Mustang earns chance to run at Class 4A state meet

• Photos by Martelle Luedecke/ Luedecke Photography Marble Falls junior runner Tyler Hamblin stays with the pack during the 3,200 meters at the Class 4A Region III meet April 20.
• Marble Falls long jump and triple jump coach Jamie Graham (center) with freshman Madison Cuplin (left) and senior Cameron Graham, his son, at the Class 4A Region III meet.

After rain postponed the Class 4A Region III meet April 20, runners brought lightning speed to their races April 22.

On the way back to Bullard High School the morning of April 22, the Marble Falls High School track team received some good news.

Junior Tyler Hamblin waited all weekend to find out he had the ninth best time out of all four regions — 9 minutes 28.04 seconds — to punch his ticket to the Class 4A state meet as the wildcard.

Hamblin will be the first state returner for the Mustangs in three years.

“It’s exciting, he got the wildcard and it’s a good thing as it shows we have a strong district, area and region,” Marble Falls distance running coach Chris Schrader said. “I’m banking on him doing pretty well.”

No event illustrated the depth, speed and desire to advance to state more than the boys 800 meters where the top 8 fin ishers posted new personal bests, including Marble Falls senior Nick Dahl.

Dahl ran a 1:57.74, two seconds faster than this previous best, to fin -

ish fifth.

Burnet junior Victor Aviles, the 800-meter defending state champion, ran a blistering 1:52.66 to win the regional championship and post the fastest Class 4A time going into the state meet. Burnet junior Isaias Zarate was sixth in 1:57.74.

The boys 1,600 meters wasn’t any different.

After a false start, the runners got off the starting line with a little bit of jostling and crowding. A photo finish earned Aviles gold, his third of the meet, as he crossed the line with a time of 4:19.40 followed by a close second of 4:19.43.

“I was overwhelmed with joy at the outcome of each race and feel thankful for my family and coaches who helped me do my best,” Aviles said.

Hamblin finished fourth with a time of 4:23.64, and Dahl was 10th in 4:37.12. Just two hours earlier, Dahl’s 2-second personal best in the 800 was significant, but the meet gave little time for recovery between events.

"It's a very difficult double,” Schrader said. “Making it to regionals is a very big deal; I’m proud of Nick, and it’s a great way to end the season.”

After winning the area championship in the shot put, Marble Falls senior Jeremiah Bales ended his senior season throwing 43 feet and 9.5 inches at the regional meet, placing him 13th.

Senior Cameron Graham was ninth in the triple jump thanks to a mark of 41-4.

On the girls side, Marble Falls freshman Madison Cuplin tied for seventh in the long jump with a leap of 16-10.5 and ninth in the triple jump in 35-2.5. In the discus, Burnet senior Kyleigh Mott was 11th with a heave of 95-4 and Marble Falls junior Kylie Roberts finished 13th with a mark of 95-4. The Burnet boys 800-meter relay team of juniors Colton Stanford, Brody Danson, Noah Crawford and senior Grant Jones placed seventh in 1:29.83 while the Lady Dawgs 1,600-meter relay team of juniors Adriana Briggs and Camryn Courtney, freshman Cali Eason and senior Addie Houston also was seventh in 4:05.50.

The Bulldogs’ 2024 season is one for the record books as they won the District 24-4A championship and the District 23 and 24-4A area championship, and finished as the regional runner-up in the team standings.

“It’s a huge accomplishment where we are as a track program and takes a lot of individuals and coaches to put up a team total like that, especially at regionals,” Burnet boys track and field head coach Ben Speer said.

The state track meet will be held Thursday, May 4, at Mike Myers Stadium on the University of Texas at Austin campus.