Wharton track sending four to state

“I am extremely proud of these young men. They have represented themselves and this community with class and character,” Tigers coach Christopher Jones said. “To have only eight members on the varsity and to do as well as they did, I told them that is a huge accomplishment. My message to the team each day throughout the week is that today is the only thing that matters and always remember that you are doing this for something bigger than you.”

The Tigers competed in seven events at the regional meet in Kingsville last week and four will advance. Wharton sophomore Jacorric Allen was the regional champion in the 400-meter run, senior Kameron Mitchell came in second in the 300-meter hurdles and the 800-meter run. The 4x400-meter relay team placed second in the region.

Allen was a half-second faster than second place, finishing with a time of 48.47 to win the Region IV championship. Allen was seeded third following prelims, but he took nearly a full second off his run to finish first. Mitchell’s closest race was in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing close to two-tenths of a second in front of the third-place runner.

The 4x400-meter relay team of sophomores Keilon Jackson and Ja’Carious Wiley, Mitchell and Allen, needed a strong close to make it to state. The Tigers had a slow exchange on the last baton handoff dropping them to fourth place, Allen ran hard and caught the top of the pack, beating third place by one-hundredth of a second. The Tigers come into finals, seeding as the top 4x400-meter relay team in the region.  The 4x200-meter relay had fast times but missed out on state by a tenth of a second.

In total, the Wharton track team competed in eight events at regionals. The Lady Tigers had one athlete at regionals, sophomore J’Honesty Smith, who competed in the 400-meter run.

Wharton qualified in two events for state last season. Allen will be returning to Austin this year. Allen finished fourth in the 400-meter dash.