Kilgore track team does well in Hallsville, visits Marshall Saturday
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK & FIELD
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

Don't look now, but that "rebuilding" being done by the Kilgore High School track & field program is going well.

Very, very well.

In last weekend's Tommy MIller Relays track & field meet at Hallsville High School, the KHS girls, coached by Kerry Strong, finished third in a 10-team field, and the boys, coached by Phillip Lane, finished fifth out of eight teams.

"And we're not avoiding the good track teams around East Texas," laughed Lane. "This is the second meet in a row where we've ran against good teams like Atlanta and Tatum. I think it's good for the kids to be able to run against good competition. We're getting better. A lot of times have dropped. It's great to finish in the top six and get points and everything, but as long as you as an individual are getting better, that's what we care about."

KHS track is back in action Saturday at Marshall. Field events will begin at 9 a.m., and the 3200 meter run will start at 10.

• KHS boys: In Hallsville, KHS got a few great performances, especially from Joe Colbert and Joel Venegas.

Colbert won both the long jump (21 feet, 6 1/2 inches) and the 100 meter dash (11.5 seconds). He also jumped 6 feet, even in the high jump, good enough for a third-place finish behind teammate Shaun Edwards, who had a 6-feet, 2-inch jump that garnered him second place.

Also in the long jump, Steven Smith from Kilgore finished fifth, a jump of 20 feet, 6 inches.

Edwards was fourth in the triple jump (41 feet, 7 1/2 inches).

The team of Alex Portley, Smith, Matt Goff and Colbert took fourth in the 4X100 meter relay (45.5 seconds), and the team of Smith, Colbert, Goff and J.J. Adams finished fifth in the 800 meter relay (1 minute, 35.97 seconds).

Kilgore's team of Calvin Lacy, Smith, Kendall Moore and Kendrix Tillman finished fifth in the 1600 meter relay (3 minutes, 46.26 seconds).

In field events, Colby Rosen of KHS finished second in the discus throw (132 feet, 2 1/2 inches), and Dominique Jones was fourth in the shot put (44 feet, 4 1/2 inches).

Kilgore's varsity boys finished with 70 points.

In junior varsity boys competition, Venegas ran tremendously well. In the 3200 meter run, Venegas won, a time of 11 minutes, 5 seconds. Venegas also won the 1600 meter run (4 minutes, 58 seconds). "He just ran with the leaders and blew them away at the end," Lane said. "His pace could be much better than that. ...He's got a lot of potential."

Venegas helped Kilgore's JV boys finish third out of a field of seven (74 total points).

Devaron Harvey finished fifth for Kilgore in the long jump (17 feet, 10 inches).

In the 110 meter hurdles, Tracy Austin finished third (18.46 seconds). In the 400 meter relay, Kilgore was third (47.5 seconds), the team of Jordan Williams, Robert Morgan, Shannon Polk, and Santos Gonzalez. The 800 meter relay JV team finished third as well, the team of Williams, Harvey, Polk and Gonzalez.

In the JV 400 meter dash, Nick Green finished sixth (57.78 seconds). In the 1600 meter relay, the JV boys finished third (Williams, Green, Austin and Gonzalez) in the time of 3 minutes, 51 seconds.

John Swanson finished second in the shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 3 inches.

• KHS girls: "The meet went great," Strong said. "We placed third with 83 points, but we only took 12 girls to the meet. The relays really helped us."

Samone Jones continues to do well in the shot put for the Bulldogs. Jones had a throw of 33 feet, 1 inch, good enough for second place.

Tai'Shea Reese, who qualified for and competed in the state meet last year in the long jump as a junior, finished second in that event in Hallsville, a jump of 18 feet, 1 1/2 inches. She also finished second in the 100 meter dash (12.99 seconds).

Jessica Shepherd was fourth in the 200 meter dash, and Shae Morgan was sixth in the triple jump.

As Strong pointed out, the girls relay teams continue to perform well. The team of Shepherd, Reese, Andrea Ashley and Morgan won the 800 meter relay (1 minute, 47.28 seconds), about two seconds ahead of the nearest competition. The team of Reese, Brandi Johnson, Morgan and Shepherd was second in the 400 meter relay (50.7 seconds). Ashley, Johnson, Morgan and Yamika Smith finished fourth in the 1600 meter relay, a time of 4 minutes, 25.8 seconds.

Johnson finished third in the 300 meter hurdles (51.81 seconds).

"We haven't turned the corner," Lane said, "but we're on the verge of being able to bring back what used to be a very proud sport here at Kilgore."