriously threatened by the five below him. The worst pressure he felt was from him.

“I felt a little pressure being the only Bonham person competing today,” Roundtree said. “I wanted to make my coaches proud, my town proud, my family proud.”

In the long jump, Roundtree improved significantly on each of his first three leaps and sat in fourth place midway through the competition at 22 feet, five and a half inches. But he was only able to add two inches to his total and ended up falling short to Wichita Falls Hirschi’s Richard Ross, who jumped 22 feet, eight and a half inches on his final attempt. Roundtree ended at 22 feet, seven and a quarter inches.

Teammate Michael Johnson made it through the first two rounds of the high jump on Saturday before being knocked out when the field was cut in half.

Seven of the eight jumpers successfully cleared 6-2 and 6-4 before Johnson was unable to leap the required six foot, six inches needed to advance. The senior finished fifth once tie-breakers were determined.

Dustin Ingold, who is also a senior for Bonham, was eighth in the 100 with a time of 10.97 on Saturday.

State of the area

Anna’s Gabrielle Curiel was eighth in the 2A 200 on Saturday afternoon with a time of 26 seconds.

In action on Friday, Pottsboro’s Taryl Farek placed sixth in the 2A girls discus throw with a toss of 112 feet, 11 inches.

Krista Kaetterhenry of Melissa was seventh in the 2A high jump after clearing five feet. The senior was sixth at the state meet last year.

Tom Bean’s Delaney Allison clocked in at eighth place in the 2A girls 100 hurdles with a time of 16.31

Hunter Svane of Pilot Point cleared six feet, two inches in the 2A high jump and managed a sixth-place finish. The junior was trying to join his older sister Audrey, who won the event in 2006 and 2007, as a medallist.

K.J. Finney of Honey Grove took sixth in the 2A boys triple jump at 43 feet, five and three quarters inches.

S&S senior Eric Bartels was eighth in the 2A long jump at 19 feet, five inches, fouling on half of his six attempts.