Sophomore Brent Wells of Mineola competes in the 110 meters taking first place Friday at the District 15-3A meet at Van High School. (Sarah A. Miller | Tyler Morning Telegraph)

VAN — In the day’s last race, the 4×400 relay, Mineola rallied from second on the final leg and coasted to victory. On this afternoon, the triumph was perfectly fitting.

“We really try to preach to our kids about competing and going out and competing hard every time,” coach Luke Blackwell said. “Honestly, when it comes down to the mile relay, I’d take our four kids over anybody.”

Thing is, Mineola overtook everybody in just about every event to take the District 15-3A boys track and field championship Friday at Van Memorial Stadium. The Yellow Jackets, already well ahead after the opening day’s field events, scored 171 points to finish 46 points ahead of the pack and claim their third consecutive league title (Mabank finished second with 125 points and Van placed third with 109 points).

“We try to preach that everybody has a role in order for us to compete,” Blackwell said. “That’s our ultimate goal, to compete as a team. Everybody has a job to do to get their points and help the team.”

The Canton girls, meanwhile, dominated in the running finals to overtake Mineola — which led after the field events — and claim the team championship. The Lady Eagles scored an impressive 209 points to hold off the Lady Jackets, who finished with 174 points. Van took third with 117 points.

The top four individuals and relays from each event advance to the area meet against District 16-3A, scheduled for next week at Bullard’s Panther Stadium. District 16-3A, a powerhouse in football known for producing superior athletes, includes Bullard, Gilmer, Gladewater Henderson, Kilgore and Spring Hill.

District 15-3A has top-notch athletes as well, evidenced by Mineola sprinter Harrison Howell clocking in at 10.99 seconds to claim gold in the boys 100-meter dash. And with their other athletes flying up and down the track as well, the Yellow Jackets placed first in the 1600 and 800 relays (20 points each) in 3 minutes and 31.50 seconds and 1:33.30, respectively.

Also adding to the point total with multiple firsts (10 points each) was Yellow Jackets hurdler Brent Wells, who won the 110 (15.64) and 300 hurdles (41.17).

The strong team showing came in Mineola’s first season back in Class 3A.

“Historically Mineola hasn’t been known for track and field,” Blackwell said. “The last couple of years we did in 2A and it was really tough. We knew we were going to have our work cut out for us this year with people like Van and Canton. There’s some really good teams in our district.”

In the meantime, on the girls’ side, Canton racked up points in the relays by placing first in the 1600 and second in the 400 and 4×200. The Lady Eagles also took home gold in the 800 and 1,600 runs, silver in the 100 dash, 400 dash and 100 hurdles, and bronze in the 300 hurdles..

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District 15-3A Track

At Van Memorial Stadium, Van

Day 2 Results

Girls

Team Standings – 1, Canton, 209; 2, Mineola, 174; 3, Van, 117; 4, Athens, 50; 5, Mabank, 37; 6, Brownsboro, 19.

Field Events

Shot Put — 1, Jones, Van, 35-6½; 2, Hawkins, Mineola, 31-5; 3, Hays, Mineola, 31-4¾; 4, Corder, Mabank, 29-11½; 5, Phillips, Brownsboro, 29-7¼; 6, Adams, Mabank, 28-10¾; 7, Spencer, Canton, 28-4½; 8, Monmouth, Athens, 27-8¼.

Long Jump — 1, Galaz, Mineola, 16-8; 2, Dawson, Mineola, 15-5; 3, Raitz, Canton, 15-1¼; 4, Anderson, Van, 15-5; 5, Johnson, Mineola, 15-0; 6, Rogers, Canton, 15-0; 7, Cumby, Athens, 14-8½; 8, Martinsen, Canton, 14-4½.

High Jump — 1, Anderson, Van, 4-10; 2, Carter, Van, 4-10; 3, Brewer, Canton, 4-8; 4, Ledkins, Mineola, 4-8; 5, Neal, Canton, 4-6; 6, Vestal, Canton, 4-6.

Discus — 1, Jones, Van, 110-8½; 2, Galaz, Mineola, 96-6½; 3, Jarman, Van, 91-11½; 4, Houston, Brownsboro, 83-4; 5, Childers, Canton, 81-1; 6, Riley, Canton, 79-5; 7, Easley, Canton, 73-5; 8, Meakins, Mineola, 73-1.

Triple Jump — 1, Rogers, Canton, 32-5½; 2, Raitz, Canton, 32-5; 3, Johnson, Mineola, 31-8½; 4, Neal, Canton, 31-7¾; 5, Dawson, Mineola, 31-7¼; 6, Willis, Van, 29-10¼; 7, Spurger, Mabank, 27-2; 8, Edwards, Mabank, 26-3½.

