With a small group of players, Mansfield’s senior boys gave a good account of themselves at the February 26 ATCA indoor track championships. Fueled by a pair of individual gold medals the Tigers gave chase but ultimately landed in third place overall in the small school 1A-2A division of the state finals.
Senior Ryan Hayslip headlined the Tiger venture onto the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The class 2A state outdoor runner-up in the pole vault last spring started off the season with a bag with an individual championship in the indoor vault.
Hayslip equaled his personal record set nearly nine months ago at the AAA outdoor state finals. This time the 11’ 6” jump was good enough to outlast Cameron Sliger of Caddo Hills for the title.
“Heck yah, let’s go,” said Mansfield men’s coach Josh Brown. “I may be new to the sport of track and field but I’m smart enough to get an athlete with Ryan’s talent on the bus. Ryan Hayslip won the pole vault and should be a threat to win district and the 2A state outdoor.”
Hayslip was one of two Tigers to take individual crowns on the way to their top three team award. Freshman Trey Powell was the other.
Competing in his first indoor meet, Powell’s first race was a gem. The ninth grade sprinter powered out of the blocks like a bullet to complete the 60m dash in 7.49 seconds. The finish was the fastest among all class 1A-2A sprinters.
“Trey started getting track reps right after Christmas break,” said Mansfield men’s assistant and Lady Tiger head coach John Mackey. “He really wanted to master the blocks and get quicker off the line. He was motivated to run fast today.”
“Trey Powell looked really good in his first indoor meet taking first in the 60m and second in the 200m,” explained Coach Brown. “Proud of our guys and the way they competed.”
Both Hayslip and Powell earned All-State honors by virtue of their individual victories.
Senior Tyler Escalante also earned his way onto the All-State list by way of his silver medal showing in the 400m dash.
“Tyler Escalnate did a great job in the 400m finishing second with limited work,” confirmed Brown. “We took 10 guys and hung with the other top teams who had guys in every event.”
Mansfield’s men mostly joined track fresh off the basketball floor or offseason football. Limited reps in designated disciplines forced the Tigers to leave some events empty of entries. Especially in the longer conditioning races, Mansfield didn’t have the depth to compete.
“If we can get some other guys out and ready to go, we should have a chance at districts,” encouraged the Mansfield men’s coach. “Our 4x400m relay team was just a few seconds behind the 2A winner. That’s a good sign that a base is there to build upon.”
The closing relay race referred to by the Tiger coach combined the power of Powell and Escalante with the potential of John Branche and Tommy Phang. Having touched the baton only a few days before the state finals, the quad squad rounded the partnership in 4:05.66 for the silver medal.
All players off the relay team qualified for All-State honors for that event.
Austin Riuz, another freshman, ran a strong leg in the 4x800m relay. Escalante, Branche, and Axel Ravnsborg joined him for a fourth place finish in the opening race.
Phnag was close in proximity to Powell in both the 60m and 200m dashes. Phnag went 7.75 in the 60m for a bronze medal, and was timed at 25.68 in the 200m for another bronze.
Sammy Sellars got his bronze medal for throwing 35’ 2” in the shot put. Powell and Phang both scored in the long jump, going fifth and seventh respectively.
Ruiz and Ravnsborg scored in the 800m run while newcomer Guilherme Bueno pointed in the 1600m. Another newcomer, Austin Oldham picked up two points with a seventh place 400m run.
Turner Wright competed in the men’s shot put as the Tigers stayed within striking distance of at least a Runner-Up team trophy through most of the night.nAs the empty lanes began to mount, Mansfield lost their momentum and had to settle for third in the team standings.
Acorn won the men’s small school meet with 127 points. Decatur pushed the leaders but dropped back after failing to get a 4x400m relay team on the track. They had 115 points while Mansfield closed with 86.
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