Tioga sweeps relay events at Regionals for state berth
The Tioga Bulldogs track team is headed back to Austin to defend their state title and will be joined by the Lady Bulldogs after both teams had a strong showing at the UIL 2A Region II Track Meet in Springtown on May 1 and 2.
The Bulldogs finished second out of 38 teams, with a team total of 66 points and qualifying for the State meet in all three relay events.
“As far as performance goes, it was somewhat mission accomplished,” said Beau Burruss, Tioga head boys track coach. “The goal has always been to repeat as state champions, and we gave ourselves a chance to do that by advancing. There was a little disappointment in the 4x1 [relay] because of how we ended up getting silver, but that was more so about our expectations …, but the thing I like was how we moved forward and responded from that.”
The Bulldogs finished second in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 42.77 seconds and responded by setting new Tioga ISD records in the 4x200and 4x400-meter relays with times of 1:27.45 and 3:17.89.
This year’s state qualifying relay teams include Greeley McAden, Jaxson Hurst, Justin Arrington, Quesyn Arrington, Jake David, Kyson Kirkland and Noah Vasquez.
“To have the opportunity to go back and defend that title means a lot,” Justin said. “… We all work hard for this, and we know what we’re capable of, and we’ve been there before, so we know what we have to do once we reach the big stage.”
One of the newest members of the relay team, Vasquez, shared his appreciation for the moment.
“I’m really excited that I get to go and support my team down there in Austin,” he said. “They did a great job last year, and to be part of the same team that won state and gets to go and defend our title is really cool.”
Outside of the relay events, Kirkland was the top dog in the team’s individual running events, finishing fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.19 seconds.
Alexis Santoyo-Pina and Garrison Black placed seventh and eleventh in the 1600-meter run, with Santoyo-Pina recording a personal best of 4:44.91 and Black recording a time of 4:53.85.
Hurst finished eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.53 seconds, and Raul Chavez placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 41.88 seconds.
In the field events, Bryson Bradley placed fourth with a new Tioga ISD record throw of 49feet-1 1/4-inches and Tioga ISD pole vaulting record holder Jayson Stogner finished fifth with a height of 12-feet-6inches.
The Lady Bulldogs finished third out of 25 teams, with a team total of 60 points, sweeping the field in all three relay events.
“They’re special, and they are still peeking right now,” Burruss said. “Their jumps in times from week to week show that, and they’re trusting the process and buying into what they are capable of, and I think they’re going to go turn some heads and surprise some people when we get to Austin.”
The Lady Bulldogs relay teams consisting of Kyndall Whitley, Ella Norwood, Bella Dennis, Timber Johnson, and Jillian Rodriguez won gold in all three relay events, recording Tioga ISD record- breaking times of 48.86 seconds, 1:43.31 and 4:01.19.
Johnson also finished eighth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.38 seconds.
Whitley, who is a twotime state qualifier as an individual competitor, said she’s excited the team’s hard work paid off this season.
“I’ve been trying to stay healthy this whole year to prevent any injuries so that we could make it to State, so it means a lot that we were able to get there this year, and once we get to Austin, we just have to stay together, keep each other calm and remind each other that we all have each other’s back, no matter what,” she said.
Norwood, who watched her older brother Austin Norwood help lead the Bulldogs to a state championship finish last year, said she’s excited that she and her teammates have their chance to compete on the big stage this season.
“We put in a lot of work this year, and we told ourselves last year that we don’t want to go watch again,” she said. “We knew we wanted to run this year, so it’s nice to see all our hard work pay off and remind us that you can do a lot of things if you set your mind to it.”
Both teams will compete at the UIL 2A State Track Meet hosted at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium on May 15, with the relay events starting at 5 p.m.
