ARLINGTON — John Tyler senior Kevron Jackson went an inch higher, now he'll be going miles further.
Jackson set a new personal best with a high jump of 6 feet, 7 inches to take second place at the Class 4A Region II track and field meet Friday at UT Arlington's Maverick Stadium.
The finish qualifies Jackson for the Class 4A state championships in Austin May 9-10, along with regional champion Kene Nwangwu of Frisco Heritage.
The top two finishers in each event qualify for the state meet.
Jackson's previous best was 6-6, which won him gold at the area meet last week. He needed to the extra inch to beat out a pair from Carrollton Creekview, with Zuri Davis turning in a leap of 6-6 and Destin Ogueri going 6-7, but with more failed attempts.
Meanwhile, at the Class 5A Region II meet at Baylor's Hart-Patterson Complex, Robert E. Lee's Shawnae Muhammad just missed out on booking a spot in Austin, finishing third in high jump. Her leap of 5-4 was tied for second, but Leah Moorer of Pflugerville took the second state berth with fewer failed attempts.
Lee did have two runners advance to the finals from Friday's prelims.
Brittany Browning turned in the fifth-best time of 12.21 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Teammate Bre Payton's time of 14.77 in the 100 hurdles put her in sixth heading into today's finals.
The Lady Raiders' 4x100 relay team finished 12th at 48.03, unable to book a spot in the finals. However, the Lee girls were in a tie for fourth in the team standings with 8 points. The Woodlands led the meet with 24 points.
Red Raiders' Bryce Wilkerson will compete in the long jump finals today.
John Tyler's De'Shalyn Jones finished sixth in the 400 prelims to keep her season alive. Jones clocked in at 58.03, a strong improvement over her qualifying time of 58.88. The 400 final is 4:20 p.m. today.
Lions senior Robby Washington was unable to advance in the 110 hurdles. Washington ran his race in 15.48, finishing 0.36 seconds outside of the qualifying times to advance to today's finals.
Likewise, John Tyler's Christina Lampkin and Sylcorian Lollar fell outside the top eight in the 200 prelims. Lampkin clocked in at 25.48 and Lollar 26.09 to finish 11th and 13th, respectively. Kiana Rogers of Dallas South turned in the top time at 24.66.
Chaynee Atwood earned points for Whitehouse with a fifth-place showing in the 3,200, finishing in 11:56.98. District rival Claudia Charles of Lindale finished 10th at 12:57.81.
Lindale's Gracie Tucker moved on in the 300 hurdles. She had the fourth-best time of the day at 45.31, with Creekview's Samantha Gonzalez leading the field at 42.81.
Eagles runner Jeffrey Watson came in 10th in the 3,200. His time of 10:18.43 was nearly a minute behind first-place Carter Blunt of Heritage. Pine Tree's Evan Barron finished fifth in the event at 9:42.35.
Lindale hurdler Nathan Evans was 10th in the prelims for the 300 hurdles, finishing his race in 40.90.
Lady Eagles' Rhyan Rand finished 13th in triple jump with an effort of 34-11 ½. Teammate Chassity Sims was disqualified from the event.
Whitehouse sophomore Shemar Smith kept himself in contention in the 100. After winning the area meet, Smith just qualified for the finals with a 10.75 to take the eighth spot.
Mount Pleasant's KD Cannon led all prelim racers with a 10.46. Jacksonville's Datavian Thacker and Nacogdoches' Brandon Jones tied for ninth at 10.79 and will not advance. Cannon, a future Baylor receiver, also was third after the 200 prelims.
Nacogdoches' Jacob Bragg earned a bronze medal in the shot put with a distance of 53-1 ¾. He'll have another shot to reach state when he competes in discus today.
Nacogdoches also took bronze in the girls shot put, with Brittani Phillips throwing 37-09 ¾.
Also earning points for the Dragons was Reid Perry, who finished fifth in pole vault at 14-6, one spot ahead of Pine Tree's James McNaney.
Nacogdoches qualified its 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams for today's finals. Alex Gregory, Brandon Jones, LJ Barnes and Jamar Woodard finished sixth in the 4x100 and fourth in the 4x200.
Jacksonville's squad just missed advancing in the 4x100, turning in the ninth best time.
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Class 4A Region II Track and Field Meet
UT Arlington's Maverick Stadium, Arlington
Friday's Results
Girls
Field Events (State Qualifiers and East Texans)
Triple Jump — 1, Haley Polk, Frisco Heritage, 40-0 ¼; 2, Ivy Walker, 39-7 ¼; 13, Rhyan Rand, Lindale, 34-11 ½. Chassity Simms, Lindale, foul.
