AUSTIN – The Houston area collection of high school track and field all-stars took their dazzling show on the road for a Mother’s Day presentation in the state capital.
Julia Heymach (Lamar), Champion Allison (George Ranch), Kynnedy Flannel (Alvin), Kesean Carter (The Woodlands), Milan Young (Lamar), G’Auna Edwards (Spring), Adrian Piperi (The Woodlands) and Jayson Baldridge (George Ranch) won multiple medals as Houston area student-athletes dominated the medal stand at the UIL state Class 6A track and field meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Flannel, a junior at Alvin High School, won gold medals in the long jump, 100-meter dash and the 200-meter race. “I was still a little tired from the long jump so I didn’t know what to expect in the sprints,” Flannel said.
“It was a mental thing to win the 100. I had a feeling that I was in front but I wasn’t sure until I heard the announcement. It was really exciting,” Flannel said.
Heymach secured gold medals in the two-miles (3,200) and 800-meter races while settling for a silver medal in the mile (1,600). The Lamar senior, who has signed with Stanford University, has won seven gold medals between track and cross country during her prep career.
“I’m really happy that all the work my coaches put into me paid off,” Heymach said. “I’ve been really psyched all season to compete in all three distance races at the state meet. It’s such an awesome opportunity that not many people get to experience.
Young, a senior heading to LSU, capped off her high school career with a gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles with a Class 6A state record time of 40.97 seconds. Young added a silver medal with a runner-up finish in the 100-meter hurdles (13.44).
“I was going for the state record (40.81 seconds) so when I got to the last 100 meters, I told myself that I got to go,” Young said. “I didn’t get the state mark, but I did get the conference record and I’m totally fine with it. I won the gold medal.”
Allison garnered a gold medal in the 400-meter dash (45.87 seconds) while anchoring the Longhorns’ come-from-behind win in the mile relay (3:11.19). The 20 points in the meet’s final event gave George Ranch 54 to finish second in the team totals.
“Tonight was my last high school meet so I wanted to go out giving it everything I had,” Allison said. “I was nervous at the beginning of each race, but I eventually settled in and went to work.”
Carter, a standout wide receiver on the Highlanders’ football team that advanced to the state championship game, won the 100-meter dash to claim gold and anchored the 4X200 relay to a gold medal in a school and Class 6A record time of one minute, 23.81 seconds.
Pipieri won the shot put for The Woodlands and finished second in the discus. Baldridge took home the gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles (36.25) and ran the scratch leg (leadoff) on the Longhorns’ gold-medal winning mile relay.
Other first-place area winners included Langham Creek’s Eric Edwards in the 110-meter hurdles, Channelview’s Dejah Carr in the discus, Mason Corbin of Tompkins in the high jump and Gabriel Oladipo of Hightower in the discus.