The Llano High School track and field program continued its streak of winning district championships thanks to the Lady Jackets' junior varsity wins in the last two events of the meet April 2.
The District 5-3A meet was conducted April 1-2 at Llano Stadium.
Freshmen Kenley Schulze and Abby Macedo took gold and silver in the 1,600 meters and the 1,600-meter relay team won first in the meet's final event to seal the team victory.
Head coach Ryan Priem noted that "98 percent of the junior varsity were freshmen." For this class, winning track meets is the norm. It never lost a track meet in the seventh and eighth grades. In addition the sophomore class also won the district championship as eighth-graders, too.
In all, the track program has four consecutive classes that have won district crowns.
Priem noted the win was hard fought as the Lady Jackets battled Blanco for two days. Going into the 1,600 meters, Llano trailed by seven points.
But their finishes in the final two events resulted in 38 points for a grand total of 190 points to the Lady Panthers' 171.
"I am so proud of this group," Priem said.
The boys junior varsity team was second in the standings after the Yellow Jackets fought their way back up to finish with 143 points. Blanco won the division with 153.75 points.
Priem noted Llano was down by as much as 44 points during the final night.
"We came up just 10 points short," he said. "I loved the fight by the entire team. I'm already looking forward to this group next year. Very proud of this group."
While the girls of class of 2028 kept its steak of team district championships going, members of the Llano varsity teams had some impressive performances, too.
The throwers took home several medals led by sophomore Cole Kennedy and junior Peyton Parrish.
Kennedy finished second in the boys shot put with a heave of 47 feet and 10.75 inches, while junior Konrad Zwicke was third with a mark of 46-5.
Those throws set new personal records. Zwicke beat his old mark by four feet.
"His technique got better and he got his feet under him," shot put coach Richard Kattner said. "They had chances to recover since the last meet. Cole is doing better. He has the physique and the strength to do it. It's putting it all together."
Kennedy added the individual district title in the discus with a toss of 144-2. Zwicke had a mark of 124-8 to finish fifth.
Parrish took bronze in the discus with a throw of 109-5 and was fifth in the shot put with a heave of 29-5. Junior Emilie Clopton finished fourth in the discus with a mark of 103-2.
All four punched their tickets to the District 5 and 6-3A area meet. Results weren't available by press time.
"I'm really proud of my girls," discus coach Joe Kennedy said. "Emilie (set a new personal record) and Peyton was close. It's neat to see that mentality – you can go in and throw and do it. You throw and go get it every single time. They did it all."
He was equally proud of his son, who attended a throwing camp that helped him master the techniques that led to the medals.
"The way we're going to get better is by finding the competition to make us better," the coach said. "They make each other better."
In the running events, Llano middle distance shined.
Anna Machuga won the 800 meters and finished second in the 1,600 meters, while junior Jordan Hussion was fourth in the 3,200 meters.
Towns Smith took double silver thanks to his finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
J.D. Friday was third in the 400 meters and second in the triple jump.
Ciara Hays and Avery Kendrick finished third and fourth in the triple jump.
All three Lady Jacket relay teams and the Yellow Jackets' 400-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams finished in the top four.
Priem noted the Lady Jacket relay teams "ran their best times of the year" with the 1,600-meter relay team beating its best finish by seven seconds.
But it was Hays' victory in the 300-meter hurdles that had heads turning.
Hays decided try the event with about a month left in the season, noting that her old teammate, Gwyn Burnett, made a name for herself in this race. Burnett, who graduated in 2024, advanced to the Class 3A state track meet all four years in this event and even won a silver medal at the 2022 state meet.
"I wanted to do them," Hays said. "But we had a girl who was dominant in them."
Hays decided to run other events to help the Lady Jackets in the overall team standings. But during the Jacket Relays in March, she saw that a district rival took three of the top four spots and couldn't bear the thought someone not wearing orange and black would win the district title in the event.
After she started running them, hurdles coach Robbie Coplin told her that her practice time would have won her the race at the home meet. That sealed her decision to try.
She made her debut in the race at the Lee Graham Relays in Mason March 12 and won gold.
"I was shocked," she said. "I was stunned."
She credits him and his son and her classmate, R.J., for the district win. The younger Coplin stayed after practices to run with her.
"He knew he wasn't going to run them," she said. "It was to make me better."
Both Llano varsity teams finished fourth in the team standings. Priem said the boys team had its smallest group in awhile.
"But the heart and fight they have is not," he said. "I told the boys (going into the final day) that 'their time' no longer matters and 'their place' does. I also told them on the flip side, that they could run the fastest time they did all year and it might not be good enough to qualify for (the area meet). And that was true for a few of our guys. We ran great, we ran some of the fastest times we have all year, and in the end, it just wasn't good enough. And there's no reason to hang your head about that."
One event to Priem summed up Llano fight. It was in the girls varsity 200 meters where Enola Matlock turned in the eighth fastest time to qualify for the final, which put her in lane eight.
"Which is the worst lane to get," he said. "(In the final) she went out and ran the best time she has ever ran and finished in fourth place. She had no clue where she finished because being in lane eight, it's hard to see where anyone else is. Her reaction when I told her she that she qualified was priceless and so rewarding."
