San Antonio Home School freshman Libby McGrath is the real deal. She is the type that you will line up for a race and you won't event know it until trying to figure out who the young lady is that won. McGrath is home schooled, so she doesn't run for a school or in one of the conferences or leagues you'd get to see her run in often.
However, when she has run against the girl at bigger meets she has dropped some solid times. In cross country season, she won the Texas A&M Invitational in 18:22. She then competed at the Nike Cross Nationals South Regional in a large and talented field. She finished 62nd with a 19:40.37 in perhaps the moste talented race she had ever been in at the time. A week later, McGrath would be right back at it in another national level field. She competed at the Foot Locker South Regional where she would PR in 18:03 with an 18th place finish.
This indoor season, McGrath has been on fire running some fast times. Last week, at the Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic, she won the 2 mile with a very good early season and indoor time of 10:56.42. She would follow that up with a second place finish in the mile with a 5:11.82 against some of Texas best distance runners. This past weekend, she was back at it at the Carl Lewis Invitational. McGrath doubled this week winning the mile and them coming back just 30 minutes later and winning the 3,000. She posted another 5:11.23 mile and 10:07.42 3K to show she is consistent.
One thing is for sure, this young lady isn't afraid to run against the best and she is tough and consistent.
Poth senior Jake Lamberth started off the season on a high note....get it? He is having another good indoor season. Last season was good, but this year the heights are better.
Last year, Lamberth went 6-5.25 and 6-6 during the indoor season and he topped out with a second place finish at UIL State Track and Field Championships and then at the Great Southwest Classic with a 6-10.75 PR. Poth is also fresh off of winning a national title at the 2017 AAU Junior Olympic Games.
This month, he went 6-7.5 at A&M and just this weekend at U of H, he blasted a 6-10 jump for his second best ever and the season has just started.
If he is already going 6-10, what is next for Lamberth. Clearly, he has been working hard and the sky is the limit.
Mansfield Legacy senior Jais Smith is for real. The season just started for Smith, but he is in mid season form.
Smith jetted through the three rounds of 60m races efficiently and powerfully. Taking on some of the best sprinters in Texas, he proved he is ready to be considered one of them himself. He may have gotten ahead of himself by surpassing that kind of talk by placing himself in the conversation for one of the nation's best.
Smith ran a 6.92 in the prelims and then doubled back with two 6.84 races in the semis and the finals. Those times now ranks him #2 in the nation.
El Paso Irvin senior Aaron Gilliam is in good shape. Gilliam ran at the Arkansas High School Invitational and boy did he have quite the race. He ran the 3,000m and it was a fast one. Gilliam finished in second place, but with a 8:41.17 PR and U.S. #3 ranking. That pace is also on 9:20 3200m pace which is just off of his 9:15.12 PR for Texas Relays.
Jasmine Moore is back for action. She finally got back to competition this week and she wasted not time before she hit the national rankings.
Moore busted a jump double that would land her #5 on the long jump national list and #2 on the triple jump national list. When she gets warmed up and in a competition groove, it is well known what she is capable of doing.
Moore has been focusing on her running a little more, but that definitely hasn't affected her jumping. In fact, the better and faster she gets at running the better her jumping results will be. With a 19-4.25 and a 41-8.75, Moore is just getting started.
Buster Roberts has accomplished lot in his high school career, but it's not over yet. The Luling senior get his 2018 season jump started in a major way. Roberts competed in the mile at the Carl Lewis Invitational and the results were good. He came away with a Texas #1 and #22 nationally ranked 4:21.61 mile performance that has got to be a confidence booster as should the ferocious last 300m kick that sealed the win.
Roberts who has been a cross country stud over the years has also had a good career on the track. He has a runner up finish and a state championship in the 3200m. However, the 1600m state title has eluded him at this point. He has a fourth place and runner up finish in the 1600m, but this could be the year he adds the title to his resume.
The North Texas Cheetahs are a loaded track club. Several of their athletes were some of the top performers at the Arkansas HS Invitational.
The aforementioned Jasmine Moore is just one of the outstanding athletes they had on center stage in Fayetteville. Along with Moore, JaEra Griffin, Kelly Rowe, Jayla Hollis, Arius Williams, and their 4x400 relay amongst others stole the show.
The outstanding freshman Griffin was runner up and third in the 60m and 200m. Then Kelly Rowe also ran the same events and she won the 60m and placed 5th in the 200m. Hollis added two wins to the team with her victories in the 60H and 200m. Williams added a solo victory in the 400m and then teamed with three others for a 3:46.57 4x400 relay win.