Chaps earn District track title
It was a return to form for Aubrey High School’s track programs, with both the Chaparrals and the Lady Chaparrals earning Top 5 finishes at the 4A Region 2 District 9 Track Meet at Chaparral Memorial Stadium on April 7 and 8.
The Chaps finished first overall out of eight teams, with a team total of 151 points.
“We talk about being the best version of yourself every day, and I knew our guys were going to go out and compete their tails off, and that's exactly what they did,” Aubrey head boys track coach Lance Low said. “We emphasize whether it's sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second or first place, it doesn't matter. You compete your tail off and win the battle, and these guys have risen up to the occasion all year long, and in a pretty tough district we were able to come out on top. All the credit goes to our guys and the hard work that they put in.”
Luke Warren was the Chaps’ top performer in field events, winning gold in the shot put, with a distance of 46-feet-4inches.
Warren also earned the bronze medal in the discus with a best of 128-feet-10-inches.
Brayden Wood and Stephan Coffman finished third and fourth in the shot put with throws of 45feet-9 1/2-inches and 44feet-2 1/2-inches.
Derek King placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 127-feet-5-inches.
In the jumping events, Riley Lemons earned the bronze medal in the high jump with his best jump being 6-feet-2-inches.
Jonathan Perry placed fifth in the pole vault, with a height of 11-feet.
In the long-distance running events, Kaden Plaugher maintained the Chaps momentum, winning gold in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:06.52.
Plaugher also finished fourth in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:43.79.
Reid Smith earned bronze in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.64, followed by Greyson Falk, who finished fifth, with a time of 2:02.83.
The duo of Nathaniel Nkwodinma and Smith maintained the Chaps' momentum in the sprint events, winning gold and silver in the 400-meter dash with times of 50.09 and 50.92 seconds.
Jaxsen Bowlin secured silver in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.58 seconds, while Marquez Lucas took silver in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.83 seconds.
In the hurdle events, William Storey and Ethan McMeen took silver and bronze in the 110-meter hurdles, with times of 14.73 seconds and 15.14 seconds.
McMeen also earned silver in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 38.24 seconds, followed by Cade Ducan, who finished fourth with a time of 40.65 seconds.
The Chaps relay teams won silver in the 4x100and 4x200-meter relays, with times of 42.36 seconds and 3:18.71 seconds.
The Lady Chaps finished fourth overall out of seven teams, with a team total of 86 points.
High jumper Chole Miller headlined the Lady Chaps’ field events, winning gold in the event with a height of 5-feet-2-inches.
Sa’Miyah Sims earned the bronze medal in the long jump with a leap of 16feet-9 3/4-inches, followed by Aniyah Davis, who finished fifth with a distance of 16-feet-5-inches.
Davis took bronze in the triple jump with a distance of 34-feet-4 inches and also finished fourth and fifth in the 100- and 300-meter hurdle events with times of 16.70 and 49.49 seconds.
In the throwing events, Abby Lynch-Buxton led the Lady Chaps, securing silver in the discus with a throw of 105-feet-3-inches.
Abby Turner led the Lady Chaps in the longdistance running events, earning silver and bronze in the 3200- and 1600-meter runs.
Turner’s times of 12:02.53 in the 3200-meter run and 5:25.82 in the 1600-meter run set new Aubrey ISD records in both events.
Chrisette Turner was the Lady Chaps’ top performer in the sprint events, finishing fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.88 seconds.
The Lady Chaps’ relay teams took bronze in the 4x400- and 4x200-meter relays and finished fourth in the 4x100-meter relay, recording times of 4:05.58, 1:48.51 and 49.81.
“Overall, the girls did great,” Aubrey head girls track coach Kristin Giddens said. “We were chasing some school records and trying to get our relays out, and we accomplished quite a bit of that. We got all three relays out, and our 4x4 time was the fastest we’ve run at a district meet in a long time, so I’m super proud of our girls.”
The Top 4 finishers in each event were scheduled to compete at the UIL 4A Region 2 Area 9 & 10 Track Meet on Thursday in Celina.
The results were not available by press time.