The Class 3A Region I meet is Friday and Saturday, April 18-19, at Elmer Gray Stadium on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Athletes must finish in the top four to advance to regionals.
RESULTS
District 5-3A meet at Llano Stadium, April 2-3
BOYS
Varsity, fourth place in the team standings with 87 points (top four advance to area)
200 – 6, R.J. Coplin, 23.04, 8, Joseph Sillas, 24.07; 400 – 3, J.D. Friday, 52.34; 1,600 – 2, Townes Smith, 5:00.01; 3,200 – 2, Townes Smith, 11:10.93; 4x100 – 4, Llano, 44.74; 4x200 – 5, Llano, 1:36.65; 4x400 – 3, Llano, 3:37.25; long jump – 4, Graham Prokop, 20-7.5; triple jump – 2, J.D. Friday, 42-0.75, 7, Joseph Sillas, 37-11.25; pole vault – 5, John Light, 9-6;
discus – 1, Cole Kennedy, 144-2, 5, Konrad Zwicke, 124-8; shot put – 2, Cole Kennedy, 47-10.75, 3, Konrad Zwicke, 46-5
Junior varsity, district runner-up with 143 points
100 – 5, Niko Arms, 12.19; 200 – 2, Christian Cortez-Danos, 22.70, 6, Isaiah Aguilar, 23.10; 400 – 4, Caden White, 58.28, 5, Francisco Parravano, 58.69; 800 – 5, Dalton Newberg, 2:27.58, 10, Billy Guido, 2:40.34; 1,600 – 2, Kevin Ramirez, 5:34.16; 3,200 – 2, Kevin Ramirez, 12:53.61; 110 hurdles – 1, Evan Beuke, 18.29, 5, Creighton Copeland, 19.84; 300 hurdles – 1, Creighton Copeland, 44-10, 2, Evan Beuke, 45.10; 4x100 – 3, Llano, 47.61; 4x200 – 4, Llano, 1:40.35; 4x400 – 2, Llano, 3:51.50; high jump – 8, William Copeland, 4-10; long jump – 3, Christian Cortez-Danos, 17-2.75, 4, Isaiah Aguilar, 17-2.5; triple jump – 5, Caden White, 35-0.5, 8, Brady Kelly, 33-3.5; discus – 2, Cason Stephenson, 118-0, 4, Nick Light, 113-0, 5, Dionicio Estrada, 113-0; shot put – Logan Robinson, 40-6.5, 3, Cason Stephenson, 36-10
GIRLS
Varsity, fourth in the team standings with 108 points (top four advance to area)
100 – 5, Addison Priem, 13.33, 7, Karlie Wyatt, 13.44; 200 – 4, Enola Matlock, 28.66; 400 – 7, Hailey Lucas, 1:10.57; 800 – 1, Anna Machuga, 2:28.73; 1,600 – 2, Anna Machuga, 5:57.47, 6, Jordan Hussion, 6:16.80; 3,200 – 4, Jordan Hussion, 13:54.82; 300 hurdles – 1, Ciara Hays, 47.68; 4x100 – 3, Llano, 51.42; 4x200 – 3, Llano, 1:54.04; 4x400 – 2, Llano, 4:21.0; high jump – 6, Anna Machuga, 4-6, 7, Tabatha Gibson, 4-4; long jump – 4, Addison Priem, 15-1, 7, Enola Matlock, 14-5.5; triple jump – 3, Ciara Hays, 32-8.5, 4, Avery Kendrick, 31-6.75, 8, Sydney Kuykendall, 29-9.75; pole vault – 5, Reagan Mikulenka, 6-6; discus – 3, Peyton Parrish, 109-5, 4, Emilie Clopton, 103-2; shot put – 5, Peyton Parrish, 29-5
Junior varsity, district champion with 190 points
100 – 4, Oktoberfest Simpson, 14.15; 200 – 3, Nova Oldham, 29.32, 8, Oktoberfest Simpson, 31.31; 400 – 1, Emma Osbourn, 1:07.68, 5, Dulcie Lopez, 1:11.20; 800 – 1, Kenley Schulze, 2:45.56, 5, Dulcie Lopez, 2:52.59; 1,600 – 1, Kenley Schulze, 6:40.32, 2, Abby Macedo, 6:48.02; 3,200 – 1, Abby Macedo, 15:52.59; 100 hurdles – 1, Sophia Passmore, 18.11, 3, Rylee Busby, 20.51, 5, Shelby Arriaga, 20.55; 300 hurdles – 1, Sophia Passmore, 54.73, 2, Shelby Arriaga, 57.28, 7, Lanie Coplin, 1:03.56; 4x100 – 2, Llano, 55.28; 4x200 – 2, Llano, 1:59.26; 4x400 – 1, 4:39.09; high jump – 2, Shelby Arriaga, 4-6; long jump – 9, Oktoberfest Simpson, 12-10.25; triple jump – 2, Emma Osbourn, 28-3.25, 3, Kenley Schulze, 28-0.75; discus – 1, Brissa Tristan, 82-3, 4, Brooklin Cahoon, 77-7, 6, Cambree Hoyt, 74-4; shot put – 4, Cambree Hoyt, 25-4.5, 7, Brooklin Cahoon, 24-8, 9, Jasmine Johnson, 24-1
