Sells Dogs only entry at Humble
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

John Sells will be Jasper's lone track entry at the Regional meet in Humble, April 26-27. Sells was third in a tight race for the 200-meter dash. His time of 22.86 was a hair behind Bridge City runner Johnny Dishon, 22.46; and winner Earl Thomas of West Orange-Stark at 22.36.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were not able to field their full team due to grades.

"We lost five runners, some of our best," Coach Tony Allen said. "I didn't find out until Thursday night. When I looked at the eligibility report, I wanted to cry. Some of our kids had already qualified for the finals on Friday."

The grade report came during the meet and it meant that runners who did not pass for the six weeks became ineligible at 3 p.m. Friday.

"We couldn't tell exactly what time those events would run," he said. "We decided to do the right thing and pull everyone on that list. That also meant that our mile relay team didn't even get to run. It's heartbreaking but then athletes have to be responsible and make their grades."

Zach Riggins placed fourth and fifth in the 1600 and 3200-meter races, respectively. Allen said that was a bright spot.

"Zach was really impressive," Allen said. "If he had been in track the whole season, I think he would have gone to Region. He plays soccer and didn't begin track practice until after soccer ended. Next year, he should be one of the favorites."

Allen said that even though he was disappointed to see so many of his runners not pass their courses, he was not disappointed in the improvement he has seen over the season.

"Yes, grades were a disappointment but not performance," he said. "We have a young team and I think next year we will be top performers. These kids have learned a lot this year. They've learned that it's not enough to be fast, you have to learn strategy. There are always a lot of fast runners. Where you really see strategy kick in is at district, region and state competition. These young guys have come a long way and I'm proud of them. I'm so excited that I can hardly wait for next year."