Marble Falls, Burnet track & field athletes head to regionals
CAPTION: Marble Falls freshman Madison Cuplin will compete at the Class 4A Region III for the first time. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
Burnet and Marble Falls high school track and field athletes will compete at the Class 4A Region III championships Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, at Bullard High School, 1426 S. Houston Street in Bullard.
Athletes must finish in the top two of their events at the regional meet to advance to the Class 4A state meet.
Representing Marble Falls are senior Jeremiah Bales, who is the District 23 and 24-4A area champion in the shot put, senior jumper Cameron Graham, senior Nick Dahl and junior Tyler Hamblin, who are running in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters, junior discus thrower Kylie Roberts, and freshman jumper Madison Cuplin.
Bales’ victory was the most impressive finish by a Mustang at the area meet April 10.
“Jeremiah has been improving over the last three weeks,” throwing coach Richard Scales said. “Going into district, I expected him to place and go to area. Which gave us another week to keep working on his technique. His ability to be coachable and make adjustments between throws has allowed him to continue to throw farther and farther each week. Going into area, I expected Jeremiah to either win or place second depending on how the other district performed. He had some great competition that pushed him to throw his personal best of (46 feet and 2 inches) and win the meet.”
Roberts, who returns for her second regional appearance, has impressed all season by breaking a 30-year school record. She placed third at the area meet.
“Kylie is expected to do well, and she proves that time and time again,” Scales said. “Kylie and Jeremiah have both prepared and worked hard on improving their techniques these last couple of weeks. After they and (senior) Lexie Edwards qualified for the area meet, we were able to spend more time focusing on the quality of the throws and correcting the finer details of the technique of throwing.”
Burnet junior Victor Aviles, the defending Class 4A state champion in the 800 meters, and Dahl battled it out for first and second at the area meet. Dahl and Hamblin went second and third in the 1,600 meters with Aviles for a 1, 2, 3 finish.
Dahl ran a personal best 1:59.42 in the 800 meters at the area meet to break the 2-minute barrier for the fourth time this season. Hamblin finished one second behind Aviles, the area champion, in the 3,200 meters.
Cuplin has been the talk of the town as she debuted her track talents, soaring to new lengths in both the long and triple jumps and punched her regional ticket in both events after placing second and third at area meet.
Graham competes in the triple jump after placing second at the area meet following in the footsteps of his Mustang alum dad and coach Jamie Graham.
Aviles is among the favorites to advance to the state meet. Aviles won the 800 meters at the area meet in 1:59.02. He’ll also compete in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
Burnet senior pole vaulters Brayden Hill, who is the defending Class 4A state champion, and Brady Rygaard, who finished tied for sixth at the state meet in 2023, also advanced to regionals by placing second and third at the area meet. Burnet’s 400-meter relay and 800-meter relay teams took home gold from the area meet.
Running for the Bulldogs in the sprint relay are senior Grant Jones and juniors Khris Kassner, Colton Stanford and Noah Crawford. The 800-meter relay team of Brody Danson, Crawford, Jones and Stanford is ready to step to the starting line after an impressive season.
“The boys are really excited about competing this weekend with a chance at state on the line,” head coach Ben Speer said.
On the girls’ side, senior Kyleigh Mott returns to the regional scene in discus after placing fourth at area meet. Head coach Crystal Shipley said she hopes Mott’s regional appearance will encourage more girls to try throwing events. Sophomore runner Asah Roy will compete in the 800 and 1,600 meters.
Senior Addie Houston makes her regional debut in the 200 meters and the 1,600-meter relay. Other relay members are juniors Adriana Briggs and Camryn Courtney and freshman Cali Eason.
“We are so proud of how Houston has led her team with experience and proved that hard work and commitment really does pay off,” Shipley said. “We are confident in how we have prepared, and the girls will practice as normal until we leave for Bullard on Thursday.”
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