The Mason High School track program is showing why it continues to be a contender on the track and in field events that lead to success in other sports.
No one is demonstrating that more than high jumper Anna Marie Whitworth. The Class 2A all-state post is equally commanding at the high jump pit as she is on the basketball court where she showed in just about every game, she was the best player.
On the track, however, the Punchers raise the stakes as much as they raise the bar.
After she won the Llano Jackets Relays March 6 by clearing 5 feet 4 inches to set a new personal best and attempted to clear 5-6, Whitworth explained her success on the track.
'What helps me is the boys jump really high heights,' she said. 'And they make me jump with them. That makes me jump higher.'
Clearing 5-6 is as much personal as it is skillful. Her's mother best flop was at 5-6, so the younger Whitworth wants to match and then surpass it.
The athlete cleared 5-2 at the Lee Graham Relays hosted by Mason March 12 to win her third consecutive gold medal.
'She’s had a good solid several meets in a row of getting over that 5-foot mark,' Cowgirls head coach Kyndel McLeod said. 'So that’s really big. We’re really proud of her and excited about that.'
Mitchell Underwood won the boys high jump at 6-2 at Llano as the Cowgirls watched and cheered him on.
McLeod, who assists the high jumpers, confirmed those athletes bring out the best in each other at practices.
'It just makes it very competitive,' she said. 'We have boys and girls at each event, and so sometimes for the girls, it’s like, 'OK, move the bar down. Girls jump for a while.
Move the bar or the bungee back up for the boys.' But (Whitworth is) good enough and talented enough to where she can kind of jump with what the boys are jumping and kind of compete against them a little bit. We’re a small school, so they’re all close. They like to mess with each other, challenge each other, 'Oh, I bet you can’t get this one. Anna Marie just jumped what you jumped.' So it's competitive against each.'
Ava McCrea competed on the varsity for the first time at the Graham Relays and finished fifth in the long jump at 14-8, seventh in the high jump at 4-8, and 10th in the 400 meters in 1 minute 10.58 seconds.
'She was real close to placing in the high jump,' McLeod said. 'She got a great mark and was our furthest jumper in long jump. I put her in the open quarter because she’s kind of one of my mile-relay alternates and of course she was in the first heat with some really fast ones.'
The Cowgirls won the 800-meter and 1,600-meter relays, which was a great bounce-back after finishing seventh in the 400-meter relay because of a botched baton exchange.
'I was really, really proud of (the 1,600-meter runners),' the coach said. 'Emma (McCrea), of course, ran a great leg.
She’s been running our fastest split every week. She’s our anchor pretty much on all three relays. Since the first track meet or two, I had her in open events just because I didn’t have all my basketball girls yet. But the last few meets, she’s been on all three relays and anchoring those. And she’s such a strong runner. You know, she’s got experience. She’s just a great, great kid and a great leader.'
Sutten Silerio and Carlton Schmidt, who made his track debut, helped pace the Punchers at the Graham Relays.
Both were on the 800-meter relay team, while Silerio also was on the 1,600-meter relay team and Schmidt ran the 400-meters. They left with multiple gold medals.
'Pretty much every week (Silerio) stands out, whether he’s running the anchor leg on the relays or the leadoff leg or running the open 200,' McLeod said. 'He’s just amazing.
He’s the one that has medaled at state multiple times each year. (Schmidt) looks really strong. That was impressive for Carlton to come out and win the quarter.'
Cooper Ratliff took double gold in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, while Caden Klingelhefer took double silver in the 800 and 1,600 meters. Angel Quintero finished fifth in the 800 meters and fourth in the 1,600 meters.
'They’re good,'said McLeod who also is the head cross country coach and coached all three. 'They challenge themselves just like in cross country. They kind have matured and realized their potential and gained some confidence to where they’re really starting to challenge themselves and they’re not afraid to hurt and work for it. And so they have been fun to watch.'
