Crusader Track and Field

Crusader Track and Field
The Crusader track teams performed brilliantly at the 2019 TAPPS State Championships on May 3 and 4th in Waco. The TAPPS 5A District 4 and North Regional Lady Crusader Champions competed at the state meet and earned state runner-up honors which is the highest team finish since joining TAPPS. Mary Hodapp and Camille Terracina got things started on Friday night in the 3200 m run. Hodapp surged with over a half mile to go and was never challenged en route to the second 3200m title in program history. Terracina ran a gritty race placing 7th. The next day in the field events, hardworking sophomore Kiele Shultz tied her personal best of 9’6” in taking bronze in the pole vault. On the track, Kinga Parrish kicked off day 2 of the meet leading wire to wire in the 800m run winning an unprecedented third consecutive state championship in that event. Freshman Sydney Osgood took home the bronze medal in the 800m race. Next on the track was the Lady Crusaders 4x200m relay squad of Molly Van Ackeren, Caroline Treadwell, Sidney Kaliher and Jennifer Thomson. The team ran a fabulous race bringing home state bronze of their own. A few minutes later the crowd stood and roared its approval as Kinga Parrish won the 400 m dash State title. Parrish set a new SMCA school record of 58.76 seconds as she erased a 15 meter deficit in the home stretch to notch her second title of the day. Moments later, in perhaps the meet’s biggest upset, Senior Jennifer Thomson won the 300m hurdles in an SMCA record 46.04 seconds as the number five seed. Minutes later Hodapp and Terracina toed the line for the 1600m run. This time with 500m to run, Hodapp burst to the lead with no response from an outmatched field and cruised to her second state title of the meet. Terracina closed with a season best and took 5th. Finally the ladies 4 x 400m relay of Hodapp, Van Ackeren, Thomson and Parrish won the team’s 6th State championship with a season best 4:09.1 to close out the meet. When the dust settled the Lady Crusaders won a meet and program best 6 state championships and broke 2 school records. The team’s 100 points is also a program State Meet record. Eight of the Lady Crusaders’ nine athletes at State took home 1st, 2nd or Honorable Mention All-State honors with seniors Parrish, Thomson and Hodapp garnering a combined 8 State Championships alone.
The TAPPS 5A District 4 and North Regional Champs had a great showing at the State Meet as well. First race of the meet was the 3200m and Junior Jackson Long kicked things off by taking the silver medal in a lifetime best 9:33.7. In the field events, Thomas McCarthy took 7th in the high jump, Nathan Vondrak had the 5th place throw in the shot put and Stone Sears leaped to 6th place in the triple jump. On the track, sophomore Joe Eichorst followed suit in the 800m dash with an 8th place finish. The Crusaders 4x200m Relay of Vaughn Malone, Sebastian Cascarano, Stone Sears and Reece Anderson executed a great race taking home State Bronze for the second consecutive year. Cascarano followed his relay bronze with a 200m dash career best 22.8 seconds taking 5th place. Next on the track was the 1600m run where Jackson Long raced to his second silver medal of the day. The Crusaders then flexed their muscle in the meet’s final event. The 4x400m relay team of Cascarano, Anderson, Sears and talented freshman Jack Esparza obliterated the field en route to a State Championship in an impressive 3:25.60! The five second margin of victory is the largest margin of victory in school history at a State Meet. The team took 4th overall noting 4 first team All-State honors, 2 second team All-State honors and 4 Honorable Mention All-State honors.
After a stellar season like this the future is bright for Crusader Track and Field!
Coach Angelique Cunningham
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