Mansfield High School found just the right blend of experienced seniors, aggressive juniors, spirited sophomores, and maturing freshmen. That lethal combination of Tiger track talent proved way too much for an overmatched 2A-4 conference.
On April 26 at their home venue, Mansfield’s senior girls track team powered past 300 points on their way to a second consecutive conference championship. The Mansfield men, at the same district finals, put up a great fight but eventually fell short of the defending state champions Acorn.
The MHS Lady Tigers posted 29 points within the first 20 minutes of the meet on their way to a 307 point total for the night. In comparison, the league’s remaining five teams only accumulated 326 points when added together.
Acorn (118), Mountainburg (90), and Magazine (69), district womens teams who are ranked inside the state’s top 15, finished the conference race in second through fourth places respectively. Lavaca (40) and Westside (5) rounded out the league’s final team standings.
Mansfield’s Faith Rainwater, Sadie Roberts, Trinity Triska, and Laney Wood landed the early haymaker with a sweep of the opening pole vault event. The four All-District performers joined 11 more All-District Lady Tigers along with other teammates to put forth the pounding.
Brooklyn Adams, Addie Bowman, Shelby Cole, McKenzie Griffin, Raine Hecox, Darby Jones, Hope Rainwater, Seven Sanderson, Azlynn Stover, Carter Whiley, and Jadelynn Wood all finished top two in an individual event or relay to earn 2A-4 All-District honors.
For the Tiger men, 10 players made the All-District roster by virtue of their high placement in the conference finals. Those included John Branche, Boston Elmore, Tyler Escalante, Ryan Hayslip, Peyton Martin, Trey Powell, Axel Ravnsborg, Austin Ruiz, Sammy Sellers, and Tyler Turnipseed.
Acorn won the men’s title with 201 points behind the strength of its number one ranked distance runners. Mansfield punched hard in the early going with valuable field events points and early sprint races. The MHS Tigers couldn’t match Acorn’s late surge through the 800m and 3200m runs and ultimately dropped the lead.
Mansfield’s men finished second in the conference standings with 169 points. A tightly grouped trio finished in the next three spots. Magazine (95), Lavaca (91), and Mountainburg (90) closed in those third through fifth place positions. Westside (18) finished last.
Jadelynn Wood was Mansfield's top female and high point candidate with 41 total points. The junior athlete won the triple jump and 300m hurdles for 20 of her individual points. She served on the winning 4x100m and 4x400m relays for 5 split points. She acquired 16 additional tallies off a pair of individual second place finishes in the high jump and 100m hurdles.
“Jadelynn has been working for this moment all season long,” said Mansfield’s John Mackey, the 2A-4 Conference Women’s Coach of the Year. “She made state last year in a couple of relays. She was determined this year to qualify to state in some individual events. She exceeded expectations and qualified in all six of her regular events.”
Fourteen Lady Tigers scored double digit points. Roberts had the next highest point total for Mansfield with 30.5. The senior won the high jump and was a member of the winning 4x100m relay. She also scored in the 100m dash, 200m dash, pole vault, and long jump. Roberts qualified to state in the high jump and 4x100m relay.
Faith Rainwater made the state roster as the district pole vault champion. She also earned a state ticket as a member of three relays (4x100m, 4x400m, and 4x800m).
Cole (100m hurdles), Sanderson (shot put), and Triska (400m dash) all won individual events to send them to state. Jones punched her tickets in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m races while Adams made her first trip to state with a second place discus throw.
Hope Rainwater, Hecox, Stover, and Bowman won the 4x200m relay. That was the first of three relay victories for the Lady Tigers.
Faith Rainwater, Jadelynn Wood, Roberts, and Whiley won the 4x100m relay. Faith Rainwater, Laney Wood, Triska, and Jadelynn Wood won the 4x400m co-op.
Griffin, Triska, Laney Wood, and Faith Rainwater took second in the 4x800m relay.
The Mansfield men had a great meet through their sprint relays. Ravnsborg, Branche, Escalante, and Martin got things started with a gold medal run in the 4x200m relay. The group of four bettered their 2A-4 league record by running the 2 lap co-op in 1:39.54.
Ravnsborg and Martin doubled back on the short relays, joining Turnipseed and Powell in the 4x100m relay. That speed team won going away in a time of 48.72 seconds.
Finally, Ravnsborg, Branche, Escalante welcomed Ruiz to the 4x400m relay team to close the night with another victory. That high caliber finish brought the baton home in 3:56.53.
Hayslip closed the deal in the men’s pole vault. The 2A state indoor champion jumped a modest 8” 6’ to win the event and conserve energy for other events. Martin, Ruiz, and Elmore did the same tying for second place at 8’ 0” and qualifying to state.
Powell won the 300m hurdles (45.27) in only his second try over the intermediate barriers. He was a silver medalist in the 100m dash to qualify to state in both individual events.
Escalante won the 200m dash (24.25) while teammate Sammy Sellers was second in the men’s discus throw (98’ 5”). Both advance to the state round.
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