Marble Falls track athlete Cuplin captures area medals

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Madison Cuplin with her four gold medals from the District 23 and 24-4A area meet. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photograpy

Not many athletes had a better area meet than Marble Falls junior Madison Cuplin.

The Lady Mustang won gold medals in the 100 meters in 11.81 seconds, the 200 meters in 23.84 seconds, the long jump with a mark of 19 feet and 11 inches and the triple jump with a mark of 41-9.

She broke her own school records in both running events.

Head coach Brenda Gonzalez called Cuplin’s start to the 100 meters “electric.”

“Maddie came out of the blocks with the most power I’ve seen from her and dropped her (personal record) from 11.84 to 11.81,” the coach said. “Just another sub-12 (second) performance in the books for her. It was a very composed, confident race.”

Before Cuplin went to the blocks for the 200 meters, she met with her coaches. Standing close by was Mustangs head coach Austin Silva.

“She said, ‘I’m going to break 24 (seconds),” Gonzalez recalled hearing. “Coach Silva kind of chuckled, and she responded, ‘Why are you laughing? Just wait.’ And she backed it up – 23.84, a big drop from 24.45. She attacked the race, stayed relaxed and executed exactly how she envisioned it. She’s having fun, competing loose and it’s showing. Just wow.”

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Madison Cuplin (center) powers her way to the finish line and another school record in the 200 meters. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Cuplin found a way to add more area medals in the horizontal jumps.

“She had a bit of a tough time finding the (long jump) board early but still managed a strong series,” the coach said. “Her third attempt was a big jump but just barely fouled. She was really going after that 20-foot mark, but we joked that (the) long jump said ‘not today.’ She still hit 19-11.5 – just half an inch away. Overall, her approach, flight and landing all looked solid.”

The Lady Mustang sent a clear message at the beginning of the triple jump.

“Pretty much one and done,” Gonzalez said. “On her first attempt, she hit the board perfectly and went 41-9. After that, she fouled her second and jumped 40 on her third, then shut it down to stay fresh for her other events. Very efficient and controlled performance.”

“She continues to have a game plan going in for each event and executes that plan, which allows her to not have to take every jump by putting a good jump out there early forcing (and) her competitors to try and catch her,” horizontals jumping coach Jamie Graham said. “She is focused on what she needs to do during the event and not focused on what everyone else is doing around her. This allows her to worry about things she can control, like her mark and her technique and let her competition worry about her.”

Sophomore high jumper Brenna Wilde finished sixth in the high jump with a flop of 5-0 to finish her season.

“Brenna had a great day,” the coach said. “She cleared her opening height at 4-8, then went on to clear 4-10 and 5-0. She just missed 5-2, which would have been a (new personal record). From her freshman to sophomore year, she’s made great progress, and staying healthy really helped her this season. (High jump) coach (Kaitlyn) Goertz has done a great job with her. I’m excited to see what the next two years hold. She’ll definitely be competing for medals.”

The regional meet is May 1-2 at Bullard High School.

CAPTION: Brenna Wilde competes in the high jump of the District 23 and 24-4A meet with high jumping coach Kaitlyn Goertz (back) videotaping the attempt and boys track head coach Austin Silva (sitting, left) watching. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photograpy