6A Region II track: Duncanville dominates in adverse weather; DeSoto sprinters impress

To see 2024 UIL track and field regional championships results, click here.

HEWITT — Duncanville kept on dominating, even in less-than-ideal conditions.

The Panthers finished the 6A Region II meet as champs on both the boys’ and girls’ sides on Saturday at Waco Midway, with several individuals and relay teams headed to the state meet in a couple of weeks in Austin. The two-day Regional event wrapped up Saturday afternoon, as the start time was moved to noon due to inclement weather in Central Texas.

The track stayed dry and all events were completed, but there was still a consistent 16-mile-per-hour north-to-northeast wind to pair with a “feels like” temperature of 55 degrees.

Those conditions didn’t stop both boys and girls Panthers from clinching state appearances in all three relays, as they’ll look to continue that at the state meet, which will take place from May 2-4 at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium in Austin.

Duncanville’s 4x400-meter boys team was pushed by third-place Klein Forest (3:13.90), but five-star wide receiver and LSU commit Dakorien Moore gave the Panthers the edge in the anchor spot. Moore, who also won the long jump with a leap of 24-0.75 on Friday, applied the burners and burst Duncanville to a second-place time of 3:13.61. The squad entered the week with the third-fastest time in the nation at 3:11.74 — a new school record.

That unit will have one last chance to hit their goal of a 3:09 or better, which if successful would put Duncanville in the top five in state history. The Woodlands scampered its way to the top of the podium with a time of 3:13.11.

The Panthers girl’s 4x400-relay team of Pilar Garcia, Ashley Lister, Siani Simpson and De’Kayla Simpson, finished nearly a second ahead of Klein Forest with a time of 3:45.36. Lister will also compete for a state title in the long jump after notching a second-place jump of 20-0.25 on her first attempt on Friday.

Duncanville set the tone in the 4x100-meter relay, as the boys (40.53) crossed the finish line just over a second before Mansfield (41.54). The Panthers unleashed the same quad pairing of Ayson Theus, Moore, Brayden Williams and Caden Durham in the 4x200-meter relay, which they also raced out to a first-place finish in thanks to a time of 1:23.42.

The girls mirrored the boys with a state-qualifying run of 45.91, which barely held off Klein Forest’s mark of 45.93. Duncanville’s 4x200-meter girls lineup of Aaliyah Gipson, Garcia, Gabrielle Goodgames and Sanyah Keeton, also advanced to the state meet with a second-place time of 1:38.38.

DeSoto sprinted its way to the top of the podium after clocking a 1:37.98.

The Dallas area also had state qualifiers in several field events, including:

• Mansfield’s Zion Robinson placed first in the boy’s high jump (6-8).
• Alana Butler, a senior out of Duncanville, won the discus throw event (148-8).
• Isaiha Pena of Mansfield Lake Ridge won the boy’s shot put with a throw of 53-5.75.
• Garland Sachse’s Favor Anyanwu — Baylor linebacker Tony Anyanwu’s younger sister — snagged second in the girl’s shot put after hurling a mark of 42-5.

Here are the running event qualifiers:

• Desoto’s Taryn Bailey ran a 2:14.81 to get the silver medal in the girl’s 800-meter run.
• Hannah Lowe of Garland Sachse also placed second, this one coming in the girl’s 100-meter dash, as she clocked a time of 11.59.
• De’Kayla Simpson continued Duncanville’s dominance by dusting the competition to win the girl’s 400-meter dash (55.58).
• Cedar Hill earned points when Krystan Bright won the girl’s 300-meter hurdles event, as Bright ran it in 42.09 seconds.
• Desoto’s Nasya Williams posted a time of 23.50 to earn a silver medal in the girl’s 200-meter dash
• Kory Boyd of Wylie East rounded out the Dallas-area qualifiers with a second-place finish (21.11) in the boy’s 200-meter dash.

The UIL State Meet will take place May 2-4 at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium in Austin.

Regional track

— 6A Region I track: Rock Hill star breaks Olympian’s record; weather causes postponements

— 6A Region II track: Duncanville dominates in adverse weather; DeSoto sprinters impress

— 5A Region I track: Mansfield Timberview sweeps the relays; Denton Ryan hurdler shines

— 5A Region II track: Melissa senior sets boys record; Lovejoy duo tops girls 3200

— 4A Region II track: Frisco Panther Creek girl wins long, high jump; Sunnyvale boys lead

On Twitter: @MichaelHaag_

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