Marble Falls’ Cuplin, Wilde advance to area meet

CAPTION: Junior Madison Cuplin adds district gold medals Nos. 5 and 6 in the long jump and triple jump. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Marble Falls junior Madison Cuplin and sophomore Brenna Wilde are advancing to the District 23 and 24-4A area meet thanks to their finishes in the field events at the District 24-4A meet April 8.

Cuplin secured her third District 24-4A championships in both the long jump and triple jump April 8 at Bulldog Field. 

No Mustang or Lady Mustang had a better day than Cuplin. The junior took double gold in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet and 7.5 inches and in the triple jump with mark of 41-7.

Cuplin’s leap of 19 feet and 7.5 inches in the long jump and mark of 41-7 in the triple jump forced the other athletes to fight for silver.

“Maddie did exactly what she needed to do to advance to area,” Lady Mustangs head coach Brenda Gonzalez said. “In the triple jump, she took just her three attempts in prelims, opening with a 40-foot mark and then hitting 41-7 on her third attempt before passing on all finals jumps. In the long jump, she also had her best marks in prelims—19-7.5—and chose to take one more jump in finals, which ended up being a foul. Overall, the focus was simply doing what was necessary to move on, and she executed that plan well. It wasn’t surprising to see her advance. I’m very proud of her and everything she continues to accomplish.”

Burnet freshman Landry Schubert took bronze in the triple jump with a leap of 36-6.5 to break the school record. Salado sophomore Presley Ortega secured silver with a mark of 36-7.  

Salado senior Payton Ortega took silver in the long jump with a leap of 17-8.5 and freshman teammate Ayvah Smith earned bronze with a mark of 17-4.

“I’m pretty happy with it, but I feel like I’m a very greedy person when it comes to jumps,” Cuplin said. “There’s always better to do, mostly execution and consistency. Those are my main things this year – try to be consistent with all my jumps and getting on the board consistently.”

Coming into the meet, Cuplin had already broken the school records in the long jump and triple jump this year held by 1993 graduate Tamara Coburn. 

Cuplin broke the triple jump record at the Johnny “Lam” Jones Relays hosted by Lampasas March 26 with a mark of 43-1. She broke the long jump record Feb. 26 at the Viking Relays hosted by Lago Vista with a leap of 20-11. 

Coburn had a mark of 39-3 in the triple jump and 19-1.25 in the long jump.

Cuplin now owns four school records, which include the 100 meters and the 200 meters.

While Cuplin didn’t set a new personal best or broke her own school records at the district meet, horizontal jumping coach Jamie Graham noted “she got out there and took care of business like a top athlete is supposed to do.”

“She didn’t struggle to find the board,” he said. “Her struggles are what normal jumpers have. She scratched on one jump, she recovered and came back. She’s very explosive, and she’s working on her form. When she gets her marks down, her instincts take over and her athletic ability is obvious.”

Graham said he offers calmness and steadiness to Cuplin, which are invaluable.

“I’m not going to flip out if something goes bad,” he said. “And she has that, too. She naturally has that – she doesn’t panic, she doesn’t flip out if something’s not going right. I’m not going to yell at her. She doesn’t need that and she doesn’t respond to it.”

Teammate Brenna Wilde, a sophomore, took fourth in the high jump by clearing 4-10 and needed a tiebreaker to advance to the area meet, which is at Lorena High School Wednesday, April 15.

“I’m really proud of how she competed and battled throughout the event,” Gonzalez said. “She stayed composed and gave herself a great opportunity. Looking forward to seeing how she competes at area.”

Cuplin’s finishes at the 2025 Class 4A state meet — bronze in the long jump with a leap of 18-6 and fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 39-1.5 — still drive her.

“I was happy to place, but it’s definitely motivated me to want to do better,” she said.

The district meet concludes Thursday, April 9, with the running finals. Cuplin will compete in the 100 and 200 meters. The meet resumes at 5 p.m. at Bulldog Field in Burnet.

CAPTION: Sophomore Brenna Wilde needed a tiebreaker to finish fourth in the high jump and advance to the area meet. Courtesy photo