On the girls side, the Region 18 meet features not only a number of established names but also some potential future stars in Texas high school track and field.
Among the standout Dallas-area sprinters, Crimson Flash's Alexis Brown won the 15-16 year old girls 100m and 200m at the Southwestern district qualifier. Brown is the UIL 4A long jump champion and third-place finisher in the 100m. Can she repeat her two wins from the AAU Southwestern district meet and qualify for AAU Nationals in both events?
In the girls 15-16 400m, look no further than DeSoto Swift's Bryannia Murphy. She was one of the legs on DeSoto High School's 4x400 relay that clocked 3:37.85 (U.S. No. 1). Murphy won the Southwestern district meet by almost two full seconds with her 54.97. Murphy is definitely a threat to win the national title as her 54.02 PR will have her in contention with the top girls.
For the 17-18-year-old girls, Lancaster's Tylantiss Atlas took the Southwestern district title by easily running a 56.93. In order to ensure a regional win and a spot in the national finals, she will definitely have to lower her time closer to her PR of 55.97.
The girls jumps will also feature some outstanding performers including Destiny Lawrence, who won both the long jump and triple jump for the girls 15-16-year-olds. Lawrence popped 18-11 to win the long jump and a 38-11.75 for the triple jump win.
On the 17-18-year-old girls side, Jadah Walker of Heavenly Track Club and Carli McDonald of Crimson Flash went 1-2, respectively, in the long jump. These girls didn't make it easy to jump in the same competition as them, as Walker went 19-2.75 and McDonald went 19-01.
Samantha (6) and Nicole (2) Humphries had three good races at the Southwestern district meet
In the distance events, there are two young ladies who may just be two of Texas' future distance stars. The two are pretty familiar with each other since they are sisters and more than likely training partners. Competing unattached in the 12-year-old division, Samantha Humphries and sister Nicole Humphries both ran impressive times in the three middle distance events. In the 800m, Samantha placed second with a 2:26.28 with Nicole a little behind her in fourth place with a 2:29.61. From there, the two sisters took matters into their own hands, going 1-2 in both the 1,500m and the 3,000m at the AAU Southwestern district qualifier. Samantha finished with a 4:59.83 and 10:52.36, while Nicole posted times of 5:06.78 and 10:55.89.