Abigail (Abby) Elmore competes in the 400m at the 2023 John Green Texas' Greatest Athlete
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This weekend was the 24th annual John Green/Texas' Greatest Athlete Invitational. The meet has grown and with the popularity of the multi events, this was the largest meet of its existence. Popularity doesn't make the heptathlon or decathlon any easier and the entrants showed how skilled they are.
Abby Elmore (Gunter) won the girls event by earning 5,376 points. That is the second most points scored all-time for a Texas girl. Stanford signee Skyler Schuller (Coppell) also had a great day taking second place with a 5,046 point total.
Elmore's peak performance could have been predicted with the results of last track and field meet. Recently, she enjoyed a great UIL state track and field meet by standing on the awards podium for four individual events and just missing out in a fifth event.
On the boys side, it was Colton Harrison (Gregory Portland) racking up 6,316 points to out pace Alex Anderson's 5,783 point total. Harrison was a regional qualifier in the 110 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles and also placed fourth in the pole vault at the UIL state meet.
Girls Recap
Elmore and Schuller were on each other's heels most of the competition. Elmore hit big early in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.31 with Schuller getting under 14.97.
The high jump is usually a big event for both Elmore and Schuller, but Elmore scored huge with a new personal best jump of 1.82 m (5-11.50). Schuller, Bostyn Baskin, and Ava Goetz (Ar) all cleared 1.67 (5-7.75).
Although she is swift in the feet and outstanding in the hurdles and jumps, Elmore won the shot put at the state meet with a 40-8 throw. She tossed a 11.65m for 38-2. Josephine Flynt's 10.93m (35-9) earned her some big points.
Schuller was able to close the gap on Elmore in the 200m; she ran a close second to Flynt's 25.48 fastest time with a 25.49 of her own. Elmoe ran 26.04.
The long jump is another big time point getting event for the top two individual performers. Elmore finished fourth at the UIL 3A state meet in the long jump with a 18-3.25. That was the only event she did not podium in and a 5.60m (18-4.50) was just a little bit over that, but still behind her 18-8 PR. Schuller went 5.50m (18-0.50) well off her 19-4 personal record.
In the javelin throw, Elmore added more to her point total. She threw a competition best 36.81m (120-9 inches) with Khya Walton throwing 33.94m (111-4) and Schuller 33.81m (110-9).
In the final event, Schuller closed the gap a little more with a strong finish in the 800m. She and Goetz ran a close 800m race with Goetz getting the narrow win in 2:24.45 to 2:24.82 ahead of Schuller. Elmore finished with a time of 2:31.76.
Boys Recap
In the boys 100m, Trace Foreman (Ar) got off to a fast start with a time of 11.05. West Rusk sprinter Andon Mata and Alex Anderson were also out fast in the 100m respectively with 11.11 and 11.26 runs.
The trio used their speed to come up big in the long jump as well. Anderson jumped 6.59m (21-6), Mata 6.50m (21-3), and Foreman checked in at 6.32 (20-7).
Ralph Miller scored big in the shot put with a 13.04m (42.9) throw as did Harrison 12.50m (41-0), and Mata 12.41m (40-7). In the high jump, Luke Czarnecki jumped 1.94m (6-3), Miller 1.84m (6-0), with Dagen Geier and Kingston Williams both going 1.79m (5-8 inches) for the third most points from the event.
To end day one, Mata again showed his speed in the 400m with a 49.26 run for the top time of the group. Harrison (50.67), Anderson (50.84), and Mateu Parker (50.86) all dipped under 51.0 seconds in the long sprint to make the most out of their point scoring opportunities for the day.
Colton Harrison competes in the long jump at the 2023 John Green Texas' Greatest Athlete
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Day two, saw Ryder Harrison get off to a good start in the discus. He threw 38.50m (126-3) for the top throw in the event to top his brother Colton how had a 37.58 (123-3). Andrew Chapman had a 41.86 (137-3) in the javelin for his top performance of the decathlon. He topped all throwers and was one of only two to go over 40m with Colton Harrison (40.80m - 133-9).
The 110 meter hurdles was more Colton Harrison and is where he really started to pull away in the scoring column. The hurdles combined with the discus and javelin helped string together a great start to day two. Harrison ran 15.30 for the heat win and top point score in the event. He narrowly beat out Czarnecki in the who ran 15.34 for second overall in the event.
Colton was again superior in perhaps his best event of the decathlon, the pole vault. He vaulted 4.56m (14-9), which is a far cry from his 16-3 personal best in the event, but after a long and tough two days, it was more than enough for the event win. He was joined by Foreman as the only competitor over 4 meters (13-5)
The 1500m was the final event, and Williams came through with the event win in 4:45. He was joined by mata, Parker, and Anderson as the only competitors to break 5:00. Colton Harrison finished in 5:09 to conclude his long two day journey over the ten events and secure the win at 6,316.