Pole Vault — 1, Johnson, Mineola, 8-6; 2, Callaway, Canton, 8-0; 3, Kellam, van, 8-0; 4, Elliott, Canton, 8-0; 5, Palmer, Mineola, 7-6; 6, Sharp, Canton, 7-6.

Running Events

3,200-meter run — 1, Kindle, Canton, 12:35.50; 2, Carr, Canton, 13:15.70; 3, Walker, Canton, 13:31.30; 4, Pottorf, Mabank, 13:35.40; 5, Peyton, Mineola, 13:43.10; 6, Burke, Van, 14:19.50; 7, Cazarez, Van, 14:21.80.

4×100 relay – 1, Mineola, 50.49; 2, Canton, 51.15; 3, Van, 51.35; 4, Brownsboro, 54.54.

800 run – 1, Raitz, Canton, 2:30.00; 2, Land, Mineola, 2:32.30; 3, Stevens, Mineola, 2:37.00; 4, Witt, Mineola, 2:38.00; 5, Barnett, Athens, 2:42.30; 6, Walker, Brownsboro, 2:46.20.

100 dash – 1, Raven, Mineola, 12.77; 2, Clark, Canton, 13.01; 3, Bowan, Athens, 13.15; 4, Rose, Canton, 13.31; 5, Raibon, Van, 13.34; 6, Holmes, Mineola, 13.39; 7, Anderson, Van, 13.56; 8, Champagne, Canton, 13.67.

400 dash – 1, Cumby, Athens, 1:02.20; 2, Rhines, Canton, 1:02.60; 3, Raibon, Van, 1:03.30; 4, Whittington, Canton, 1:04.30; 5, Raitz, Canton, 1:05.10; 6, Land, Mineola, 1:05.60; 7, Barnett, Athens, 1:05.60; 8, Walker, Brownsboro, 1:06.90.

200 dash – 1, Jones, Van, 26.70; 2, Patton, Athens, 27.26; 3, Luther, Van, 27.53; 4, Moore, Van, 28.08; 5, Champagne, Canton, 28.29; 6, Catron, Mineola, 28.37; 7, Galaz, Mineola, 28.51; 8, Walker, Athens, 29.09.

4×400 relay – 1, Canton, 4:17.50; 2, Athens, 4:19.70; 3, Mineola, 4:35.80; 4, Mabank, 4:39.50; 5, Brownsboro, 4:48.00

110 hurdles – 1, Stanley, Mineola, 16.30; 2, Munroe, Canton, 16.95; 3, Hawkins, Mabank, 17.19; 4, Crossland, Canton, 17.29; 5, Franks, Mineola, 17.84; 6, King, Van, 18.66; 7, Neal, Canton, 19.85.

4×200 relay – 1, Van, 1:47.70; 2, Canton, 1:49.00; 3, Mineola, 01:49.30; 4, Athens, 1:51.80.

300 hurdles – 1, Stanley, Mineola, 1:08.10; 2, Johnson, Mineola, 1:08.50; 3, Munroe, Canton, 1:08.60; 4, Hawkins, Mabank, 1:09.60; 5, Crossland, Canton, 1:11.70; 6, Neal, Canton, 1:12.70; 7, Franks, Mineola, 1:15.80; 8, King, Van, 1:18.90.

1,600 run – 1, Kindle, Canton, 5:46.50; 2, Poltort, Mabank, 5:56.00; 3, Carr, Canton, 5:58.40; 4, Walker, Canton, 6:02.50; 5, Bayless, Mabank, 6:14.40; 6, Wilt, Mineola, 6:22.20.

Boys

Team Standings – 1, Mineola, 171; 2, Mabank, 125; 3, Van, 109; 4, Canton, 103; 5, Brownsboro, 75; 6, Athens, 32.

Field Events

Shot Put — 1, Hurst, Mineola, 46-7¾; 2, Wooten, Mineola, 45-2¼; 3, Prox, Athens, 43-4½; 4, Miller, Canton, 42-¼; 5, Russell, Mabank, 41-8½; 6, McKenzie, Brownsboro, 41-4½; 7, Boyd, Van, 41-1½; 8, Loftin, Van, 40-½.

Long Jump — 1, Penix, Mabank, 20-7¼; 2, Foster, Mineola, 20-1¾; 3, Johannesen, Mabank, 19-11½; 4, Smith, Mabank, 19-9; 5, Fuller, Athens, 19-5; 6, Gann, Canton, 19-0; 7, Jones, Van, 18-8½; 8, Taylor, Brownsboro, 18-6.

