Rabbs’ track program finds success at home meet

By Tim Emmons
temmons@casscountynow.com

The state of Texas is a vast wonderland of athletic treasures and to anyone who follows track programs year-in and year-out, they know that Atlanta is the regional gem that stands apart.
The 21st running of the Atlanta Lions Club/Gordon Pynes/Runnin’ Rabbs Relay was a true success for the Atlanta track program as a whole last Saturday.
Both the varsity and junior varsity boys’ teams finished first overall and the ladies placed second overall.

Varsity Boys
Atlanta’s varsity boys won 12 straight titles from 1996 to 2008 with the 2006 meet being canceled because of inclement weather.
The last time they won their home meet was in 2011 before coming out on top of a crowded field of tough competition this past weekend.
The varsity team finished with 194 points, Liberty-Eylau was second with 125 points, last year’s winner Tatum was third with 95 points, Texas High had 91 and Kaufman had 90.
Rain was forecasted but never materialized which gave the field event athletes a chance to build points early.
In the long jump Trin Taylor placed first with a leap of 21 feet, 6 inches and Luke Anthony placed fifth at 19 feet, 4 inches.
Taylor also placed fourth in the triple jump at 42 feet, 5 inches and teammates Quenton Rowe and Tristan Allen finished second and fifth respectively with leaps of 6 feet even and 5 feet, 8 inches in the high jump.
In the pole vault Anthony placed third with a mark of 9 feet even, Shun Hunter placed fifth in the discus event with a toss of 124 feet, 3 inches and Desmond Robinson placed third and Melvin Jett sixth in the shot put event with heaves of 44 feet, 1/2 inch and 38 feet, 4 1/2 inches respectively.
The Rabbs amassed 53 points before the track heated up with great competition.
In the 100m dash Jawan King placed first at 11.26, Reggie Blaylock second at 11.32 and Nick Cooper fourth at 11.49.
In the 200m dash Desmond Webster claimed second place at 22.79, Ahmad Dickerson was third at 23.16 and King placed fifth at 23.68.
In the 400m Curtis Smith placed first with a time of 51.63 and Anthony placed third at 52.30.
Cade Rosser and Dagen Ward finished 3-4 in the 800m run with times of 2:05.09 and 2:06.76.
Ward, Josiah Henderson and Cameron Kenderick placed 4-5-6 in the 1600m run with times of 4:54.77, 5:12.18 and 5:13.05 respectively and Kenderick crossed the finish line in the 3200m run at 11:27.69 which gave him a fourth place finish.
In the 110m hurdles Josh Edwards placed first with a time of 15.86 and Calvin Rowe placed fourth at 16.02, but in the 300m hurdles Rowe placed second at 41.19 and Edwards third at 42.36.
All relay teams finished in second place but cemented the Rabbs’ title for the first time since 2011.
The 4x100m team of Austin Brown, Kelton Young, Dickerson and Taylor finished with a time of 42.88, the 4x200m team of Brown, Young, Taylor and Webster finished with a time of 1:29.28 and the 4x400m team of Brown, Anthony, Taylor and Calvin Rowe finished at 3:24.87.
The varsity boys have an outstanding chance to add to an already legendary status of 26 district championships in 29 years (22 straight from 1988 to 2009), one area championship, 12 regional championships, three state-runner up honors and five state titles.
At one point Dr. Billy Wilbanks compiled 105 years of track studies up until 2010 and the boys’ program ranks seventh all-time across the state in state medals and championships.
It’s almost a surety that in the past seven years Atlanta is now in the top 5 of all schools across Texas since 1905 in track wins be they team or individual. The only schools ahead as of 2010 were Refugio, Abilene, Jasper, Andrews, Galveston Ball and Austin.
Boys’ Head Coach Nick Miller had this to say about his team’s performance after the home meet had wrapped up.
“I feel that their performance was superb. They competed on such a high level the entire day,” Miller said. “What stood out the most to me was how hard they competed. The will to not give up and keep pushing was evident in our athletes. They showed up with a job to do and they were not going to be satisfied until it was done. It’s crazy how we ran not only season bests in a lot of our relays/events, but some of the best times in the entire state in 4A and the athletes still were not satisfied.”
When asked about the team’s progress Miller replied, “They have come a long way not only since the beginning of this season, but since we started our journey together three years ago. I’m not positive, but I know for a fact that it has been at least 2008 since the varsity and JV won the boys’ divisions.”
“Each year we increase our goals slightly and vow we will reach them through pure hard work and toughness. We have abided by this agreement each year and just as planned we have improved each season,” Miller continued. “Our times keep dropping and more athletes keep improving. They are not only performing great, but they are competing and pushing themselves to the limit. That’s all I can ask of them.”
When asked what it meant to share in a home meet title with his athletes like he was able to achieve in his time on the oval Miller said, “It’s always special to share a moment with your team. I wanted them to have the “experience” of the Runnin’ Rabbs Relays. The meet that ex-athletes and alumni continuously talk and reminisce about. You often hear about the crowd, performances, competition, and the all-around exciting atmosphere of Atlanta Track and Field. I remember how awesome it was, so I’m glad that our athletes got to experience that.”
“You cannot convince these kids that they can be beat. There’s something special about that. I’m lucky to be able to coach such a great group of athletes and competitors,” Miller remarked. “I want to end by saying thank you to my athletes for their work, the Lions Club for helping put on this meet, the coaching staff for their work at the meet, the students who sacrificed their Saturday to help work at the meet, and the fans/community for coming out Saturday, filling the stands and supporting our kids.”

