The regional track meets wrapped up Saturday, with the area 3A schools competing at Abilene Christian University and the area 1A schools competing at Whitney High School.
Prairie Valley’s Mason Allen and Bellevue’s Sky-Lar Embry qualified for the state meet, with Allen winning the boy’s high jump and Embry finishing second in the girl’s 100 meter race.
Allen won the event by jumping 6 feet, four inches higher than second place. His Coach Seth Stephens was excited for him.
“We knew going in that he had a shot to win, but when it actually happened we were super excited about it,” Stephens said. “It took him a while to get going this year in track, partly due to our abbreviated season, but I feel like he really hit his stride after district and he has continued improving since then.”
Embry improved her time from 13.85 seconds in the prelims to 13.71 seconds in the finals to earn second place in the 100 meter race.
While she missed out qualifying in the 200 meters with a fourth place finish, her coach John McGee was proud Embry has one more chance to represent Bellevue.
“There are no words to express the fight and heart that Sky-Lar Embry has and the natural ability to compete on any stage,” McGee said. “I believe this is huge for the whole community of Bellevue and it shines a spotlight on this community and brings recognition to Bellevue ISD.”
Saint Jo had a couple of athletes barley miss the cut with third place finishes. Logan Brawner finished third in the 200 meters and long jump. Collin Thomas finished third in the 800 meters.
Other 1A area athletes who finished among the top six in their event and scored their team points included: Saint Jo’s Noble Koelzer in the 400 meters, Gold-Burg’s Will Hodges in the 110 meter and 300 meter hurdles, Saint Jo’s Dawson Everson in the pole vault, Saint Jo’s Brawner in the triple and the Saint Jo boy’s 4×400 relay team.
For the 3A schools Nocona and Bowie, just getting through prelims was an accomplishment.
The Indians Trent Sappington made it to the 400 meter finals and finished fifth, the highest place for either school.
The Lady Indians Allie Brown’s seventh place finish in the 3200 meters was the second highest.
The Lady Rabbits highest finisher was Jayci Logan placing ninth in the 200 meters in the prelims.
The state meet is scheduled for May 6-8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
Allen is scheduled to compete at 11:30 a.m. on May 8. Embry is scheduled to run at 6:05 p.m. on May 8.

Results for all area school competitors are listed in the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.