Alliance Bank in Sulphur Springs

Abron Proud of Regional Qualifiers; Taylor Qualifies for State

Lady Cats Track Coach Triston Abron talked about long jumper Imani Taylor qualifying for the State Track Meet at the Regional Meet on Friday. Coach Abron said Taylor was the first Lady Cat to compete at 9 a.m. Friday. There were 16 long jumpers and Taylor was in the second flight. Coach Abron knew going in that a Mansfield Lake Ridge jumper was a prohibitive favorite to win the event. He said he encouraged Taylor to go after second place. Coach Abron said Taylor was in first place after her preliminary jumps. On her fourth jump and he first in the finals Taylor recorded her best jump ever, 18-feet 8 and a quarter inches. All of a sudden Taylor was in second place with most of the field trying to top her. They never did. Coach Abron said when meet officials announced Taylor’s jump, Taylor and her Coach Kurt McCain celebrated. Coach Abron noted that Taylor, a senior, was making her fourth trip to the regional meet and never in the past had she advanced until Friday. The State Track Meet will be at UT Austin May 11-12.

Coach Abron was proud of all of his regional qualifiers. He said they all made it into finals. The Lady Cats 4 X 100-meter relay team finished fifth against a strong field. The team is made up of Taylor, Sadavia Porter, N’sya Dugan and Abbi Baier. Baier finished sixth in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. Porter made the finals in the 100-meter dash but not in the 200-meter dash. In the 100-meter final, Coach Abron said Porter exploded out of the blocks and led the race for about the first 80-meters. Three competitors passed her right at the end. Still Coach Abron said he was impressed by the way Porter ran the race.

Author: Staff Reporter

Share This Post On