High Jump — 1, Smith, Mabank, 5-10; 2, Myers, Van, 5-8; 3, Fuller, Athens, 5-8; 4, Buchanan, Van, 5-6; 5, Wells, Mineola, 5-6; 6, Lewis, Mabank, 5-4; 7, Prox, Athens, 5-4.

Discus — 1, Hopkins, Van, 131-2; 2, McKenzie, Mineola, 127-10½; 3, Carroll, Canton, 126-8; 4, Wooten, Mineola, 122-6½; 5, Thorne, Mabank, 119-1; 6, Moore, Brownsboro, 114-3; 7, Boyd, Van, 112-0; 8, Loftin, Van, 106-0.

Triple Jump — 1, Foster, Mineola, 41-5¼; 2 (tie), Penix, Mabank, 40-7½; Johnson, Mabank, 40-7½; Fisher, Mineola, 40-7½; 6, Watkins, Mabank, 39-3½; 7, Sanchez, Van, 39-2½; 8, Jones, Van, 38-5¾.

Pole Vault — 1, Sartain, Van, 11-0; 2, Burge, Mineola, 10-6; 3, Fischer, Mineola, 9-6; 4, Lemus, Van, 9-0.

Running Events

3,200-meter run — 1, Milligan, Brownsboro, 10:46.90; 2, Reeves, Mabank, 10:47.90; 3, Castanada, Athens, 11:06.50; 4, Boren, Mabank, 11:28.00; 5, Capps, Mineola, 11:37.60; 6, Taylor, Mineola, 11:42.20; 7, McClenny, Canton, 11:43.20.

4×100 relay – 1, Brownsboro, 43.77; 2, Canton, 43.92; 3, Mabank, 44.30; 4, Mineola, 44.31; 5, Van, 45.57.

800 run – 1, Huddle, Canton; 2, Sanchez, Van; 3, Self, Mineola; 4, Graham, Mabank; 5, Williams, Mineola; 6, Goldthorn, Mineola; 7, Denton, Canton.

100 dash – 1, Howell, Mineola, 10.99; 2, Watkins, Mabank, 11.15; 3, Rojas, Mineola, 11.23; 4, Penny, Brownsboro, 11.50; 5, Jones, Van, 11.70; 6, Sherman, Van, 11.78.

400 run — 1, Sanchez, Van, 50.85; 2, Vogt, Canton, 50.94; 3, Gaddis, Mabank, 52.48; 4, Platter, Van, 52.94; 5, Fitzgerald, Canton, 54.79; 6, Williams, Mineola, 54.93; 7, Smith, Mabank, 55.58; 8, Goldthorn, Mineola, 57.61.

200 dash – 1, Hopkins, Van, 23.02; 2, Penix, Mabank, 23.05; 3, Howell, Mineola, 23.38; 4, Rojas, Mineola, 23.53; 5, Hesskew, Canton, 23.87; 6, Foster, Mineola, 23.92; 7, Lemus, Van, 24.81; 8, Johannseon, Mineola, 25.21.

4×400 relay – 1, Mineola, 3:31.50; 2, Van, 3:33.50; 3, Canton, 3:35.00; 4, Brownsboro, 3;36.40; 5, Mabank, 3:40.70; 6, Athens, 4:48.40.

110 hurdles – 1, Wells, Mineola, 15.64; 2, Monroe, Canton, 16.08; 3, Myers, Van, 16.41; 4, Neal, Van, 16.5; 5, Brunson, canton, 16.81; 6, Thompson, Brownsboro, 17.22; 7, Prox, Athens, 17.27; 8, Harris, Mineola, 19.51.

4×200 relay – 1, Mineola, 1:33.30; 2, Mabank, 1:33.40; 3, Canton, 1:33.70; 4, Brownsboro, 1:34.00; 5, Van, 1:34.60; 6, Athens, 1:39.20.

300 hurdles – 1, Wells, Mineola, 41.17; 2, Branson, Canton, 42.39; 3, Cook, Brownsboro, 42.68; 4, Neal, Van, 43.32; 5, Monroe, Canton, 43.85; 6, Patel, Mineola, 44.00; 7, Thompson, Brownsboro, 44.71; 8, Harris, Mineola, 45.15.

1,600 run – 1, Huddle, Canton, 4:54.60; 2, Casteneda, Athens, 4:55.50; 3, Milligan, Brownsboro, 4:57.20; 4, Reeves, Mabank, 5:00.80; 5, Capps, Mineola, 5:04.10; 6, Graham, Mabank, 5:05.40; 7, Taylor, Mineola, 5:17.70.