The Lady Cats set the pace for Pilot Point’s track program at the UIL 3A-Region 2 Meet at Wildcat Stadium in Whitehouse, with two Lady Cats qualifying to compete at the state meet in Austin on May 1-3.
Ava Smith (Jr.) won gold in the 1600-meter run with a personal best of 5:13.53.
Smith said she is excited to finally make it to the state meet after her previous two seasons ended at regionals.
“After having an unlucky go the past two years, it was great to feel like all the hard work paid off,” she said. “… When I was finishing my second lap, I felt great and was ready to do something special. It was a great feeling, and I hope to do it again at state.”
Smith also finished fifth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:59.91.
Peytyn Goodin (Jr.) took silver in the 400-meter dash with a new personal best of 57.11 seconds.
Goodin, who is 10 months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL, said punching her ticket to the state meet for the second time made all the effort to get back on the track worth it.
“I’ve worked long hours in physical therapy and trained hard with my coaches to get back to this point,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy, but every workout and every setback made this moment even more meaningful. What I enjoyed most about regionals was proving to myself that I’m stronger than I ever thought.”
Kaelyn Chaney (Jr.) placed eighth in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:37.01.
The Lady Cats relay team, consisting of Smith, Goodin, Braillen Brocato (Sr.) and Daiyton DeLeon (Jr.), finished fifth in the 4x400meter relay with a time of 4:09.92.
Sanaa Jackson capped off things for the Lady Cats, placing fifth in the triple jump with a new personal best of 35-feet-9-inches.
“We are so proud of the heart, grit and hard work these girls have shown all season, and the way they competed and left it all on the track this weekend at regionals,” Pilot Point head girls track coach Presley Chandler said. “Peytyn and Ava still have work to do, and they’ll be ready to rise to the challenge in Austin in two weeks.”
On the boys’ side, the Bearcats finished fourth as a team, with one member earning a spot at the state meet.
Bennett Cory (Sr.) led the way for the Bearcats, taking bronze in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.90 that tied the previous regional record and broke the record for the fastest time in the event in Pilot Point ISD’s history.
Cory said his performance was the culmination of years of hard work and learning from past setbacks.
“[It] was a long time coming,” he said. “… I’m excited for the opportunity to run against an incredibly strong field. Right now, I'm seeded fourth, so I'm not out of the question for a medal. If I do, I think I get to do an interview with MileSplit, and that would be a great opportunity to give glory to God and to inspire some of the guys that came up short in races like I have in the past.”
Pilot Point head boys track coach Tyler Lawson spoke highly of the Bearcats’ lone senior.
“What a race,” he said. “It was neck and neck between the top three kids. [Bennett] went out knowing he had to run a certain time, and he hit that, and that time was good enough to get him to state, so we're excited for him, especially with him being the only senior on the team.”
The Bearcats 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Cory, Hunter Newman (Jr.), Lane Eft (Jr.) and Drevion James (Jr.) finished third with a time of 3:23.18, missing a spot in Austin as a wildcard by less than a second.
Newman also finished 14th in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet-4 1/2-inches.
Kaleb Reid (Fr.) placed seventh in pole vaulting with a height of 11-feet-6-inches.
