9 track athletes head to regionals

Grace+Ridgeway+runs+the+200+meter+dash+at+the+Lovejoy+Invitational+Track+Meet+held+before+the+district+meet.

Stu Mair

Grace Ridgeway runs the 200 meter dash at the Lovejoy Invitational Track Meet held before the district meet.

Drew Doig, Staff Reporter

Members of both girls and boys track teams have advanced to compete at the regional meet on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30, at Maverick Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington.

The weather calls for a 90 percent chance of precipitation with thunderstorms very likely, which could cause the meet to be postponed.

“For this week we are not doing anything difficult,” head coach Logan Kelly said. “It will also be interesting to see if the regional meet schedule changes, or not due to the expected weather this Friday and Saturday, we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can stay on schedule.”

Kelly will have two individual members of his team and his 4X100 meter relay team competing in the regional meet. This includes sophomore Juliet Franz, sophomore Grace Ridgeway, junior JoJoe McRae, freshman Kassidy Litchenburg, and senior Riley Gournay.

Franz finished in fourth place last week in the 100 meter hurdles at the area meet last week (15.36). Ridgeway placed second in the 300 meter hurdles and first in the pole vault, with a personal record of 11-7.

The 4X100 meter relay team is composed of McRae, Litchenburg, Gournay, and Ridgeway, who finished in fourth place at the area meet last week (49.41).

Ridgeway said the pole vault is her best chance to advance to state, as she is currently ranked at the top of the region. She noted the importance of mental preparation in getting ready for this meet.

“Track is mostly mindset, so if you think you you’re going to do something, most likely you’ll do it,” Ridgeway said. “So just telling myself, ‘I’m going to state,’ and helping my team get to state, everyone has to be positive.”

The boys team, led by head coach Tim Denton, will have three individual members of his team competing at the regional meet this weekend. This includes freshman Jake Chamberlin, sophomore Ryan Brands and junior Grant Tiff.

Chamberlin will be competing in the 400 meters, where he finished third in the area (49.91). Brands will compete in the 1600 meters, where he also finished third at area with a school record breaking time of 4:24.67. Tiff competed in the 3200 meters, where he also finished in third (9:42.97).

Brands said rest is playing an important role for him in preparing for the weekend’s meet.

“I am preparing for regionals by keeping up with my nutrition, eating healthy and keeping my meals balanced, going to cryotherapy for recovery, and overall doing light workouts,” Brands said.