DECATUR -- The Decatur High School track and field team had a remarkable 2015 season, with the junior high boys' team winning the Vinita Invitational Track Meet at Vinita, Okla., April 4. When they went to the District meet in Danville, April 21, they once again proved they were ready to compete.
"The junior high boys won the district, scoring over 200 points," said Shane Holland, Decatur track coach. "There were so many firsts and seconds it would take forever to list all of them."
One of the shining moments for Holland and the Decatur track program was the performance of the junior high girls' team at the district meet April 21. This led to one of the best finishes all season for that program.
"The junior high girls were second at the district meet," said Holland. "I was as much proud of that than anything,"
One reason for this success was in the number of eighth- and ninth-grade girls that decided to join the junior high team this year. Some of these young athletes have never participated in any form of track and field events. For Holland it was back to the basic fundamentals of each event and working with the girls until they were ready to complete. It will be interesting to see how this new blood plays out over the course of the next two years.
On the senior high level, the boys' team overwhelmed the competition at the district meet in Danville April 24 by more than 200 points. The team qualified 12 boys and one girl for the state meet at Gurdon May 4.
Overall, the team finished fifth out of 35 teams that attended the meet.
The 4x800-meter relay team, which placed first at the state meet, qualified for the Arkansas Meet of Champions May 16 at Russellville. The team went up against teams from Conway, Pine Bluff, Heber Springs, Bryant, Maumelle, Rogers Heritage, West Fork and Rivercrest, all teams from higher 4A through 7A conferences. The team of Marck Guardarrama, Tyler Riddle, Taylor Haisman and Ryan Shaffer finished in ninth place.
"Only the teams that win their events are invited to this meet," said Holland. "I can remember one person two years ago that went, but I don't think anyone from Decatur has gone to the Meet of Champions since the early 2000s."
"We've had a good year," Holland said. "With all the new talent coming from the junior high level, I can't wait to see where we go next season."
State track meet results:
Boys 800-meter: Taylor Haisman - 5th
Boys 1600-meter: Tyler Riddle - 8th
Boys 3200-meter: Tyler Riddle - 6th
Boys 300-meter hurdles: Ryan Shaffer - 7th
Boys 4 x 400 relay: Decatur A, Marck Guardarrama, Tyler Riddle, Ryan Shaffer, Taylor Haisman - 8th
Boys 4 x 800 relay: Decatur A , Guardarrama, Riddle, Shaffer, Haisman - 1st
High Jump: Mario Urquidi - 7th
Triple Jump: Mario Urquidi - 6th, Jafett Puga - 17th
Pole Vault: Bracy Owens - 6th
Shot Put: Victor Urquidi - 6th, Brandon Coker - 15th
Discus: Brandon Coker - 13th
Girls Shot Put: Cameron Shaffer - 5th
Sports on 05/27/2015