MFalls field athletes reflect on their performances at area meet

Marble Falls High School pole vaulters Django Segovia and Meredith Cormier, both seniors, and junior Anne McCary were still riding high about their finishes at the District 25-26 area meet April 20 that advanced them to the Class 5A Region IV meet. The trio met in the high school weight room a day after the area meet to lift weights to get rid of soreness and help prevent injuries.

Segovia won the boys gold medal thanks to clearing 15 feet, while Cormier and McCary were second and third, respectively, in the girls competition thanks to vaulting 10-6 and 10-0.

Joining the trio at the regional meet, which is April 29-30 at Heroes Stadium, 4799 Thousand Oaks in San Antonio. is senior thrower Logan Barnes, whose 151-11 in the discus earned him the bronze.

During the last practice before the area meet, Segovia said his goals were to qualify for regionals, win the area meet, and break the school record, which is 15-0. He attempted 15-1 three times but couldn’t quite get over the bar. By the end, he had made a total of nine attempts during the competition.

He entered the event at 13-6 and needed only one try to clear it and 14-0, two attempts to clear 14-6, one to clear 14-9 and 15-0.

“I only take (a total of) three or four jumps (during a meet),” he said. “I felt pretty good. I thought I would do well. I surprised myself on how well I did. I went in with a mindset of ‘going to win.'”

Hours after completing her competition, Cormier, who is the daughter of 1992 Marble Falls High School graduates Rob and Charla Cormier, was resting her aching shins. She noted the area meet had some drizzle with a tailwind. Since the girls didn’t compete until 1 p.m., Cormier said she took a power nap that helped her mentally and physically. She entered the competition at 9-0 and needed two attempts to clear it followed by one attempt at 9-6, 10-0 and 10-6, and two attempts at 10-9. The second attempt at 10-9 is when she hit the bar with her shins.

“I think I was off,” she said. “I was frustrated because I didn’t know what I was doing wrong.”

By then only Cormier and Georgetown’s Karina Tanis remained. Tanis won the gold by clearing 10-6 to add to her gold from the District 25-5A meet.

McCary said she needed three attempts to clear her opening height of 9-0. Before taking her final attempt at that height, her club coach recommended McCary change her hand placement. That helped her clear that height and propelled her to finish third.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “Everything we’ve worked for this whole season is paying off.”

She needed two attempts at clearing 9-6 and cleared 10-0 on her first try.

“That was a weight off my chest,” she said. “I solidified my spot to regionals. I knew I was going to make it.”

She noted the wind, adding a judge signaled to the vaulters when it was safe for them to run down the runway.

“You had to be focused on what you were doing,” she said.

Barnes said he arrived at the meet “anxious to get out there and compete.”

“I felt good mentally,” he said. “I went through my motions and got myself mentally prepared. I was having fun and staying loose and not stressing out. When it came time to throw, we did our normal warmups on the side.”

That calmness resulted in the throw that sent him to regionals, which came on his first attempt. Throwing coach Richard Scales said Barnes led the field for several rounds. Barnes called that toss “effortless.”

“It clicked on that throw,” he said.

Barnes, who will play football and throw the discus and shot put for Texas Lutheran University, has a knack for coming up big in the big moments. He did that in 2020 when he kicked a 40-yard field against Brenham in a bi-district championship that sent the Mustangs into the second round. In 2021, Barnes had several punts that pinned the Cubs deep in their own territory that helped propel the Mustangs to another bi-district victory in Brenham, this time in double overtime.

“As a freshman and sophomore, I don’t think I had that,” Barnes said of his ability to come up big. “I think I crumbled under pressure a lot. As a junior I really wanted to make my mark. I wanted to embrace (the pressure). I used it to help me perform better. I feel so blessed to have the coaching staff and the relationships. I feel blessed to have the … opportunities I have.”

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