Sprint to gold: Cougars qualify for area in seven events

LUCAS – The postseason began with a bang for The Colony track and field team as the Cougars punched their ticket into the area meet in seven different events.

The Colony produced one champion as senior Wesley Gibbs conquered the boys’ 800-meter run in a time of 1:58 at the District 10-5A meet, held Wednesday and Thursday at Leopard Stadium on the campus of Lovejoy High School.

Sophomore Devon Judelson, who was a regional qualifier in cross country last fall, took the first step to what he hopes is at least a regional qualification in track. He ran to second place in the 1,600 in a personal-best time of 4:26 and added a second area qualification in the 3,200, placing third in 9:49.51.

Karlie Powell, a junior, is moving onto the area meet after finishing as runner-up in the 300 hurdles in a time of 47.54.

Sophia Smith, a sophomore, placed third in the 800 in 2:22, which was a personal best.

Shafiq Taylor, a junior, qualified for the area meet in three events – 100 (fourth, 11.55), high jump (fourth, 5-10) and with senior Angelo Jones, sophomore Dante Yancey and junior Ryan Hollis in the 4x100 relay (third, 43.43).

McKinney North swept the team titles, winning the boys’ division with 167 points and the girls’ division with 171 points. The Colony boys finished in fourth place in the team standings with 62 points, while the Lady Cougars earned 20 points.

The area track meet is scheduled for April 14 at Frisco Memorial Stadium. The top four finishers in each event will advance to the Region 2-5A meet, which will be held April 23-24 at Maverick Stadium on the campus of The University of Texas at Arlington.