Mason will compete at the Angelo State High School
RESULTS Lee Graham Relays March 12 BOYS Varsity
100 – 1, Caleb Koenig, 11.5, 10, Fisher Bradley, 12.0; 400 – 1, Carlton Schmidt, 52.13, 2, Caleb Koenig, 53.40; 800 – 2, Caden Klingelhefer, 2:12.12, 5, Angel Quintero, 2:19.64; 1,600 – 1, Cooper Ratliff, 5:02.63, 2, Caden Klingelhefer, 5:12.65, 4, Angel Quintero, 5:20.33; 3,200 – 1, Cooper Ratliff, 10:50.76, 4, Garrett Lindsay, 11:23.67; 4x100 – 1, Mason, 44.58; 4x200 – 1, Mason, 1:30.71; 4x400 – 1, Mason, 3:32.17; long jump – 1, Hunter Bradley, 20-9 Junior varsity
100 – 3, Cass Dutton, 12.33, 6, George Velez, 12.59; 200 – 9, Nathaniel Lanning, 26.12; 800 – 4, Sam Simonton, 2:31.60; 1,600 – 2, Sam Simonton, 5:44.70; 3,200 – 4, Sam Simonton, 12:44.22, 8, Thomas Kruso, 13:58.56; 110 hurdles – 1, Asher Bonnett, 17.65; 300 hurdles – 1, Kolton Wenzel, 45.19, 2, Asher Bonnett, 48.38; 4x100 – 2, Mason, 48.49; 4x200 – 1, Mason, 1:40.96; 4x400 – 2, Mason, 3:59.33; long jump – 3, Slade Buell, 17-7.25, 5, Kolton Wenzel, 17-6.5; triple jump – 6, Rylan Hershman, 33-10; discus – 7, Derric Burch, 95-4; shot put – 8, Travis Vinson, 32-4.5
GIRLS Varsity, fourth in the team standings
100 – 2, Brianne Lewis, 13.18, 9, Camille Schmidt, 13.62, 10, Jancie Miller, 13.64; 200 – 6, Camille Schmidt, 28.53, 9, Taryn McCrea, 29.80; 400 – 10, Ava McCrea, 1:10.58; 1600 – 7, Elizabeth McFarland, 6:08.98; 3200 – 3, Elizabeth McFarland, 13:23.21; 300 hurdles – 7, Kaitlin Paiva, 53.98; 4x100 – 7, Mason (Brianne Lewis, Jancie Miller, Taryn McCrea, Emma McCrea), 54.29; 4x200 – 1, Mason (Brianne Lewis, Kaitlin Paiva, Taryn McCrea, Emma McCrea), 1:52.01; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Camille Schmidt, Kaitlin Paiva, Shaylee Edminston, Emma McCrea), 4:19.51; high jump – 1, Anna Marie Whitworth, 5-2, 6, Kaitlin Paiva, 4-8, 7, Ava McCrea, 4-8; long jump – 5, Ava McCrea, 14-11, 10, Emma McCrea, 14-8; triple jump – 6, Kaitlin Paiva, 31-4.25; shot put – 4, Casey Montague, 29-2.5
Junior varsity, second in the team standings
100 – 1, Dulce Sifurentes, 14.21, 5, Kinley Wenzel, 14.90; 200 – 1, Dulce Sifuentes, 29.90, 7, Kinley Wenzel, 31.43; 400 – 3, Kinsley Atchison, 1:13.28, 4, Annabell Marshall, 1:13.89, 6, Reese Edwards, 1:17.49; 800 – 2, Ryleigh Peel, 2:48.72, 3, Adalie Thomas, 2:53.46; 100 hurdles – 3, Kinley Wenzel, 20.13; 300 hurdles – 2, Adalie Thomas, 58.05, 3, Cameron Asbill, 1:01.26; 4x100 – 1, Mason (Caitlin McCrea, Brooke Lewis, Rylee Bradley, Annabell Marshall), 54.72; 4x200 – 1, Mason (Caitlin McCrea, Brooke Lewis, Rylee Bradley, Annabell Marshall), 1:56.54; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Caitlin McCrea, Ryleigh Peel, Adalie Thomas, Rylee Bradley), 4:39.03; high jump – 3, Kinley Wenzel, 4-6, 5, Adalie Thomas, 4-2; long jump – 1, Ryleigh Peel, 14-8.25, 3, Dulce Sifuentes, 13-6.75; triple jump – 7, Cameron Asbill, 27-3 Llano Yellow Jackets Relays March 6 BOYS Varsity, first with 167 points
