The Brentwood Christian School boys track and field team was the third-place finisher at last year's TAPPS 4A state meet, and coming into this season, the group was eager to see where they stacked up against 5A competition.
The boys fared well in the TAPPS 2-5A meet, hosted Thursday by Brook Hill School near Tyler, Texas, and took fourth overall in a crowded field of talented athletes from local schools such as Hyde Park, Regents and out-of-town rival Grace Community (Tyler).
The big highlight of the day was in the relays, where BCS qualified all three (4x100, 4x200 and 4x400) for the TAPPS 5A regional meet. The group of juniors Trey Campbell, Brayden Jennings, Joshua Gonzales and seniors Conor Schehl, Hollis Harlan and Griffin Smith combined to aid the Bears in earning top-four finishes in each relay.
Campbell, Jennings, Gonzales and Schehl ran both the 4x100 and 4x200, taking third in the sprint relay and second in the 4x200. Schehl and Gonzales teamed up with Smith and Harlan in the mile relay, where the Bears were third.
Individually, Harlan was a big contributor for BCS, winning the 800 and taking silver in the 400 to qualify in both events. Smith was second in the 110 hurdles and fourth in 300 hurdles, also qualifying for regionals in both events.
In the field, Gonzales qualified in both discus (third) and long jump (fourth), giving him five events at the state meet for a second consecutive season.
The meet wasn't without heartbreak for some, including senior Max Fuentes, who set a personal record (PR) in both the shot put and discus, but was just outside of the regional meet qualification of top-four in both events. Elsewhere, junior Gabe Washington narrowly missed a spot in the triple jump, setting a PR but finishing seventh. Sophomore Jacob Klein-Bradham was sixth in the two-mile and seventh in the mile and figures to be a contender next time around.
The group will aim to move on once again at the TAPPS 5A North Regional meet, scheduled for April 24 at the University of Texas at Arlington.
For complete results from the district meet, click below.
