Boerne High School junior Colin Thomas jumped 6 feet, 6 inches in the high jump at the district meet in Kerrville on April 7, where he won first place. He will now go on to the regional meet on April 25. Courtesy photo

The Greyhound track and field team qualified 30 athletes and three alternates for regional competition at last week’s District 27-4A meet in Kerrville.

First-year head track coach Tim Markgraf says he’s confident about Boerne’s chances at the Region IV meet, set for April 25 and 26 at Alamo Stadium in San Antonio.

“I feel pretty good about regionals,” Markgraf says. “With the number we’re sending we’ve got enough kids with the determination and the will to go on to the next level. I’m not going to say in what areas, but there are a lot of areas where we have a good possibility of getting to state. I’m confident of that.”

The Lady Hounds won the district championship in their division with 198.5 team points to second-place Fredericksburg’s 173.5 points. Alamo Heights finished third with 114 points.

The Boerne men placed second in their division with 175 points. Fredericksburg won the championship with 235 team points and Kerrville Tivy finished third with 99 points.

The top three individuals and teams in each event advance to regional competition. Fourth place finishers act as alternates.

The Lady Hounds’ district title continues a trend that began three years ago when the Boerne girls wrested away the championship from Fredericksburg, which had long dominated the girls’ competition.

“The girls are on a roll,” Markgraf says. “The number participating has increased and the quality is just unbelievable.”

Delissa Dew won the most medals for the Lady Hounds, qualifying for regionals in five different events.

“There were a lot of girls who set personal bests,” Markgraf said. “They’re all peaking at the right time.”

On the men’s side, Austin Freeman won the pole vault with a school record and personal best leap of 15-1. The Boerne men won five medals in the field events, which Markgraf had targeted for improvement.

“I told the kids coming in this year that we were going to get better at the field events,” Markgraf said. “The kids really worked hard and put a lot of effort in.”

The only down note came before the meet, when defending state 1,600 meter champion Lorin Wilson re-injured his foot, ending his season and his high school career.

“He has a stress fracture and he’s done,” Markgraf said. “There’s no chance at all he’ll be back.”

Wilson, who will attend the University of Texas on a track scholarship, had nothing left to prove in high school and should fully recover by fall. While his loss will be keenly felt, Boerne still took first and second in both the 3,200-and 1,600-meter runs in Wilson’s absence.

“Colby McCune, Ethan Doherty and Nathan Christianson really stepped up,” Markgraf said.