Matthew Rueff (Katy Seven Lakes) poses after winning an indoor shot put competition
Field Events
Boys Throws
Texas' top thrower Matthew Rueff (Katy Seven Lakes) has it going on this year. The small outdoor sample size proves that Rueff wasn't waiting on the warm weather to throw. He has already thrown 178-5 this year in the discus.
Austin Vandegrift junior Cristion Davis is also throwing well. He popped a 162-9 two weeks ago at the Lake Travis Inv.
The two will also square off in the shot put; Rueff has a SB of 61-2 and Davis also took the win at Lake Travis with his 55-10 toss.
Girls Throws
TAPPS state champion Faith Mitchell leads the state in the shot put with her 46-11 SB. The Houston St. Agnes thrower is working through the early parts of the outdoor season well.
Cailyn Riley (Dickinson) is another big thrower to keep an eye on this weekend. She has a 40-4.25 SB entering the meet.
In the discus, Mitchell enters with a 126-2 best throw on the year. Toryn Tyrpin (Katy) has the farthest entry with her 131-1 SB toss.
Boys High Jump
The boys high jump should be a good competition. Blake Harris (Katy Tompkins) is one of the top returning jumpers from the 2021 season. The UIL 6A runner-up finisher is off to a good start with a 6-10 on record this year.
If Harris has any technical issues or an off day, things will get very interesting. Jace Posey (Houston Strake Jesuit) is also off to a good start and he has a 6-8 jump on the record this year.
Not too far behind are Calen Jones (Duncanville) at 6-6, and one of the best athletes in the sport this year Sam Alves (Rockwall) who has a 6-5 best jump this year.
Boys Triple Jump
Ruston (LA) triple jumper Brandon Green enters with a big eye popping 50-4.25. He is fresh off the Louisiana Indoor State Meet where he jumped 51-6 to take the win there, making him the favorite this weekend.
Green will have some competition with Karson Gordon, who is a bonafide triple jump star. He is the quarterback for the Fort Bend Ridge Point varsity football team, but he also added both the USATF and AAU triple jump championships over the summer. Gordon jumped 49 indoors and should make a good back and forth with Green.
Boys Long Jump
There are four boys entered in the meet with marks over 23 feet, which makes the boys long jump a possibly explosive event this weekend.
The 2021 UIL 6A runner-up Jayden Keys is back for his sophomore year. The Katy Tompkins sophomore has the top mark with his 24-4 performance this year. Cameron Antoine (Pearland) checks in with a 23-5 SB, Green who will also compete in the triple jump has a 23-2 SB, and Fort Bend Bush senior Jedidah Udunna will check in this weekend with a 23-0.75 best jump on the season.
Boys Pole Vault
We just saw Jack Mann, Colton Rhodes, and Sergio Rivas go at it two weeks ago at the Lake Travis Invitational. The competition was outstanding to watch seeing these big time guys chase bars without anything on the line. We'll get to see those sky high vaulters do it again, but with more studs involved.
Seven boys are entered who have jumps 15-0 or higher including Rivas who has a 16-0 jump, Mann (the 2021 UIL 6A state champion) who has 16-4.75 jump this year, and Colton Rhodes who has a 16-6 jump.
If they get a decent tail wind, we could see these guys get on some pretty big poles and clear some high bars.
Mackenzie Dagrosa prepares for her 5-10 jump
Girls High Jump
It's possible, the meet might not get much better than the girls field events. The girls high jump has three girls who have already jumped over 5-9 and two of the nation's best jumpers from the indoor season entered to compete.
San Antonio Reagan sophomore Mackenzie Dagrosa jumped 5-10 the first weekend of the year at the Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic and she did it again two weeks ago at the Northside ISD meet. Bryanna Craig (Ruston) recently won the Louisiana indoor state title and had a 5-9.75 best performance. Criag returns to Texas after moving to Louisiana from Lubbock last year. Rockwall jumper Claire Lowrey also has cleared the 5-9 bar with her 5-9.75 and if she is ready to jump she could clear 5-10.
Girls Triple Jump
The girls triple jump competition has two 40 footers entered and three other girls who aren't too far behind with 38-8 jumps or better.
Suzan Ogunleye (Pflugerville Henderickson) has an entry of 41-10 and that may be a little lofty, but it could be within her range. Ogunleye and Avery Segura (Austin Vandegrift) squared off two weeks ago at the Austin Lake Travis Inv. as they both jumped over 40 feet and we could see them do it again.
Miss do-it-all Taylen Wise (San Antonio Reagan) is a 2021 UIL 6A state meet qualifier and she checks in with a 39-7.5 jump, Claire Spiller (College Station) checks in with a 39-0.75 mark, and Skylynn Townsend (Prosper Rock Hill), who had a great indoor season also checks in with a 38-8.75 mark.
Girls Pole Vault
With six girls already over 12-0 this year, the girls pole vault will be worth the price of admission.
With vaulters like Cannon Booker (Cypress Bridgeland), Tierra Cullivan (Cypress Bridgeland), Lauren Schmitt (Katy Seven Lakes), Kaci Andrus, (Barbers Hill), Sailor Todaro (Bryan), and Kade Joslin (Austin Lake Travis), we could see the girls carry this competition on for a while.
The headliner will of course be Emily Fitzsimmons from Austin Lake Travis. Fitzsimmons is a 13-9 jumper and the defending UIL 6A state champion, so she will be one of the last vaulters to enter the competition. She will get all she can handle this weekend, so she'll need to bring her "A" game to get the victory.