Varsity Girls
Atlanta’s girls’ track team was near the top most of day, but L-E outdistanced the Lady Rabbs down the stretch.
Atlanta finished with 125 points, Gilmer was a distant third with 85 points, Kaufman had 84, Texas High 79 and Tatum 74.
In the field events Starr Davis placed second in the pole vault with a mark of 8 feet even, Haley Sprayberry placed fourth at 7 feet even and Jaden Stroman was sixth at 6 feet, 6 inches. TeShuna Sheppard was business as usual as she sailed to a first place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 11 1/2 inches, and teammate Keyona Easter placed second at 34 feet, 5 inches.
Sheppard broke her own record which she set last year.
Easter and Sprayberry placed 4-5 in the high jump with leaps of 5 feet even and 4 feet, 10 inches respectively, Pass Burleson placed sixth in the shotput event with a toss of 30 feet, 11 inches and Sheveonia Smith and India Cooper placed 3-4 in the long jump with leaps of 16 feet, 6 inches and 16 feet, 1 inch respectively.
On the track Aniya King placed first at 12.48 in the 100m dash and Easter placed fifth at 13.08.
In the 200m dash King placed fourth at 26.41, Smith placed third at 59.55 and Jasmine Moore sixth at 1:07.89 in the 400m and Hannah Wicks finished the 800m run in fifth place with a time of 1:07.89.
The 4x100m relay team of King, Smith, Easter and Sheppard placed first at 48.35; the 4x200m relay team of Sheppard, Easter, King and Richonda Harris placed first at 1:45.47 and the 4x400m relay team of Smith, Wicks, Arredondo and Sheppard placed third at 4:10.57.
Girls’ Head Coach Jarrick Farmer had this to say after the event was over about his team’s performance.
“I’m proud of our performance of the day but not satisfied. Though we competed well we have lots of room for improvement which is a good thing,” Farmer remarked. “A few things stood out for me. Multiple girls took part in events they had experience with and more than not were successful. Which means we may be on the brink of something great when athletes with talent begin to trust coaching.” 
When asked about the development of the ladies since day one Farmer replied, “With the aid of some extrinsic motivators the picture has become clear from some angles. We are developing more pride as individuals and it’s spreading. They come to practice wanting to be a tenth faster or an inch further/higher than the day before. I’m proud of them all.”

JV Boys
The junior varsity boys placed first with 155 points, Kaufman placed second with 122, L-K third with 116, Texas High had 96, L-E 60 and Tatum 44.
In the pole vault Hunter Belk was first and Blake Lummus second as both athletes cleared 8 feet even; Jordan Brigham and Jacorian Fields placed 2-3 in the triple jump with leaps of 38 feet, 3 inches for both jumpers; Treyvon Powell placed second in the high jump at 5 feet, 6 inches, Fields placed fourth at 5 feet, 6 inches and Romero Williams was sixth at 5 feet, 4 inches.
In the long jump Fields and Brigham finished 4-5 with marks of 18 feet, 8 inches and 18 feet, 7 inches respectively; Jared Cowgill placed second in the short put with a toss of 38 feet, 2 1/2 inches and Jeremiah Hatley placed fifth in the discus with a toss of 92 feet, 8 inches.
Drae Nelson placed fourth at 11.91 in the 100m dash; Nick Washington and Caleb Coleman placed 4-5 in the 200m dash at 23.97 and 24.18 and in the 400m dash Powell placed second at 53.36, Belk was third at 54.92 and John Fields placed fifth at 57.03.
In the 800m run Jacob Nash and Jordan Prignit placed 5-6 with times of 2:16.72 and 2:23.83; Prignit finished the 1600m run in fifth place at 5:36.09 and Prignit finished the 3200m run at 12:31.69 in fifth place while teammate Mitchell Winders finished sixth at 13:05.21. Brigham scored big in both hurdle events as he placed first in the 110m at 16.63 and second in the 300m at 48.20.
The 4x100m relay team of Washington, D.D. Coleman, Nelson and Powell placed second at 44.71; the 4x200m relay team of Brigham, Caleb Coleman, D.D. Coleman and Demontrae Collins placed fourth at 1:36.72 and the 4x400m relay team of Belk, Powell, Washington and Caleb Coleman placed first at 3:39.68.
Coach Miller had this to say about the JV team’s performance.
“I had a lot of other coaches who were impressed with the JV relay teams times and finishes,” Miller said. “We have a lot of kids who have never run track before or who have limited experience who are stepping up big.”
“The future is looking bright with this young group who pushes our varsity guys to do better at times,” Miller reamrked. “It’s possible a few of them may run in a varsity meet here soon.”

Record Setters
Before the finals started six of the 15 record holders for the event from Atlanta were honored with former instructors Coach Gordon Pynes and Coach Ben Scharnberg in attendance. Tiffany Lockett Falls set a meet record in the 400m in 2005 at 58.72 and won a state championship in that event.
TeShuna Sheppard was the newest record breaker as she broke her own triple jump record at 38 feet, 11 1/2 inches just a few hours before the honor service began. Sheppard has won two state medals in three years and is looking for nothing short of gold. Chris Ibarra set the 800m mark of 1:54.46 in 2013 and holds school records in both the 800m and 1600m. He won the 800m state championship twice and the 1600m once.
Nick Miller ran a leg on the 1600m relay team that posted a 3:19.79 time in 2004 with Calvin Graham, Dallas Washington and Curtis Burns. Miller is now the head coach of the boys’ track program and took part in helping propel the program to three consecutive state championships.
Doctor Bo Price set the 3200m record of 9:23.80 in 2002 and won a state championship in that event, and Reggie Hill holds two meet records from 1997. He won the 100m dash with a blazing time of 10.31 and anchored the 400m relay team that set a record at 40.93 and won two gold medals at the state meet in relay competition with teammates Derrick Blaylock, Scooter McKinney and Trae Lawson.