Marble Falls, Burnet runners advance to state
CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Tyler Hamblin leads a pack of Class 4A Region III runners as he sees the finish line and runs toward it for gold. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
Several Burnet and Marble Falls high school runners are returning to the Class 4A state meet after finishing in the top 10 of the Class 3A Region III championships Oct. 21.
The meet was at Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park in Huntsville.
Marble Falls senior Tyler Hamblin won the boys individual championship thanks to clocking 15 minutes and 33.85 seconds on the 5K course. Right behind him was Burnet junior Victor Aviles, who took silver in 15:41.78 and Burnet senior Isaias Zarate was sixth in 15:59.65.
The Burnet Bulldogs were the runners-up in the boys division to advance to the state meet, while the Lady Dawgs finished sixth overall in the team standings.
However, Marble Falls freshman Reese Massey was fourth overall in the girls individual standings to join Hamblin at the state meet. She finished the two-mile course in 12:15.47.
Marble Falls head coach Brenda Gonzalez praised her runners for their finishes. It’s the first regional championship for Hamblin.
“I’ve seen a narrow focus,” she said. “He knows what he needs to do and what to do. I saw him in the zone. I didn’t see him as nervous.”
The boys race included three loops, and Gonzalez saw Hamblin at the third loop.
“He was leading it by quite a bit in the second mile,” she said. “The top eight were all together when they passed me. He wasn’t plagued by the competition. He wasn’t phased by the competition, he didn’t fall back. He just finished with another (15-minute run).”
The coach was equally happy with Massey’s performance.
“I’m really proud of her with her being a freshman and how she approached it and the way she did it,” Gonzalez said. “Our whole goal was survive and advance. She was able to compete and finish fourth. I’m proud of her. I’m anxious to see what she can do at state.”
Though the Mustangs as a team didn’t advance to the regional meet, Gonzalez noted the two weeks of practices with the other runners helped Hamblin and Massey.
And freshman Graham Goggans and sophomores Owen Martin, Colton Rutland and Brazos White all set new personal bests.
To illustrate how dominant District 24-4A was at regionals, consider this.
In the girls race, Reese was one of four district runners to finish in the top 10. The other three were Salado runners, including regional individual champion McCall Boyd, a freshman.
In the boys race, the district’s runners were better. Eight of the top 11 runners competed in the District 24-4A meet two weeks ago and Salado senior Luke Anderson was fourth at the regional meet behind teammate Coulson Boyd, a junior, who took bronze.
The state meet is Friday, Nov. 1, at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. The girls run at 9:30 a.m. and the boys compete at 10 a.m.
RESULTS
BOYS
1, Tyler Hamblin (Marble Falls), 15:33.85; 2, Victor Aviles (Burnet), 15:41.78; 6, Isaias Zarate (Burnet), 15:59.65; 22, Gustavo Vega (Burnet), 16:58.53; 23, Isaac Vega (Burnet), 17:00.67; 28, Graham Goggans (Marble Falls), 17:11; 29, Owen Martin (Marble Falls), 17:11.21; 44, Clark Yanez (Burnet), 17:29.55; 45, Hector Vega-Palacios (Burnet), 17:34.24; 53, Austin Moore (Burnet), 17:39.57; 69, Brazos White (Marble Falls), 18:06; 76, Colton Rutland (Marble Falls), 18:18.36
GIRLS
4, Reese Massey (Marble Falls), 12:15.47; 22, Abby Bennight (Burnet), 12:47.90; 23, Maya Calderon (Burnet), 12:47.97; 39, Marissa Aviles (Burnet), 13:17.88; 52, Brooke Bowman (Burnet), 13:37.34; 73, Hannah Webster (Burnet), 14:06.30; 95, Erica Flores (Burnet), 14:29.12
CAPTION: Marble Falls freshman Reese Massey finishes in the top four of the girls race in her regional meet debut. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
