Faith Academy track ready for state meet
CAPTION: Faith Academy senior Beau Steele has rewritten his name in the Flame’ track and field record book. Photo by Stennis Shotts
The Faith Academy track and field program finishes the season at the Class 3A state meet of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools May 8-9 at Waco Midway’s Panther Stadium.
Several Flames and Lady Flames will be vying for state championships thanks to their finishes in the Class 3A South Region meet April 30. Athletes who placed no worse than fourth place advanced.
“It’s all about qualifying,” head coach Steve McCannon said. “And we qualified. I think the boys were taking are taking dead aim at the podium for sure. We’re looking like a top three team if things go right. We might have a shot of winning it. Last year we got third. (This year) we’re trying to get third or better. With the girls, we probably have to really find a way on the podium. We’re going to need some help to get there.”
He noted that the boys regional meet was incredibly competitive. The Flames finished second in the team standings with 133 points behind Providence Classical with 164.5 points and in front of Waco Live Oak with 117 points.
“It was gonna be a challenge to win the regional meet,” McCannon said. “But once again, we weren’t there to win the regional meet; we were there to get bodies qualified for state. So it’s a rare time, I guess, in our sport where you’re more worried about qualifying than winning the regional meet. If you win great, but it’s all about really getting to state. I know we’re ready on the boys side for whatever state might bring us.”
No two events illustrated that better than the 400 meters where senior Beau Steele clocked 50.29 seconds to obtain silver and the 1,600-meter relay featuring Graham McGraw, Colt Mason, Egan Barnes and Steele tht won gold by 0.04 of a second.
“Beau set our school record and the relay set our school record by almost two seconds,” the coach said. “If you think about all the years we’ve had Faith Academy track, we’re breaking school records and you’re scraping or not even winning regional titles in those events. The quality and the coaching has definitely gotten better.”
All six relay teams advanced with the Flames winning three gold medals and the Lady Flames taking two silvers and finishing fourth in another.
“We’re happy to get all the relays qualified,” McCannon said. “We’ve never won all three regional relays, so that was kind of a first for Faith Academy.”
The win in the 1,600-meter relay was especially exciting as the last two runners ran “shoulder to shoulder for two teams for three laps.”
“We were not separated by more than two or three feet,” McCannon said. “I would say that’s probably the most exciting 4×4 I’ve ever seen.”
He credited assistant coach Cedric Griffin for the finish, pointing out Steele kept one important trait during his lap.
“He maintained his composure and form all the way to the finish,” McCannon said. “A lot of times in a 4×4, they’ll break down the athlete, literally. They get to the three-turn mark, they’re breaking down, and the other Providence guy would have certainly gone by. Beau stuck to the fundamentals really. Griffin has been teaching on sprint form, and he just literally maintained that the last 100 (meters), keeping his composure and that’s what won the race.”
Griffin also has been working closely with the hurdlers. Landon Silvers took gold in the 300-meter hurdles 42.23 seconds and was fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 17.50 seconds.
Egan Barnes took bronze in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet and 11.25 inches. Colt Mason was fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 40-2.
“Egan has probably come the furthest of our entire time,” McCannon said. “He made it to state in five events. Last year he only ran on the 4×1, so he has really come on extremely strong, and we’re proud of what he’s done for sure.”
McCannon was equally happy about the Lady Flames’ relays. He noted the 400-meter relay team of Reese Ramsey, Halley Offutt, Cuyleigh Zimmerman and Eden Thames were about 0.3 of a second behind Providence Classical.
“At state I would say there’s going to be six teams within probably a half of a second,” McCannon said. “So it should be exciting for the girls. We wanted to win region, but we’ll have a good lane at state.”
He felt equally good about the 800-meter relay, which was 1.1 seconds behind Conroe Covenant Christian featuring the same runners. And though he was happy the 1,600-meter relay advanced, the coach noted those Lady Flames spent practices working on the little things that lead to big results.
“We didn’t do what we needed to do,” McCannon said. “All four people have to really contribute, and we have to learn that and be ready for it. We’re not going to have the greatest lane. We just have to be prepared to run our best. But if we do, I think we can podium in all three relays if we really compete.”
Individually, three fourth-place finishers will compete in running events: Abigail Kosoglow in the 400 meters in 1:05.23 and the 800 meters thanks to finishing in 2:42.9 and Zoe Rhoads in the 300-meter hurdles by clocking 53.61 seconds. Rhoads also will compete in the long jump thanks to taking bronze with a leap of 15-1.5. In addition to the relays, Thames will compete in the triple jump thanks to earning silver with a mark of 32 feet and 5 inches.
“That was pretty good,” McCannon said. “Abigail continues to lower her times so once again, we had a good set of girls. When you can make it to state in three or four events, that’s pretty awesome.”
Silver medals went to high jumper Ashlyn Rishavy with a flop of 4-2 and to thrower Miley Fessler with a heave of 34-0 in the shot put.
“Miley was a strong second in the shot put,” McCannon said. “She just missed in the discus. She’s really (set new personal records) pretty much (at) every track meet that she’s been at for the past two years, and so we’re really going to miss her in the throws. I think she has a good shot of medaling at state in the shot, so we’re proud of her.”
CAPTION: Reese Ramsey completes her lap and hands the baton to Abby Kosoglow. Photo by Stennis Shotts
RESULTS
Boys
400 – 2, Beau Steele, 50.29, 7, Madden Kinnee, 56.38; 800 – 5, Christian Thompson, 2:27.18, 7, Luke Krueger, 2:30.76, 8, Seamus Rasmussen, 2:32.23; 1,600 – 6, Seamus Rasmussen, 5:32.96; 3,200 – 7, Seamus Rasmussen, 12:05.40; 110 hurdles – 4, Landon Silvers, 17.50; 300 hurdles – 1, Landon Silvers, 42.23, 7, Jackson Henry, 45.76; 4×100 – 1, Faith (Barnes, McGraw, Mason, Steele), 44.37; 4×200 – 1, Faith (Barnes, McGraw, Mason, Silvers), 1:33.33; 4×400 – 1, Faith (McGraw, Mason, Barnes, Steele), 3:29.76; high jump – 2, Egan Barnes, 5-6; long jump – 3, Egan Barnes, 18-11.25; triple jump – 4, Colt Mason, 40-2; shot put – 6, Hudson Tatum, 36-0, 7, Landon Silvers, 35-10; discus – 4, Hudson Tatum, 104-5, 5, Ronin Burns, 96-7, 8, Case Tatum, 72-0.
Girls
200 – 6, Cuyleigh 29.11; 400 – 4, Abigail Kosoglow, 1:05.23; 800 – 4, Abigail Kosoglow, 2:42.19; 1,600 – 8, Jasmine Young, 7:10.56; 3,200 – 7, Jasmine Young, 16:14.47; 300 hurdles – 4, Zoe Rhoads, 53.61; 4×100 – 2, Faith (Ramsey, Offutt, Zimmerman, Thames), 52.75; 4×200 – 2, Faith (Offutt, Ramsey, Zimmerman, Thames), 1:53.10; 4×400 – 4, Faith (Ramsey, Thames, Rhoads, Kosoglow), 4:28.84; high jump – 2, Ashlyn Rishavy, 4-2; long jump – 3, Zoe Rhoads, 15-1, 5, Eden Thames, 14-6.75, 6, Cuyleigh Zimmerman, 14-4.25; triple jump – 2, Eden Thames, 32-5, 3, Zoe Rhoads, 32-4.75; shot put – 2, Miley Fessler, 34-0; discus – 5, Miley Fessler, 88-10
