By Clay Whittington
The Belton Journal
Four Belton ISD athletes concluded their seasons on the biggest stage possible last week by traveling to Austin for the University Interscholastic League Class 5A Swimming & Diving State Meet.
Belton junior Liliana Nelson competed in two events at the meet, placing 12th in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5 minutes, 12.96 seconds and 15th (1:59.68) in the 200 freestyle.
Along with Nelson, three swimmers raced in the boys division.
Belton junior Addison Richardson placed 14th in the 500 freestyle, posting a time of 4:52.67, and he was followed by Lake Belton senior Rylan Reasoner, who completed the race two spots behind Richardson. Reasoner’s 16th-place time was 4:54.74.
Broncos sophomore David Stewart III rounded out the area’s qualifiers. He finished 15th in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.69.
TRACK & FIELD
Belton ISD will host the annual Denise Petter Big Red Relays on Saturday at Tiger Field with field events beginning at 8:30 a.m. The 3,200-meter run will precede at 8 a.m., and the remainder of the running schedule is set to start at 12:30 p.m.
Along with Belton and Lake Belton, nine other varsity programs will be in attendance.
Last weekend, the Tigers and Lady Tigers traveled to compete in the Copperas Cove Bulldawg Relays
Junior pole vaulter Logan Lamberte earned Belton’s lone gold medal, winning with a height of 13 feet, 0 inches, helping the Tigers place fourth overall with 56 points.
Joshua Roberts, a junior, immediately followed Lamberte in the final pole vault standings, placing second with a height of 12-6, and senior Wyatt Butler cleared 10-6 to place fourth in the event.
Senior distance runner Briac Ybanez was second in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:43.51, and he was also second (4:29.00) in the 1,600.
Alton McCallum was responsible for the Tigers’ final medal, finishing third in the 200 with a time of 22.65.
Waco Midway scored 115 points to win the team title, while Round Rock Stony Point (2nd, 104) and Round Rock McNeil (3rd, 88) followed.
In the girls division, Temple (146), Midway (100) and Stony Point (90.3) occupied the top three spots, while the Lady Tigers were sixth with 40 points.
Junior distance runner Olivia Brillhart accounted for two of the team’s three silver medals, placing second in the 3,200 (12:00.33) and 1,600 (5:27.83), while pole vaulter Jane Gauntt was also second (9-6). Breia Finnell, a senior, was third in the 300 hurdles, finishing in 49.03.
Lake Belton took part in the Round Rock tri meet and placed second in the boys and girls divisions.
Sophomore sprinter Kendrick Jones (400, 48.26), Zy Thomas (300 hurdles, 41.81), Adam Walden (shot put, 48-0½; discus, 147-10), Xavier Wells (high jump, 6-4) and Julian Walker (long jump, 22-10) won gold medals for the Broncos.
For the Lady Broncos, the 1,600 relay team of Chelsie Miller, Maranda Armstrong, Emily Bachicha and Nylah Berrian and the 400 relay team of Gabrielle Jones, Bella Garcia, Elianna Watson and Aleya Russell were first with times of 4:06.21 and 48.84, respectively.
Additional event wins were earned by Allie Uzzell (shot put, 33-4), Armstrong (300 hurdles, 48.58) and Bachicha (100, 12.68).
POWERLIFTING
Lake Belton hosted a last chance qualifying meet last week with the hopes of sending more lifters to the upcoming regional meet, and the Broncos capitalized on their home advantage.
Lake Belton earned four gold medals en route to claiming the team title with 39 points – nine more than second-place Belton.
Brett Harmon was responsible for the heaviest hoist, posting a 575-pound squat, 355 bench press and 545 deadlift to finish with a 1,475 total in the 275-pound weight class. It was the third highest total of the entire meet.
The outing was complemented by 308-pounder Jacob Johnson’s 550-315-515–1,380 first-place total and gold-medal performances from teammates Cooper Arnold (132, 320-235-375–930) and Dylan Wellington (148, 485-255-440–1,180).
Additionally, Leonel Castillo (350-185-315–850) was second in the 132 division, while Patrick Hart (165, 415-290-450–1,155) and super heavyweight Caleb Ighoman (485-225-405–1,115) were each third for the Broncos.
The Tigers were guided by 114-pounder Daniel Arana (280-215-365–860) and 181-pounder Kevin Alafa (480-305-495–1,280), who each emerged with gold medals.
Belton also earned medals thanks to Corbin Wittman (2nd, 114, 280-155-245–680), Logan Ricks (2nd, 165, 485-260-430–1,175) and Owen Rivera (3rd, 123, 275-180-275–730).
Waco University (3rd, 29), Little River Academy (4th, 27) and Copperas Cove (5th, 27) followed in the final standings.
