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July 2017
The Handoff Official Newsletter of the TTFCA
2017 Year in Review Piperi, Worley, Brown, Culbreath, Moore, Harris, Oladipo, Reneau, Seals, et al. 2017 was a track & field season for the record books. The athletes above (and many more) provided incredible moments in all areas of our sport. They threw, jumped, sprinted, and ran great distances as well as anyone in the state and competed well on a national level.
Throws Page 2
Records were broken, and several hundred student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent to compete at the collegiate level. Enjoy a look back.
Jumps Page 3
The Track Page 5
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Spring 2016
Piperi and Oladipo Lead the Way At the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays, Gabe Oladipo of Fort Bend Hightower threw the disc 215-02, tying the all-time Texas mark from Brian Robison of Splendora in 2003. Adrian Piperi of The Woodlands, on the other hand, crept into rarified air with a personal best of 74-11.50, the 12th best shot put mark in US High School history according to Track & Field News. In the discus, five other boys topped the 190-foot mark: Bobby Smith (19910; Killeen), Adrian Piperi (199-09), Caden McDonald (194-08; Justin Northwest), Matthew Basurto (193-09; El Paso Chapin), and Josh Brown (191-
07; Belton). A total of nine boys eclipsed the 60-foot mark in the shot put, led by Piperi’s 74-11.50. The other eight include: Otito Ogbonnia of Taylor (68-6); Cooper Campbell of Katy Seven Lakes (66-7.5); Gabe Oladipo (65-10.50); Gian Ragonesi of Italy (62-04); Blake Kuithe of Katy Cinco Ranch (61-8.50); Bobby Smith (61-3); John Barber of Fort Bend Travis (60-11); and Robert Gonzalez of Corpus Christi King (60-4).
Swoopes Sweeps Whitehouse’s Zada Swoopes had a season to remember, 175-1 and 46-0.50 to conquer the throws in Texas. Her discus at the Region 2-3A Meet places her 4th in the nation. In addition to Swoopes, five other girls topped 145 feet in the disc: Hailey Pollard of Shadow Creek (1516), Haley Walker of Lockney (151-4),
Lauryn Dixon of Princeton (1485), Julie Perez of Boerne Geneva (145-9), and Isis Howell of Dallas Ursuline (145-2). Swoopes and Samarie Bonds of Pflugerville (45-1) are the only female throwers to reach the 45foot mark in 2017. 2
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Spring 2016
Seals and Moore Jump to New Heights Jalen Seals of Fort Worth Boswell soared to a US #1 51-04 triple jump. George Nyakwol of Aldine Eisenhower (50-02.25) and Jelaani Davis of Pearland Dawson (5001.50) also eclipsed the 50-foot mark. Jasmine Moore of Mansfield Lake Ridge topped her magical freshman season with a stellar sophomore campaign, setting the national sophomore record twice, settling at 43-07.25 at the NBO. Of the 16 girls who tripled 40 feet or better in 2017, six return in 2018. Alvin’s Kynnedy Flannel owns the #2 long jump (21-02.75) in the nation, behind all-world Tara Davis of California.
Eleven boys soared past 24 feet in the long jump, led by Waxahachie’s Jalen Reagor, who, at 26-00, led the US. Michael Tolds of Manvel and Falyn Reaugh of Dallas Highland Park led the state in high jump at 7-0 and 6-0 respectively. Peytonn Weissmann (Grapevine) and Riley Richards (China Spring) battled for pole vault supremacy; Weissmann edged Richards 17-04 to 17-03, while on the girl’s side of the runway, seven equaled or top the 13-foot mark, led by Smithson Valley’s Colleen Clancy.
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Miscellaneous
Spring 2016
1. Sienna Collins of Saltillo and Jake Merrell of Turkey Valley swept the 800 / 1600 / 3200-trifecta in its first year of eligibility at the UIL State Meet. 2. Texans captured eight #1 US boy’s spots, including two by New Braunfels Canyon’s Sam Worley – 800 (1:48.25) and 1600 (4:02.30) and Port Arthur Memorial’s relays – 4x100 (39.80) and 4x200 (1:23.52). 3. Port Arthur Memorial’s 1:23.52 sets the US all-time 4x200 mark. 4. Texans captured two #1 US girl’s spots – DeSoto in the 4x400 (3:37.85) and Jasmine Moore in the Triple Jump (43-07.25). 5. Zephyr Seagraves of College Station ran a 6:06.21 in the 2K Steeple at Texas Relays, #5 all-time in TX; Adoette Vaughan of Hockaday ran a 7:12.25 at the Meet of Champions, #5 all-time TX. 6. Elizabeth Reneau of Argyle Liberty Christian finished the season with the #1 times in all of TAPPS in the 800 (2:15.52), 1600 (4:56.83) and 3200 (10:34.05). 7. Of the 12 events at the Brooks PR Invitational, Texans won two of them (Sam Worley; 1 Mile in 4:02.04) and Bailey Lear in the 400 (53:32). 8. “Texas A&M senior Lindon Victor earned National Field Athlete of the Year honors for a season that included breaking the collegiate record in the decathlon twice along with defending his titles at the SEC and NCAA Championships.” – A&M Website 4
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Spring 2016
Harris, Sheffield, Worley, Brown, Culbreath, Richardson, Brockman, et al Turn Heads on the Track Kaylor Harris: The Mesquite Horn graduate and Texas Tech signee holds the #8 100h time in the US at 13.38. At the UIL state meet, she won the 100h, took silver in the 100 dash and anchored the winning 4x100 – all within an hour. Joseph Sheffield: The Oklahoma signee from Rowlett hold’s the nation’s #1 100-meter time (3.8w). Sam Worley: The UT signee from New Braunfels Canyon owns two US #1 marks – 800 and 1600. He also ran a 4:02.04 mile at the Brooks PR Invitational. Reed Brown: On the national radar for a couple of years, Brown, from Southlake and a future Oregon Duck, etched his name in the record books, when, on June 1, 2017 at the Festival of Miles, he became the 10th American high schooler to run a sub-4-minute mile: 3:59.30. London Culbreath: 800 / 1600 / 3200 / XC – the freshman phenom from McKinney North won almost every event she entered, including the 1600 & 3200 at the UIL State Meet. Sha’Carri Richardson: The Dallas Carter product’s junior season ended with two TX #1s – 100 meters (11.28) and 200 (23.18) – and a UIL team championship. Charles Brockman: A force in the 110 and 300 hurdles, Brockman, a Mississippi State signee, broke the 36-second barrier (35.97) at the TTFCA Meet of Champions.
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Class of 2017 Where are they going?
Here’s the link for the Class of 2017 https://www.ttfca.org/2017-recruits Check back as we’ll continue to update until it’s time for the Class of 2018!
Pole Vault and Pooches: Vault for a Cause --https://www.dunamissportsgroup.com/poles-pooches Dunamis’ Fair Park Games --https://www.dunamissportsgroup.com/dunamis-games