Shot Put — 1, Jacquetta Cannon, Lancaster, 44-6 ¾; 2, Deja Erskine, Lancaster, 40-6; 3, Britanni Phillips, Nacogdoches, 37-9 ¾.
Track Events
Finals (State Qualifiers and East Texans)
3,200-Meter Run — 1, Natalie Rathjen, Highland Park, 10:53.12; 2, Caylon McMillan, Forney, 11:27.00; 5, Chaynee Atwood, Whitehouse, 11:56.98. 9, Christina Nelson, Pine Tree, 12:30.73; 10, Claudia Charles, Lindale, 12:57.81.
Prelims (Top times and East Texas)
(Top Eight Advance)
100 Dash — 1, Briona Oliver, Mansfield Summit, 12.06.
200 Dash —1, Kiana Rogers, Dallas South, 24.66; 11, Christina Lampkin, John Tyler, 25.48; 13, Sylcorian Lollar, John Tyler, 26.09; 15, Kiara Butler, Pine Tree, 26.40.
400 Dash — 1, Taylor Rockwell, Lancaster, 55.99; 6, De'Shalyn Jones, John Tyler, 58.03.
100 Hurdles — 1, Kiana Hawn, Forney, 13.93; 14, Daniel Cormier, Pine Tree, 16.45.
300 Hurdles — 1, Samantha Gonzlaez, Carrollton Creekview, 42.81; 4, Gracie Tucker, Lindale, 45.31; 14, Kisyana Willis, Pine Tree, 54.03.
4x100 Relay — 1, Lancaster, 47.59; 5, Pine Tree, 48.16; 12, Marshall, 48.68.
4x200 Relay — 1, Lancaster, 1:39.58; 5, Marshall, 1:41.42; 14, Pine Tree, 1:44.55.
4x400 Relay — 1, Lancaster, 3:49.79; 9, Marshall, 4:04.37.
Boys
Field Events (State Qualifiers and East Texans)
High Jump — 1, Kene Nwangwu, Frisco Heritage, 6-8; 2, Kevron Jackson, John Tyler, 6-7.
Pole Vault — 1, Noah Gilfillan, Corsicana, 16-0; 2, Hawk Griffin, Little Elm, 15-0; 5, Reid Perry, Nacogdoches, J14-6; 7, Matt Godwin, Hallsville, 13-6.
Triple Jump — 1, Jaylyn Hernandez, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 46-3; 2, Larenz Lester, Mansfield Summit, 45-2.
Shot Put — 1, Kevin Steward, Red Oak, 55-4 ¾; 2, Andrew Clyde, Highland Park, 54-0 ¼; 3, Jacob Bragg, Nacogdoches, 53-1 ¾.
Track Events
Finals (State Qualifiers and East Texans)
3,200-Meter Run — 1, Carter Blunt, Frisco Heritage, 9:18.69; 2, Kyle Garcia, North Forney, 9:26.42; 5, Evan Barron, Pine Tree, 9:42.35; 10, Jeffrey Watson, Lindale, 10:18.43; Ryan McKelvey, Hallsville, 10:29.76.
Prelims (Top times and East Texas)
(Top Eight Advance)
100 Dash — 1, KD Cannon, Mount Pleasant, 10.46; 8, Shemar Smith, 10.75; 9, Datavian Thacker, Jacksonville, 10.79; 9, Brandon Jones, Nacogdoches, 10.79; 15, Jauque Kuykendall, Marshall, 11.24.
200 Dash — 1, Kevin Harris, Texas High, 20.80; 3, KD Cannon, Mount Pleasant, 21.51; 6, Jamar Woodard, Nacogdoches, 21.92; 12, Alex Gregory, Nacogdoches, 22.33.
400 Dash — 1, Eric Age, Lancaster, 48.35; 5, Sydney Ajanga, Marshall, 49.58; 10, Takanya Redden, Pine Tree, 50.57.
110 Hurdles — 1, Victor Fincher, McKinney North, 14.08; 7, Tony Itoka, Hallsville, 14.65; 13, Robby Washington, John Tyler, 15.48.
300 Hurdles — 1, Hunter Hartley, North Forney, 38.63; 10, Nathan Evans, Lindale, 40.90.
4x100 Relay — 1, Texas High, 40.92; Lancaster, 40.92; 6, Nacogdoches, 41.77; 8, Mount Pleasant, 41.92; 9, Jacksonville, 42.45.
4x200 Relay — 1, Texas High, 1:25.08; 4, Nacogdoches, 1:27.08; 8, Marshall, 1:28.73.
4x400 Relay — 1, Lancaster, 3:14.94; 4, Marshall, 3:19.53;