By Cyndy Slovak-Barton
Covering the state track meet has always been a favorite job.
Sure, I love photographing soccer, softball, basketball, football.
But there is something about track, where athletes compete against each other – and against themselves.
Athletes from Hays County – representing Hays, Wimberley and Dripping Springs high schools – all proved themselves worthy of being at the event.
Hays High had three athletes – pole vaulters Meagan Gray and Rebekah Pogue and 800M runner Esteban Villalpando – qualify for state. Gray took third with a vault of 12’ 9”, while Pogue took fourth with a 12-foot finish.
Esteban, who qualified for the 800M run with a time of 1:55.17, took fourth, missing out on the bronze by only 1/4 of a second. Yes. That small of a difference.
For Wimberley, pole vaulter Kally Long quietly stepped into the spotlight, taking gold again with a vault of 13’ 2”, this year setting a conference record.
Why quietly? Because the media attention was on Charlotte Brown, who tied for fourth place with an 11’ vault. The hype surrounded Brown because she came to the field with her dog. The stadium had to be quieted when she approached the lane – so she could hear the beep coming from the vault box, and from the bar in the sky.
Yes, she is visually impaired and her sight has slowly wained. She inspired everyone as she stepped among the nine top 3A pole vaulters in – and beat five of them.
After Brown ended her run, Wimberley’s Long kept on “doing her thing,” and set a conference record.
Small potatoes to her.
Finally, representing Dripping Springs was Steven Galli, who came into the 4A 1600M run in the eighth seed, with a time of 4:21.50.
But that seed didn’t keep him down.
Because in the end, he stepped onto the medal stand, high above Myers Stadium at the University of Texas, with the state capitol in the background, to receive the silver medal. He had a time of 4:15.71 – only a fraction of a second out of first place and two full seconds ahead of the third place finisher.
The state UIL track meet starts early and finishes late – for two full days.
It is one of the best spectacles to watch. There is always drama, with missed chances or runners falling as they throw themselves across the finish line.
There are sorrows, as athletes come to state and don’t place as high as in the past.
And there are many happy smiles as young athletes find that, yes, they can compete with the best in the state.
A long day, and a joyful one in the end.
csb@haysfreepress.com