100 – 1, Sutten Silero, 11.55, 3, Hunter Bradley, 11.80; 200 – 1, Sutten Silero, 22.44, 3, Hunter Bradley, 23.26; 400 – 1, Carlton Schmidt, 51.62; 800 – 3, Caden Klingelhefer, 2:11.30, 5, Angel Quintero, 2:15.15, 8, Cooper Ratliff, 2:17.05; 1,600 – 1, Cooper Ratliff, 4:55.13, 2, Caden Klingelhefer, 5:00.37, 4, Angel Quintero, 5:11.54; 3,200 – 3, Garrett Lindsay, 11:15; 300 hurdles – 2, Jaxon Valverde, 45.22; 4x100 – 4, Mason (Fisher Bradley, Clancy Osbourn, Caleb Koenig, Jaxon Valverde), 44.66; 4x200 – 1, Mason (Sutten Silero, Jaxson Reichenau, Caleb Koenig, Clancy Osbourn), 1:30.64; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Clancy Osbourn, Caleb Koenig, Jaxson Reichenau, Hunter Bradley), 3:29.34; long jump – 3, Hunter Bradley, 19-6.75; high jump – 1, Mitchell Underwood, 6-2; shot put – 1, Reegan Evans, 46-4.5, 6, Cannon Rabon, 40-4; discus – 4, Cannon Rabon, 129-4.5, 5, Fisher Bradley, 127-10 Junior Varsity, first with 140.25 points
100 – 8, Slade Buell, 13.10, 9, Hudson Burns, 13.18; 200 – 7, Nathaniel Lanning, 26.20; 1,600 – 1, Irving Tavera, 5:34.08, 4, Sam Simonton, 5:42.10; 3,200 – 1, Irving Tavera, 11:42, 5, Sam Simonton, 12:44; 110 hurdles — 1, Jayden Smith, 18.46, 2, Asher Bonnett, 19.69; 300 hurdles – 2, Jayden Smith, 46.41, 4, Asher Bonnett, 47.91; 4x100 – 2, Mason (Kolton Wenzel, Slade buell, Hudson Burns, Asher Bonnett), 47.75; 4x200 – 1, Mason (Jayden Smith, George Velez, Nathaniel Lanning, Kolton Wenzel), 1:40.07; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Kolton Wenzel, George Velez, Robert Johnson, Hudson Burns), 3:50.73; long jump – 2, Hudson Burns, 18-1, 5, George Velez, 16-10, 6, Slade Buell, 16-9; triple jump – 2, Kolton Wenzel, 35-6; high jump – 5, Nathaniel Lanning, 5-2, 6, Jayden Smith, 5-0; shot put – 6, Jackson Contrucci, 34-3.5; discus – 3, Cass Dutton, 117-37, Derric Burch, 102-4 GIRLS Varsity, fifth with 87.5 points
100 – 8, Shaylee Edmiston, 14.23, 10, Rylee Bradley, 14.30; 200 – 5, Kaitlin Paiva, 28.62, 6, Camille Schmidt, 28.65; 400 – 4, Rylee Bradley, 1:08.77; 1,600 – 5, Elizabeth McFarland, 6:04.14, 8, Hannah McFarland, 6:42.49; 3,200 – 2, Elizabeth McFarland, 13:20; 4x100 – 1, Mason (Brianne Lewis, Jancie Miller, Taryn McCrea, Emma McCrea), 52.09; 4x200 – 2, Mason (Brianne Lewis, Jancie Miller, Taryn McCrea, Emma McCrea), 1:50.89; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Camille Schmidt, Kaitlin Paiva, Ava McCrea, Emma McCrea), 4:19.12; long jump – 5, Emma McCrea, 14-4, 6, Taryn Mc-Crea, 14-0; shot put – 7, Kylie Sparks, 27- 1.5, 8, Chloe Swan, 26-10; discus – 7, Kylie Sparks, 90-6, 8, Chloe Swan, 80-1; triple jump – 7, Kaitlin Paiva, 29-8.5; high jump – 1, Anna Marie Whitworth, 5-4 (personal best), 5, Kaitlin Paiva, 4-8 Junior Varsity, second with 132 points
100 – 1, Brooke Lewis, 14.35, 8, Kinley Wenzel, 15.60; 200 – 8, Kinley Wenzel, 31.63; 400 – 4, Kinsley Atchison, 1:11.34, 9, Reese Edwards, 1:15.01; 800 – 2, Adalie Thomas, 2:47.95, 3, Ryleigh Peel, 2:47.97; 300 hurdles – 2, Adalie Thomas, 58.86, 8, Cameron Asbill, 1:04.06; 4x100 – 2, Mason (Caitlin McCrea, Brooke Lewis, Dulce Sifuentes, Ava McCrea), 55.60; 4x200 – 1, Mason (Caitlin McCrea, Brooke Lewis, Dulce Sifuentes, Ava McCrea), 1:58.69; 4x400 – 1, Mason (Rylee Bradley, Ryleigh Peel, Adalie Thomas, Caitlin McCrea), 4:41.61; long jump – 1, Ava McCrea, 14-5.5, 2, Dulce Sifuentes, 14-1.5, 4, Ryleigh Peel, 14-0; triple jump – 4, Cameron Asbill, 26-8.75; high jump – 1, Ava McCrea, 4-8, 3, Kinley Wenzel, 4-4;
