Sports

Isham medals for Vista Ridge at 4A state track meet

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AUSTIN - Vista Ridge freshman Ashley Isham picked up the school's first-ever medal in track at last weekend's Class 4A State Track and Field Championships, winning the bronze medal in the 3,200-meter run.

The medal by Isham was the highlight for the Lady Rangers track team, as they finished tied for 20th in the team standings with 10 points.

“We knew going in that the competition level was going to be extremely tough for us,” said Vista Ridge coach Katie Klinkovsky. “I thought everyone competed as hard as they could, and I am very proud of all of them.”

Going into state, Isham was a medal favorite in both the 1,600 and 3,200 races and she didn't disappoint in the two-mile event on Friday morning.

Isham and McKinney North's Samantha Means battled at the front of the pack for most of the race, running 1-2 for the first six laps. Means went on to win the race, leaving Isham and Ashley Mason of Hereford to fight for second place.

Mason slid past Isham just before the seventh lap, and both runners stayed close to the end with Mason fighting off a final charge from Isham in the last 100 meters.

“I could hear her coming on and I knew it was going to be tough to hold on,” Isham said. “Still, you can never be disappointed to medal at state in your first race there.”

Isham had several hours to rest between races and was again in the medal pack for the 1,600 as the race reached the halfway point.

However, another Hereford runner - Abby Medcalf - took over on the last two laps in passing Isham to force her to settle for fourth place.

Isham then fended off a late charge by Brandi Guiterrez of Clint Horizon in the final 200 meters to keep fourth place.

“I asked her how she felt after the race and she told me she felt good,” Klinkovsky said.

“She had a very tough task to run two distance races in one day, and she really competed as best as she could.”

Vista Ridge finished seventh in its three other events at state with Kaleigh Fraizer in the 100 (12.41), Angela Gash in the long jump (16-11.75) and the 1,600-meter relay team of Kristi Cooper, Megan Johnson, Carrie Eubank and Gash (4:04.75).

Another bright spot for the team is that none of the state athletes from Vista Ridge graduate this year.

“We've got all of our state girls coming back next year,” Klinkovsky said. “And now we've seen what we need to work on to be even better for next year.”

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