Courtesy Photo
April 24, 2024
Lady Bulldogs add to record book at Regional Meet
By Brady Keane
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera girls track and field team had another competitive showing at the Class 4A Region IV meet, but the Lady Bulldogs came up just short of advancing to the 4A State Meet in a handful of events on Saturday.
Bandera finished 10th among 32 teams in the region with 26 total points, the team’s best finish at the regional meet since 2018.
“It’s hard to be upset about how we finished,” Bandera girls track Coach Brooke Ashcraft said. “We broke three more school records over the weekend. The girls gave it everything they had and definitely left it all out on the track.”
Junior Kinlee Lawlis opened the meet by setting a new school record in the long jump with a mark of 18-8.5 to finish third, just behind Sealy’s Taniah Coleman (18-9.25). Robstown’s Trinity Anscombe (19-10.50) took first place in the event and joined Coleman in advancing to state.
“What an incredible jump that was,” Ashcraft said. “I’ve known she could jump over 18 if we got her mark right, and we’ve really been working on that over the last couple of weeks. This is the first meet where she didn’t have any scratches. She showed a foot and a half improvement, and that is pretty amazing.”
Freshman Sydney Moore competed well in the 100m hurdles, placing 8th in the prelims on Friday with a time of 16.05 to qualify for the finals. Moore was the only freshman to compete in the finals of the event and climbed one spot to finish 7th with a time of 17.02.
“Sydney finished better than she went in and I’m proud of her qualifying for the finals,” Ashcraft said. “That was a really good experience for her and something she’s going to be able to build on for the next three years.”
Lawlis was back in action in the 100m dash and beat her own school record in the prelims with a time of 12.10 to place fifth and qualify for finals. Lawlis finished fourth, behind Madison Holmes of El Campo (11.90), Ahmasia Brown of Brazosport (12.04) and Adrianna Prophet-Smith of Royal (12.06).
Lawlis also placed 4th in both the prelims and the finals of the 200m dash, clocking a 25.29 in the prelims before posting a 24.92 in the finals.
“Kinlee ran hard,” Ashcraft said. “It was a long two days for her – she competed in basically seven events through prelims and finals, and she was up against a couple of girls who will likely medal at the state meet. She pushed them and gave it everything she had, and has a lot to be proud of.”
In the 4x200m relay, the Lady Bulldogs record-setting team finished just one spot out of qualifying for the state meet. Bandera’s Gabby Barrera, Jayla Blake, Moore and Lawlis clocked a reason best 1:42.24 to beat their own school record in the prelims to place third before posting a 1:43.34 to finish third in the finals behind Royal (1:42.06) and Iowa Colony (1:42.89).
The Lady Bulldogs will finish the season holding school records in the 100m dash (Lawlis), 200m dash (Lawlis), Long Jump (Lawlis) and the 4x200m relay (Barrera, Blake, Moore and Lawlis). All four record holders will return to the program next season.
“I am proud of the girls – I can’t say enough about the things they’ve accomplished this season,” Ashcraft said. “But I know they will be thinking a lot about the taste this weekend left and will use that to fuel the work they are going to put in to make a run at qualifying for state next year.”
Bandera finished 10th among 32 teams in the region with 26 total points, the team’s best finish at the regional meet since 2018.
“It’s hard to be upset about how we finished,” Bandera girls track Coach Brooke Ashcraft said. “We broke three more school records over the weekend. The girls gave it everything they had and definitely left it all out on the track.”
Junior Kinlee Lawlis opened the meet by setting a new school record in the long jump with a mark of 18-8.5 to finish third, just behind Sealy’s Taniah Coleman (18-9.25). Robstown’s Trinity Anscombe (19-10.50) took first place in the event and joined Coleman in advancing to state.
“What an incredible jump that was,” Ashcraft said. “I’ve known she could jump over 18 if we got her mark right, and we’ve really been working on that over the last couple of weeks. This is the first meet where she didn’t have any scratches. She showed a foot and a half improvement, and that is pretty amazing.”
Freshman Sydney Moore competed well in the 100m hurdles, placing 8th in the prelims on Friday with a time of 16.05 to qualify for the finals. Moore was the only freshman to compete in the finals of the event and climbed one spot to finish 7th with a time of 17.02.
“Sydney finished better than she went in and I’m proud of her qualifying for the finals,” Ashcraft said. “That was a really good experience for her and something she’s going to be able to build on for the next three years.”
Lawlis was back in action in the 100m dash and beat her own school record in the prelims with a time of 12.10 to place fifth and qualify for finals. Lawlis finished fourth, behind Madison Holmes of El Campo (11.90), Ahmasia Brown of Brazosport (12.04) and Adrianna Prophet-Smith of Royal (12.06).
Lawlis also placed 4th in both the prelims and the finals of the 200m dash, clocking a 25.29 in the prelims before posting a 24.92 in the finals.
“Kinlee ran hard,” Ashcraft said. “It was a long two days for her – she competed in basically seven events through prelims and finals, and she was up against a couple of girls who will likely medal at the state meet. She pushed them and gave it everything she had, and has a lot to be proud of.”
In the 4x200m relay, the Lady Bulldogs record-setting team finished just one spot out of qualifying for the state meet. Bandera’s Gabby Barrera, Jayla Blake, Moore and Lawlis clocked a reason best 1:42.24 to beat their own school record in the prelims to place third before posting a 1:43.34 to finish third in the finals behind Royal (1:42.06) and Iowa Colony (1:42.89).
The Lady Bulldogs will finish the season holding school records in the 100m dash (Lawlis), 200m dash (Lawlis), Long Jump (Lawlis) and the 4x200m relay (Barrera, Blake, Moore and Lawlis). All four record holders will return to the program next season.
“I am proud of the girls – I can’t say enough about the things they’ve accomplished this season,” Ashcraft said. “But I know they will be thinking a lot about the taste this weekend left and will use that to fuel the work they are going to put in to make a run at qualifying for state next year.”