Ricebirds prepare for district track meet
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Full Extension Junior Tompkins has a chance at advancing to regionals in the shot-put.

The Ricebirds are running through last-minute practices in anticipation of this week's district track meet.

Terry will host District 24-4A Thursday and Friday at Rosenberg for the most important event of the track season.

With injuries and other factors, Monday was the first real chance for the 'Birds to really get some work in.

"Right now, we're just trying to get everybody together," Royce Johnson, head coach of the Ricebirds, said. "We can't get things going because we're split up, we have kids hurt and we have kids playing baseball. We never could get any continuity going. We're just trying to practice and see what we can get. We have a couple of days left."

Working on team chemistry in only a couple of days is a daunting task for the Ricebirds. Hopefully, El Campo will use the time to gel and develop team unity.

"It's hard to do (in a short amount of time)," Johnson said. "That's something that's got to happen throughout the season. We have some competitors on the team and we'll do what we have to do to try and do our best."

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley Up And Over Daniel Dominguez pushes himself over the bar at a great height.

Facing top competition, El Campo's greatest chance at advancing to regionals comes in two individual categories.

"The shot put and discus would be our biggest strength now," Johnson said. "We have (Junior) Tompkins throwing 48 feet and right at 50. He's shooting for it. We have the two discus throwers, (Chase) Bullard and (Bryan) Skow. Both are up in the high 130s with their personal best. That's our strength so far."

El Campo could have a nice outing in the 800-meter relay. Johnson said Thad Deiss, Dominique Murray, Landon Appling and J.R. Harris have the ability to run for a good time at the meet.

The goal for district is to put a strong effort together and see what happens. If some Ricebirds can advance to regionals, the meet will be a success. Even if no one advances, if the 'Birds give their all, they can walk away proud.

"Right now, we're just trying to do our best," Johnson said. "We're trying to get whoever we can out.

"The 4 x 200 (relay) has a shot to get out if we can get everybody together. Dominique Murray is just coming back from an injury, so with him on the 4 x 200, that might help us a little bit. We'll have to run it. A relay is a little bit different. It doesn't matter who you have on there, you have to run it."

The Ricebirds competed in the Gulf Coast Relays at Freeport this past week. The following is a list of El Campo's results.
400-Meter Dash
5. Murray, 52.6
Shot Put
6. Junior Tompkins, 48-5
Discus
4. Bullard, 132-1; 5. Skow, 130-7