Marble Falls track and field athletes advance to regionals

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Nick Dahl (left) races to the finish line of the 800 meters at the District 23 and 24-4A area meet April 10 at Lago Vista High School. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Members of the Marble Falls High School track and field teams placed in the top four of the District 23 and 24-4A area meet April 10 to advance to the Class 4A Region III meet.

To the surprise of very few, senior Nick Dahl, juniors Kylie Roberts and Tyler Hamblin and freshman Madison Cuplin punched their tickets to the regional meet.

But senior Jeremiah Bales’ win in the shot put with a heave of 46 feet and 2 inches to set a new personal best has everyone on notice.

“Jeremiah has done a great job of executing what (throwing) coach (Richard) Scales has been coaching him to do when it matters most,” head coach Austin Silva said. “Jeremiah has great natural talent and ability. The difference now is he’s starting to combine that with great technique, which is why he is the area champion in shot put.”

Roberts took bronze in the discus with a throw of 105-9. It’s the junior’s second time to go to regionals.

“It was not her best day but again, at this level you are trying to survive and advance,” Silva said. “And her being our only returning regional qualifier, she understands that and did what she had to do to qualify.”

Cuplin earned silver in the long jump with a leap of 17-9.75 and was fourth in the triple jump with mark of 35-1.

“This being Maddie’s first area track meet, we told her she was going to have to earn top four,” the coach said. “It wasn’t going to be like our invitationals where she could get away with having a bad day. We are really proud of the way she battled to qualify. It was great for her to experience that. Regionals will be no different.”

Then there’s Dahl and Hamblin, who are the Mustangs’ most consistent performers in the distance races. They have competed at regional and state meets in cross country throughout the years, which are too numerous to count. And they’ve had a lot of success on the track, too.

By far the most entertaining races for Burnet County residents were the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters because of these Mustangs and Burnet junior Victor Aviles. Aviles, who is the defending Class 4A state champion in the 800 meters, took triple gold in these races at the area meet.

But Dahl wasn’t far behind in the 800 meters. He clocked 1 minute and 59.42 seconds to set a new personal record and grab silver to Aviles’ 1:59.01.

The same scenario played out in the mile and two miles. Aviles finished in 4:27.28, while Dahl was done in 4:27.88 for silver and Hamblin clocked 4:28.63 for bronze.

Aviles finished the 3,200 in 9:54.49, while Hamblin’s time was 9:55.10 for silver.

All three will meet again at regionals.

“Yeah I think Nick and Tyler definitely had regionals circled on their calendars since the end of last year, really,” Silva said. “They’ve put in a tremendous amount of work with (distance running) coach (Chris) Schrader, and it has paid off, both advancing in two events.”

The regional meet is Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, at Bullard High School, 1426 S. Houston St. in Bullard.

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CAPTION: Distance runners Tyler Hamblinx of Marble Falls High School (left), Victor Aviles of Burnet High School, and Nick Dahl of Marble Falls High School with their medals from the 800-meter run at the District 23 and 24-4A area meet April 10. The trio keep Burnet County on the map of great runners that include Marble Falls High graduates Leonel Manzano and Bailey Goggans and Burnet High graduate Hudson Bennett. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

RESULTS

District 23 and 24-4A

Boys

400 — 5, Dax Murphy, 51.91; 800 — 2, Nick Dahl, 1:59.42 (new personal record); 1,600 — 2, Nick Dahl, 4:27.88, 3, Tyler Hamblin, 4:28.63; 3,200 — 2, Tyler Hamblin, 9:55.10; 4X400 — 8, Marble Falls (Isaac Laranaga, Jett Martich, Nick Dahl, Dax Murphy), 3:37.92; triple jump — 2, Cameron Graham, 43-5 (new personal record); shot put — 1, Jeremiah Bales, 46-2 (new personal best)

Girls

100 — 6, Madison Cuplin, 12.71; 4×100 — 8, Marble Falls (Nashla Crott, Ava Carter, Kenadie Cotton, Madison Cuplin), 52.40; 4×200 — 8, Marble Falls (Nashla Crott, Ava Carter, Sadie Harris, Madison Cuplin), 1:51.32; long jump — 2, Madison Cuplin, 17-9.75; triple jump — 4, Madison Cuplin, 35-1; high jump — 7, Sadie Harris, 4-8; discus — 3, Kylie Roberts, 105-9; shot put — 5, Kylie Roberts, 31-0, 6, Lexie Edwards, 31-0