Lady 'Birds aim for 24-4A title, regionals
By KRIS BAGLEY sports@leader-news.com

L-N Photo by Kris Bagley High Jumper Kaitlyn Cain slides over the high-jump bar. She finished as one of the top junior varsity athletes this weekend at Columbus.

This week is the biggest event of the season for the Lady 'Bird track team.

El Campo will travel to Rosenberg Thursday and Friday to compete in the district track meet at Terry High School.

Head Coach Alice Barron has reason to be proud of her team and has high hopes for the upcoming meet.

"I feel really strong about them," Barron said. "We're really confident and we've been working really, really hard. We have two goals. One is to be district champs and the second one is to get everybody out on the individual races to regionals."

In order to achieve both goals, the Lady 'Birds will have to have a strong showing against their district opponents.

Last year, Terry was El Campo's main focus. The Lady Rangers return a team that can still compete, but Barron said her attention has shifted to Seven Lakes and Foster.

"From looking at them, I'm never scared but it won't be easy, let's say that," Barron said. "It's going to be neck and neck. Everybody better be ready at the finish line because everybody is going to be fighting for that spot.

"I told the girls today, it's going to take everybody. We're going to have to get more people out on the 800, more people getting us points on the 400 and the 200 (relays). We're looking for those three races to capitalize."

Seven Lakes, Foster, Terry, Lamar Consolidated and Bay City all have an extra advantage over the Lady 'Birds - a home track.

Since March 15, the track team has been virtually homeless. El Campo's track and football field were demolished that day to install a synthetic turf field and new track.

The construction should be completed well before the beginning of football season, but the track teams are without a legitimate practice option right before their most crucial time of the season. The Lady 'Birds are forced to practice on grass near the school.

The difference in performance is obvious.

"At first, I was like, 'Oh, it's not going to be a big deal,'" Barron said. "But I could tell at the Columbus meet (Saturday) that we could not get it together on the long and triple jump. It's a big difference from practicing out on the grass and practicing on the real deal. I didn't think it was going to affect us but it has a little bit."

To supplement the lack of practice facilities, the Lady 'Birds ran at Wharton Tuesday and plan on running there more often after the district meet.

Despite the difference in practices, Barron expects to rely on an area that was affected at the Columbus meet.

"Our biggest strength will probably be Ebonee Spencer in the triple jump and the 400 (meter dash)," Barron said. "Everything is so tight his year. I was a little more confident until I saw everyone else stepping their game up. We'll see whoever shows up."

She also said her relay teams and Courtney Janak in the 300- meter hurdles is a strength for her team.

For the most part, all the hard work is done. The Lady 'Birds will compete at district to show all of their previous hard work. No amount of practice will help the team drastically improve. This week is about mental focus and preparation.

"We just told them that it's going to take a lot of self discipline and self motivation," Barron said. "I think the coaches have done all that they can do. Pretty much, it's out of our hands right now. It's all in their hands.

"We just keep motivating them and letting them know that they are good athletes, good people and they've done great all year. Now, we're just going to sit back, watch the show and see what they can do."

The following is a list of the Lady 'Birds results from the Columbus meet.

200-Meter Dash

Varsity: 2. Chelsi Robinson, 26.03

JV: 1. Jasmine Allen, 28.12

400-Meter Dash

Varsity: 1. Spencer, 1:00.97

JV: Blythe Nava, 1:05; 2. CeCe Coleman, 1:06; 4. Kaitlyn Cain, 1:07

800-Meter Dash

Varsity: 3. Shelby May, 2:26; 4. Angel Brooks, 2:28

JV: 1. Coleman, 2:34

1600-Meter Run

Varsity: 6. Lupe Garcia, 5:54

JV: 5. Evette Garcia, 6:48

3200-Meter Run

Varsity: 6. Garcia, 12:37

JV: 1. Cain, 13:31

4 x 100-Meter Relay

Varsity: 3. El Campo (Robinson, Janae Owens, Courtney Cadriel, Spencer), 49.7

JV: 3. El Campo (Nava, Candice Bruton, Lashelle Edwards, Allen), 55.34

4 x 200-Meter Relay

Varsity: 3. El Campo (Laura Echeverria, Owens, Robinson, Brooks), 1:46

JV: 4. El Campo (Bruton, Becky Montes, Edwards, Allen), 2:03

4 x 400-Meter Relay

Varsity: 2. El Campo (Echeverria, May, Spencer, Brooks), 4:08

JV: 1. El Campo (Nava, Montes, Cain, Coleman), 4:38

100-Meter Hurdles

Varsity: 3. Courtney Janak, 16:86

300-Meter Hurdles

Varsity: 1. Janak, 47.47

JV: 1. Bruton, 56.41

Long Jump

JV: 1. Coleman, 15-8 1/2

Triple Jump

Varsity: 2. Spencer, 35-5

JV: 2. Coleman, 31-1

High Jump

JV: 4. Cain, 4-6

Team Standings

Varsity 3. El Campo, 94

JV: 2. El Campo, 126

Top Athletes

Varsity: 2. Spencer, 25; 8. Janak, 16

JV: 1. Coleman, 41; 2. Cain, 23; 5. Nava, 18.