Mario Urquidi takes third in the pole vault competition.
DECATUR -- The Decatur High School senior boys and girls traveled south to Gurdon for the state 2A track meet May 15. The senior boys placed sixth overall out of 46 teams competing.
For Mario Urquidi, it was a homecoming because his family lived in Gurdon several years ago.
"I'm going to see some old friends," Urquidi said. "It will be a reunion for me."
Urquidi faced several teams from around the state in the high jump and pole vault, including powerhouse Mount Ida, which for the last several years dominated the pole vault competition in the state. Decatur's Evan Owens, through hard work, brought home the state title last year. This year it was up to Urquidi to bring it back to Decatur.
For the Gurdon meet, Urquidi matched his personal best in the pole vault by reaching a height of 12 feet, putting him in a group of three athletes to vault over 11 feet. But he would have to settle for third, behind Dillon McBride of Union Christian, with a vault of 13-feet, 4 inches, and Lane Dupre of Mount Ida, who cleared 13 feet. For Urquidi, with two bronze medals in both pole vault and high jump, this event in front of his old home crowd is a fitting end to his 2014 track season.
The boys' team of Ryan Shaffer, Kyle Shaffer, Terry Kell, and Marck Guadarrama worked very well together in the 4x800-meter relay placing second in the 2A meet. This would be the highest any Decatur track member would place. The relay team placed 10th in the 4x100-meter and eighth in the 4x400-meter relays.
Others placing in the top 10 of each event included Ryan Shaffer, who placed eighth in the 110-meter high hurdles and ninth in the 300-meter high hurdles. Terry Kell placed 10th in the boys' long jump. Brandon Coker placed 13th in the shot put and Tyler Riddle placed 13th in the 1600-meter run.
On the girls' side, Lacy Barrett placed 10th in both the 100-meter and 300-meter high hurdles events. Cameron Shaffer placed 12th in the shot put and 15th in the discus.
"I'm pleased with my team performance at state," said Shane Holland, Decatur's track coach. "Next year we have several talented ninth-grade athletes that will transition into the senior high ranks. I look for that talent to really show next season."
Sports on 05/14/2014