Colbert wins three events
KHS standout takes long jump, 100M, 200M in Gladewater; girls relay team wins 800; Tai'Shea Reese wins long jump again
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

GOOD MEET - Kilgore senior Joe Colbert (above, in the long jump from a meet earlier this year) won three events Thursday in the Bobby Bernard Relays in Gladewater. Right: Dominique Jones took first place in the shot put, and (inset) Tai'Shea Reese won first place in the long jump, helped the relay team finish first in the 800 meter relay, and finished second in the 100 meter dash. Kilgore track competes again March 27 at Whitehouse.

Thursday meets might be just what the doctor ordered for the Kilgore High School track & field team, whose athletes did very, very well yesterday at the Bobby Bernard Relays, held at Gladewater High School.

KHS senior Joe Colbert went nuts - Colbert won the long jump, the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, and earned second place in the high jump. Another senior, Tai'Shea Reese, proved she's hitting her stride once again in the long jump. Reese competed in the state meet in Austin last year in the long jump, and won the event again yesterday, her second straight meet to do so.

In addition to Kilgore and Gladewater, track teams from Pine Tree, Spring Hill, Daingerfield and Mineola competed in the Bernard Relays.

Kilgore is off for spring break this upcoming week, and the track & field team will be back in action on Thursday, March 27 at Whitehouse High School.

• KHS girls: Coach Kerry Strong has to like the intensity Reese is bringing to the track right now, and it's not just her - the 800 meter relay team is getting after it, as well.

Reese won the long jump with a best of 18 feet, 6 inches, and finished second in the 100 meter dash, a time of 12.78 seconds.

The 800 meter relay team of Reese, Brandi Johnson, Shae Morgan and Jessica Shepherd won that event, a time of 1 minute, 45.23 seconds. The same foursome ran the 400 meter relay in 50.2 seconds, good enough for second place. The girls relay teams have been solid all track season.

In other results for the girls, Shepherd was second in the 200 meter dash (27.1 seconds), Andrea Ashley was fourth in the high jump (4 feet, 10 inches), Samone Jones was fourth in the shot put, and Morgan was sixth in the triple jump (31 feet, 6 inches).

Strong's KHS girls finished with 71 points.

• Varsity boys: Colbert took the long jump with his personal-best jump: 22 feet, 5 1/2 inches.

"That will put him in the thick of things at district time, if he can perform like that," coach Phillip Lane said.

Colbert ran the 100 meter dash in 11.21 seconds, taking first place in that event, as well, and then won the 200 meter dash, running that distance in 23.2 seconds.

"He's getting the most out of his senior year, I'll say that," Lane laughed.

Colbert also had one second-place finish: it was in the high jump, and he had a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches. Shaun Edwards finished in a tie for third in that event (6 feet, even), and second in the triple jump (41 feet, 2 3/4 inches).

Steven Smith was sixth in the long jump for Kilgore (20 feet, 2 inches) and second in the 100 meter dash (11.81 seconds) Trevor Moon was sixth in the 100 (11.99 seconds). Kendrix Tillman finished fourth in the 400 meter dash (53.4 seconds) and Jordan Williams was fifth for KHS (54.5).

In the 1600 meter run, Joel Venegas, moved up to varsity since last weekend's meet in Marshall, finished with a time of 4 minutes, 58.4 seconds, less than two seconds off the winning time (4 minutes, 56 seconds).

The team of Smith, Andrew Ector, Xavian

Sanders, and Robert Morgan was fifth in the 800 meter relay, and in the 1600 meter relay, the team of Williams, Smith, Morgan and Tillman was fifth (3 minutes, 38.85 seconds).

In field events, Dominique Jones did well again. Jones won the shot put with a personal best of 49 feet, 3 inches. "His best throw up until that point was 46 feet, 11 inches, and that was this year."

Colby Rosen earned a thirdplace finish for the Bulldogs in the discus (133 feet, 4 inches). Jones was sixth in that event (121 feet).

The KHS varsity boys finished with 95 points overall.

• JV boys: The JV Bulldogs

finished in a tie for second

place (116 points).

Vince Cano won the shot put, a throw of 41 feet, 1 1/4 inches. Chad Jackson was sixth in that event (33 feet, 4 inches).

In the discus, Kilgore got another first-place finish, a throw of 126 feet, 1 inch by Shadow Stokes. Cano was second (103 feet, 7 1/2 inches).

Devaron Harvey was third for KHS in the triple jump (36 feet, 7 1/2 inches). Tracy Austin was fifth (35 feet, 7 1/2 inches). Austin was first in the 110 meter hurdles (18.75 seconds), and second in the 300 meter hurdles (49.41 seconds). His teammate, Austin baker, won the 300 hurdles (49.31 seconds) and Jacob Chapin finished fifth (50.09 seconds).

Shannon Polk earned a second-place finish in the 200 meter dash (24.65 seconds) and Harvey was third (25.03 seconds). Polk also finished fourth in the JV long jump (17 feet, 11 1/2 inches).

Josh Medford was fifth in the JV boys 100 meter dash (12.18 seconds). Ty Midkiff finished sixth in the 800 meter run.

Kilgore's JV relay teams earned a couple of third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish. The team of Medford, Nick Green, Polk and Harvey finished third in the 400 meter relay (36.48 seconds) and the team of Polk, Green, Austin and Harvey finished third in the 800 relay (1 minute, 39.2 seconds).

In the 1600 meter relay, Kilgore was fourth (4:02.01).