Track teams push through tough district to reach area
By David H. Waller
The Albany Lions and Lady Lions battled through tough fields at last week’s district track meet in Cisco, with a strong amount of athletes advancing to the area meet set for this Thursday (today) in Graham.
Lady Lions head coach Lauren Peacock said her small but determined group showed up strong. “I took three girls over there that competed at the varsity division, and all three of them made finals in all of their events,” Peacock said. “Two of them advanced to area. So overall, it was a really good day for them.”
Senior Avery Everitt ran both hurdles races, making finals in both. Though she did not advance, her effort and leadership stood out. “That last race is always a bittersweet one, but I think she left with a good feeling overall about her track career” Peacock said. “Her leadership for us has been indescribable. She’s going to be a tough one to replace.”
Sophomore Ashlyn Miller delivered a standout performance in the high jump, clearing 4’8” on her first attempt and clearing 4’10” to clinch second place and a trip to area. “That 4’8” mark is kind of the make or break—it separates the top four from the rest,” Peacock said. Ashlyn also qualified in the 400 meters.
Zayne LeFevre ran a personal best in the 200-meter dash to finish third and qualify for area. “This was probably her best official time,” said Peacock, noting that timing issues at the Albany meet made earlier results questionable.
As the Lady Lions prepare for area, training will focus on precision. “It’ll be more quality over quantity, so less reps, more recovery time,” Peacock said. “We’ll do some speed work and extra block work.”
The Lions also saw success, though head coach Rod Britting said finishing fourth overall as a team was below their usual standard. “We’re used to being in the top one or two in the district,” Britting said. “It’s not that we performed poorly—we just didn’t have the numbers. We loaded up in the events we felt like we had the best chance of qualifying.”
Despite the team score, several Lions punched their tickets to area. Breylon Billington won the district pole vault title with a 13-foot vault, the best jump of his year, while managing back issues. Adrian Wren qualified in the discus, and Jakobi Roberson placed second in the triple jump.
The Lions’ relay teams are also in strong positions. “Our 800 relay dropped a couple seconds… if we can do that or a little better at area, we could take that to regionals,” Britting said. “We’re the fifth-fastest in the state in the mile relay. If we can continue to improve, we have a chance to take that one to Austin.”
One of the biggest surprises came in the 400 meters, where Wesley Gleitz ran a season-best time but didn’t qualify. “He ran a 52.5, which would have won 90% of districts around the state,” said Britting. “But the competition in this district is very strong, with two runners from Hawley both running a 48.”
As both teams now turn their attention to Thursday’s area meet in Graham, the focus is on sharpening what’s already working. “If we feel like kids have a chance to advance easily, then we’re going to keep working hard… the ones on the bubble, we’ll try to back off a little bit, make sure they have fresh legs,” Britting said.
The top four finishers in each event at the area meet will move on to the regional round. With the season on the line, Albany’s athletes are ready to fight for another week of competition.
