Abilene High's Endsley runs away with weekly honor
Daniel Youngblood
Reporter-News
For most kids, a trip to state is a dream — and often an unattainable one. For Abilene High distance runner Ashton Endsley, it's darn-near a given.
Like death and taxes, Endsley's annual trips to Round Rock during the fall and Austin during the spring have become virtual certainties. And you can't help but marvel at the consistency with which she performs.
Endsley, our Local Player of the Week, showed off her rare talents once again last week at the Region I-6A track meet in Arlington, where she swept the two distance events to earn state berths in both for the second consecutive year.
On Friday, she repeated as the I-6A 3,200 champ, running a career-best time of 10 minutes, 34.77 seconds. And not to be outdone in the mile, she followed last year's second-place regional finish with a gold-medal effort on Saturday, running a season-best time of 4:54.16.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about last weekend's performance was the way Endsley responded to being challenged — something that hadn't happened to that point in the season. She won both races by less than two seconds, edging Southlake Carroll's Alison Esparza in the 3,200 and Lewisville Hebron's Anna Elkin in the 1,600.
Now for the scary part: Both Endsley and her coach, Rosemary Martin, believe the standout junior has more in the tank should she need it at state.
After earning her first state medal last year as a sophomore — a bronze in the mile — Endsley goes into this year's state meet seeded first in the 3,200 and second in the 1,600. Don't be surprised if this girl addd two more state medals to her collection next week.
THIS WEEK'S TOP 10
1. Aaron Anderson, hurdler, Sr., Cooper — Left the Region I-5A meet in Lubbock with two gold medals around his neck, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 14.43 and the 300 hurdles in 37.04. Both times were season bests for Anderson, who now moves on to the Class 5A state meet for the first time.
2. Jesus Serrano, hurdler, Sr., Abilene High — Qualified for the Class 6A state meet in both hurdles events, finishing second in the 300 hurdles (36.95) and third in the 110s (14.25).
His silver medal in the 300-meter race earned him his third consecutive state meet berth in the event, and his bronze-medal time in the 110 hurdles was enough to earn a wild-card berth and make him a two-event qualifier for the first time.
3. Colton House, pole vaulter, Sr., Wylie — Got off to a slow start at the Region I-4A meet in Lubbock, missing his first two attempts at his opening height (13 feet), but rebounded to take the gold medal with a career best-tying vault of 15-3. House will now go onto the state meet, where his qualifying height has him seeded first.
4. Riley Casey, golfer, Sr., Cooper — Placed ninth at the Class 5A state tournament, shooting rounds of 77 and 75 at Wolfdancer Golf Club in Lost Pines for a total score of 152. It was the Oklahoma commit's second consecutive top-10 finish at state after placing fifth in 2015 at 73-76—149.
5. Kamwren Jackson, pitcher, Jr., Wylie — Pitched a nine-inning shutout in the Lady Bulldogs' 1-0 victory over Vernon in Game 1 of a bi-district playoff series, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out eight. She also earned the win in a more offensive Game 2 the next day, surrendering seven runs in four innings before handing the ball to Jordan Benson for the save.
At the plate, Jackson went three for nine over the two games with a run scored.
6. Keeley Latham, hurdler, Sr., Wylie — Secured a state meet berth in 100 hurdles with a career-best time of 14.91 at the Region I-4A meet. Latham, who entered that race seeded fifth, now holds the Big Country's fastest time in the event this season.
7. Jacelyn Garrett, Calah Harvey, Yaeyah Brown and Neah Garza, 800-meter relay team, Cooper — Ran a time of 1:42.57 at the Region I-5A meet to win their race by .14 seconds over Fort Worth Dunbar.
In addition to their gold in the 800 relay, Garrett won the 300 hurdles in 45.16 and Harvey finished second in the 200 (25.60).
8. Braden Darrow, thrower, Sr., Wylie — Earned two medals at the Region I-4A meet, placing second in the shot put (53-8¾) and third in the discus (151-11). His silver medal in the shot earned him a second consecutive trip to the Class 4A state meet.
9. Austin Smith, pitcher, Jr., Cooper — Pitched six stellar innings in the Cougars' District 4-5A finale at Lubbock High, allowing one unearned run on two hits while striking out 10 in a 4-1 victory. Offensively, Smith walked twice and scored a run in four plate appearances.
10. Macy Goodenough, second baseman, Sr., Wylie — Went 5 for 7 in the Lady Bulldogs' series sweep of Vernon, tallying a double, a triple, two runs and two RBIs.
OTHER TOP PERFORMERS
Mack Mueller, pitcher/outfielder, Sr., Wylie (Allowed zero earned runs in three innings to earn a win against Decatur and went 2 for 4 with a walk a run as the Bulldogs split their playoff warm-up games against Decatur and Wichita Falls Rider);
Samuel Mendenhall, gymnast, Sr., Abilene High (Tied for 27th in the floor exercise at the Texas High School Gymnastics Championships with a 9.40 score in the compulsory competition and an 8.45 in options for a total score of 17.85);
Logan Cox, gymnast, Cooper (Finished 16th in the vault at the Texas High School Gymnastics Championships with a 9.35 score in the compulsory competition and a 9.10 in optionals for a total score of 18.45);
Brittani Hill, outfielder, Sr., Abilene High (Reached base in five of her 10 plate appearances during the Lady Eagles' bi-district series loss to Fort Worth Paschal, going 2 for 7 with a double, three walks and three runs scored);
Terreon Paige, sprinter, Jr., Cooper (Earned a bronze medal at the Region I-5A meet and a wild-card berth to the Class 5A state meet in the 100 with a time of 10.66);
Tiyoshi Hopes, high jumper, Sr., Cooper (Earned a bronze medal in the high jump at the Region I-5A meet with a leap of 6-6);
Josh Novil, Jeremy Ayers, Noah Lang and Brayden Ward, 400-meter relay team, Wylie (Placed second at the Region I-4A meet with a time of 42.63 to earn a spot at the Class 4A state meet);
Hanna Sanchez, distance runner, Sr., Wylie (Earned a bronze medal in the 3,200 at the Region I-4A meet with a time of 12:06.89).