By Tom Waddill
Sports Editor
HUNTSVILLE —
The track teams from Huntsville High School did exactly what their head coach wanted them to do last week in the final tune-up before the all-important District 18-4A meet.
The Hornets finished first and the Lady Hornets placed third in the team standings at the Bronco Relays in Dayton.
“For the first time this season, the boys finished first,” Huntsville coach Jason Elliott said Monday afternoon. “I’m hoping that’s a good sign. Last year we didn’t win a meet until the week before district. Our boys won the team title in Madisonville last year, then they won district.
“I’m hoping the same holds true this year.”
The Lady Hornets have won three team titles this spring. They made a run at No. 4 in Willis two weeks ago, then in Dayton last Friday.
“Our girls are in very good shape right now,” Elliott said. “I’m very pleased with the direction they’re going. They’ve won a few meets and they’ve gotten better each week.
“I think the girls are in better shape this year. They’ve gotten stronger as the season’s gone on. The great thing is, these girls are young. We’ve only got one senior, Jamie Brown.”
In field events last week, Huntsville sophomore RaKira Turner won both the shot put (40 feet, 10 inches) and discus (130-7) for the second consecutive meet. Teammate Kristine Hanks placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 33 feet, 4 inches.
Huntsville senior Brodrick Hadnot finished second in the boys shot put with a throw of 47-4, while teammate Jimmy Spivey took fifth with a toss of 46-4.
Quenntin Tucker won the boys discus for the Hornets with a throw of 138 feet, 10 inches. Hadnot took second with a throw of 132-7.
In the girls long jump, Huntsville’s Jasmine Freeman took third, Kaylynne Wright finished fourth and RaNina Turner was sixth.
The Lady Hornets’ 400-meter relay team of Brown, Shan Moring, Jasmine Williams and Wright finished first in a time of 48.78 seconds.
“That’s their fastest time of the year, plus it’s a FAT time,” said Elliott of the Lady Hornets’ fully-automatic time.
The Huntsville boys — Dimitri Collier, Cameron Simmons, Henry Ford and Justin Gilbert — won the 400-meter relay in a time of 42.32 seconds.
Coming off an impressive victory at the Texas Relays, Gilbert won the boys 100 meters last week, running a time of 10.78 seconds. Simmons finished third in 10.82.
Gilbert also won the 200-meter dash. Running the 200 for the first time, Gilbert crossed the finish line in 22.0 seconds.
“We’re trying to find ways to get more points,” Elliott said. “We could put Gilbert in the pole vault and he’d get us some points. He’s that type of athlete.”
In the boys 400 meters, Chris Burns of Huntsville (52.1) placed second and Chris Crawford (52.7) was fourth.
Nina Turner ran fifth and sister Kendra Turner placed sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. Huntsville’s Gabe Franklin placed fifth in the boys 110-meter hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles.
In the girls 1,600-meter run, Jimmie Brummett finished fourth for the Lady Hornets in 5:38.0.
The Huntsville girls finished second in the 1,600-meter relay. Moring teamed with Sierra Wagner, Maya Perry and Briana McCall to run a 4:08 time.
In the last race of the day, the Hornet boys finished first in the 1,600-meter relay. Denzel Archie and Erroll Hodge teamed with Crawford and Burns to run a 3:23.54 time.
On Monday, the Hornets and Lady Hornets worked out for about an hour, practicing their starts from the blocks, concentrating on handoffs and doing a little light throwing and jumping.
The Huntsville teams will have an even lighter workout after school today.
The district meet gets started at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Yates Stadium in Willis with the girls pole vault and boys long jump. Running prelims begin at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Running finals start Thursday at 6 p.m.
