Regional Track...

The beginning of May is one of the busiest and at the same time most fun parts of the year. There is so much going on sports-wise. It starts out with the regional track meets (golf and tennis were two weeks earlier) and then moves into the state meets for golf, tennis and track (more on that later). For the last couple of years I have been sent to Lubbock to cover the Region I-5A and I-3A track meets. Covering these is always nice it helps out in a couple of different ways. First I get a preview of who is going to the state track meet and second, it makes for a nice warm up for the big event in Austin.

With both of the big Abilene high schools being back in Class 5A and there being quite a bit of speed in the two schools, the 5A events were pretty busy, at least on the prelim days. Many of the local runners were out after the first day. The 3A event, however, was stacked with both local and area athletes. With every area school in our coverage area making up District 5-3A that meant there were going to be three entries in every race. And, quite a few of them ended up making the finals. The Big Spring girls relay teams were the biggest story winning the girls 800m relay by more than eight seconds and breaking the regional record.

The finals day was a little easier and not quite as long of a day. First, I didn't have to get up so early and drive to Lubbock (I did have to drive home at the end of the day though). But all the running events were run together with 3A, then 5A. That and the field events in the morning, made for some nice images.