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Defending state champion Rowlett claims Class 5A Region II track championship
By DEVIN HASSON/Staff Writer
Rowlett, the reigning Class 5A state track and field champions, put itself in good position to defend that title as it claimed the championship at the Class 5A Region II track and field meet last Friday and Saturday at the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex at Baylor University in Waco.
The Eagles finished with a total of 71 points to edge Killeen Ellison, which had 66, for the team championship.
Rowlett, which had to wait nearly six weeks between the district and regional meets due to the suspension of activity due to the swine flu outbreak, will attempt to defend its state crown on June 5-6 at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.
As usual, Marquise Goodwin was the all-around star as he once again qualified in five events.
Goodwin won the long jump with a mark of 25-6.25, which was nearly a foot-and-a-half further than runner-up Daniel Carr of Temple. The results were similar in the triple jump, where Goodwin’s mark of 50-3 was more than two feet better than Temple’s Tevin Reese.
Goodwin also won the 200 meters in a time of 21.57 seconds, finished second in the 100, just four-hundredths of a second behind Ellison’s Prezel Hardy, and was part of the second-place 400 relay team.
Goodwin is already one of the most decorated track and field athletes in the history of Texas, and his coach has no worries about him feeling any pressure going into his final meet as a member of the Rowlett team.
“He’s used to the atmosphere and he knows what to expect,” Nanez said. “He knows what to do to get himself ready physically and mentally and that’s what he’s going to do. He’s a pro, I mean, he’s still an amateur, obviously, but he’s a pro in the way he handles himself.”
Clemons, the defending state champion in the 400 meters, is on pace to defend that crown, as well. Clemons took first at the regional competition in a time of 47.63 seconds, beating Bralon Taplin of Round Rock Stony Point by half a second.
The Eagles are in a similar position as they were last year with Goodwin qualifying in five events and Clemons being a favorite at least earn points, if not win, the 400. Rowlett’s 400 relay team is also back, although the 800 relay team, which had one of the fastest times in the state, did not make it out of the district meet.
The top competition is expected to once again be Killeen Ellison, who gave the Eagles a tough challenge this past weekend. Ellison has two relays, the regional 100-meter champion and a top-rated hurdler as part of its group that is hoping to claim the team title.
“It will probably take around 60 points to win, but if you look at the last 25 years, a lot of times it has been 48-49 points that has won it,” Nanez said. “Last year it took 70, but this year it will probably be between 50-60 to win it.”
In other regional results for the boys, Ryan Larabee placed sixth in the pole vault, while Sachse’s 400 relay team took sixth to earn the Mustangs their only points of the competition.
The Rowlett girls placed 16th with a total of 11 points. Taylor Guyton narrowly missed out on a state berth when she took third in the long jump. Guyton was also sixth in the triple jump, while the 1,600 relay team also placed sixth.
“I’m satisfied with their performance overall, and I was happy with the girls, too,” “They scored 11 points but everybody down there was able to set a personal record and we set two school records. When kids perform at their best, even if they don’t win, that is a successful meet.”
While the girls’ season comes to an end, there is still plenty of work for the Rowlett boys. Despite weather delays—the Eagles tried to compete in a regional qualifier two weeks ago, but it was rained out—as well as UIL suspensions, Rowlett has put itself in a position to do what it set out to and that is defend the state championship.
And as the team proved last year, it has the talent and drive to live up to that expectation.
“If we take care of business, I can’t ask for anything more,” Nanez said. “Last year, we certainly got a lot of experience and we have those guys who have been there before. We certainly have a great chance.”
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