While the competition keeps getting more challenging, the Wylie Pirates continue to show their mettle. 

The Pirates track and field team, fresh off of a district championship, continued with an area round title at Williams Stadium on April 21. The boys led the way with a convincing 128 points, beating out Rockwall (73 points), Skyline (71 points) and Tyler Legacy (57 points). 

The girls faired well, too, finishing third overall with 93 points. They finished marginally behind Sachse (98.5 points) and area winners Rockwall (152.5 points). 

With the top four in each meet progressing again to the regional championships, Wylie had some great performances on the track. Ten athletes on the boys’ team qualified for the regional championships, led by two gold medals for Nathanael Berhane in the 3200 (9:23.11) and the 1600 (4:19.99). 

The state finalist in cross country also won both events in the district and dominated the area meet, while his teammate Hunter Jackson finished second in the 3200 (9:47.15) and third in the 1600 (4:34.21). Caden Biltz also qualified in the 1600, placing fourth (4:34.26). Biltz also qualified in the 800-meter for the Pirates, placing fourth at the meet (2:02.72).

Along with the long-distance races, Wylie had two qualifiers in the 100-meter dash, as Logan Popelka took home first place (10.54) and Emeka Nwokedi ran just behind him in third (10.67).  Popelka also won the 400-meter sprint (49.15) for the Pirates, taking home his second gold medal with over a one-second gap to spare.  

In the hurdling events, Canyon Hall placed second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.65), less than half of a second off of the first-place pace. He also qualified for his team in the discus throw (151-00) and shot put (51-09.25), placing second in each event. 

In field events, Wylie had four other qualifiers, as Christopher Knauss and Jacob Smith qualified in the pole vault. Despite equal heights on their best jumps, Knauss finished first and Smith just behind him in third by the tiebreakers (15-00). 

Christopher Lewis qualified in two events for the Pirates, placing third in the triple jump (42-11) and fourth in the high jump (6-02). The final boys’ qualifier was Seth Kramer, placing fourth in the long jump (21-03.25).

The Pirates had nine qualifiers at the meet on the girls’ side, led by two gold medals for Taylor Washington. She won the 100-meter hurdles (14.68) and 300-meter hurdles (46.18) in back-to-back weeks, solidifying her spot at regionals. Her teammates, Arissa Grace McGowan (14.89) and Teran Rogers (14.92), will join her at regionals after placing second and third in the 100-meter hurdles. 

Another Wylie athlete to qualify in two events was Liv Lambert, who placed first overall in the 3200 (11:45.86) and third in the 1600 (5:29.39). She won the 3200 by over 12 seconds, while her teammate Abigail Bray qualified with a fourth-place finish (12:25.79). 

In the field events, Wylie had four qualifiers, led by Carley Hall’s first-place finish in the discus throw (116-09). She will be joined by teammate Olaoreofe Israel, who placed third in the same event (108-04). 

Chioma Obi placed third in the high jump for Wylie (5-05) to advance to regionals, while Jordan Sewell finished second in the pole vault (9-06). 

All 19 Wylie participants who qualified will compete in the Region 2-6A championships in Waco on April 29-30.

To read the full story, see next week’s issue. For more news and sports stories, see The Wylie News in print or online. Support your community newspaper for less than $40 a year.

By Kyle Grondin • kgrondin@csmediatexas.com