Bishop Gorman's Kianna Udenze, Grace Community's Mason Dacus and Lexye Price, All Saints' Nathan Jasper and Bullard Brook Hill's Malik Alley all medaled at the TAPPS 4A state track and field championships on Friday at Baylor's Clyde Hart Stadium in Waco.
Udenze took second in girls shot put and Dacus finished second in boys pole vault while bronze medals were awarded to Jasper (boys triple jump), Price (girls long jump) and Alley (boys shot put).
The meet, after a weather delay, included all field events and the 3,200-meter run. The championships continue Saturday with the rest of the track events.
Udenze threw 38 feet, 1 inch to take silver in shot put, 1 foot and 1 inch behind Bianca Valderrama of Corpus Christi Incarnate Word.
The Texas State-bound athlete then added two more points for the Lady Crusaders with a seventh-place finish in discus. She threw 87-8 while Valderrama claimed gold in the event at 123-8.
Dacus went 13-0 to take silver in pole vault, a foot behind Waco Reicher's Tyler Zander. His teammates James Edwards (10-6) and Noah Brown (9-0) finished sixth and ninth, respectively.
Jasper grabbed a bronze medal in triple jump by a quarter of an inch. Davon Collins of San Antonio Cornerstone won the title at 44-1 ¾ while Jasper was third at 43-8 ½.
Price, a freshman, will compete in three more events on Saturday but earned points in two events Friday. Her jump of 16-2 was a quarter of an inch ahead of fourth place. Katy St. John XXIII's Brittany Bowles won the event at 16-10.
She also took eighth in triple jump to give the Lady Cougars one point. She went 33-0 ¾ while state champ Dai'ja Coleman of Houston Cypress Christian went 38-1 ¼.
Alley's throw of 49-02 ½ was enough for a third-place finish for the Guard. Corpus Christi John Paul II's Steven Cavazos won at 54-00.
Brook Hill's Madeline Travis had the second-best height in high jump but finished fourth behind a three-way tie. Travis went 5-2 while Marleen Guerrero of Houston Lutheran South won the event at 5-4 with fewer jumps than the other two competitors.
In the same event on the boys side, Brook Hill's Josh Jenkins was unable to post a height.
Kris McCune did manage to score points for the Guard with a fifth-place finish in long jump at 20-10 ½. Jasper finished seventh in the event at 20-4 ¾ while Houston Second Baptist's Parker Johnson won with a jump of 21-8 ¼.
In the girls 3,200, Gorman took sixth and seventh. Sharon Kariampuzha clocked in at 12 minutes, 43.49 seconds followed closely by teammate Anna Pritchard at 12:45.40. Carrollton Prince of Peace's Alexandria Arndorfer won the race in 11:23.07.
Andorfer's brother, Matthew, won the boys race at 9:52.67. Gorman's Nicholas DiPaolo finished ninth at 10:48.80.
On Saturday, the track events begin at 9 a.m., starting with the 4x100-meter relay.
Retired Bishop Gorman track and field coach Rev. Jerome Milton, who won 10 state titles in a 25-year coaching career, will give the opening prayer Saturday at noon.
Milton said Friday it was an honor to be asked to give the prayer at the new stadium and he's especially proud to do the honor as an East Texan.
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