Magnificent Seven
Blue Blazes athletes qualify for state track meet

Ashley Lowery

Trent Lancaster's expectations for his Blue Blazes track athletes at Friday and Saturday's Region V Meet in Temple were pretty high.

That didn't keep those athletes from exceeding those expectations.

Competing against teams from places such as Temple, Waco and College Station, seven members of the Blue Blazes finished high enough in their respective events to qualify for the Games of Texas State Meet July 24-27 in San Antonio. Originally, the top three finishers in each event were slated to advance, but more than 1,000 athletes entered the competition, so officials bumped the number up to four.

"Overall, it was a fun meet, but it was hot," Lancaster said. "It was good to see the kids excel and step it up to meet the challenges facing them. Seven of them will advance to the ultimate level for 2008 summer track."

The Texas Amateur Athletic Federation, which conducts the summer meets, splits the athletes up by age groups.

The age groups advance in even intervals, from 8 and under through 18 and under.

On Friday, the older age groups competed in field events, while the younger groups competed in running events. Frank James and Cody Crofoot highlighted the field events. James threw the discus a personal-best 120 feet, one inch to capture the gold in the top division, and Crofoot matched that gold medal with a personal-record toss of 126-8 in the 14-and-under division. Crofoot would come back on Saturday to finish third in the 300 hurdles, but it was the gold medal that had him fired up.

"He wore that gold medal both days and probably slept in it on Friday night," Lancaster said.

In Friday's running events, Presley Peters gave the Lampasas contingent its third gold of the day, winning the 12-and-under 80 hurdles in a fully automated timing of 15.5, making her one of the favorites to medal in San Antonio.

Caitlyn Shaughnessy also advanced with a fourth-place finish in the 12-and-under 80 hurdles. She placed eighth in the 800.

In the boys' 12-and-under 80 hurdles, Blake Graham was winning his heat before tripping on the final hurdle. He not only bounced back up to finish the heat, but he bounced back on Saturday to win the long jump with a leap of 13-6.

Mason Morris and Collin Bowen also competed in the boys' 12-andunder 80 hurdles, finishing fifth and 11th, respectively. Bowen contributed heavily to Graham's advancement, allowing Graham to wear his spikes on his winning jump.

Bowen, Graham, Michael January and Shaughnessy all competed in their respective 100s, but the highest finish a Lampasas runner tallied in a sprint was Shaughnessy's seventhplace finish in the 200.

On Saturday, the older groupings ran while the younger divisions completed field events.

Ashley Lowery stole the show in the hurdles, winning gold in the 100 and silver in the 300.

Josh Barbero, who had finished eighth in the 14-and-under long jump on Friday, captured a trip to San Antonio on Saturday, finishing third in the 110 hurdles.

Peters and Bowen finished fifth and ninth, respectively, in the long jump, and January competed in the long jump.

Blue Blazes' Games of Texas Qualifiers

18 and under
Ashley Lowery: First place in 100 hurdles, second place in 300 hurdles
Frank James: First place in shot put
14 and under
Josh Barbero: Third place in 110 hurdles
Cody Crofoot: First place in discus, third place in 300 hurdles
12 and under
Caitlyn Shaughnessy: Fourth place in 80 hurdles
Presley Peters: First place in 80 hurdles
Blake Graham: First place in long jump