UIL STATE TRACK & FIELD
The Woodlands Makes History in Austin
Joshua Koch
May 15, 2018, 8:14 pm
The Woodlands finished the night racking up 68 points across nine events Vype
AUSTIN – KeSean Carter wasn’t about to let a rough handoff ruin history.
The Woodlands senior got the baton, made the final turn at Mike A. Myers Stadium with the 34,306 in attendance roaring and turned on the jets.
Once the Class 6A 100-meter dash state champion hit the final stretch Carter was gone. The future Texas Tech football and track athlete hit the finish line, flexed his left arm, beat on his chest, did a slight LeBron James celebration and then did the eating motion the Dallas Cowboy’s running back Ezekiel Elliott is well known for.
Carter’s final push made The Woodland’s 4X200-meter relay the fastest-ever in the country at 1:23.25, breaking Port Arthur Memorial’s 2017 record of 1:23.52, and subsequently securing the program’s second-straight boys team state championship.
“It’s a blessing,” Carter said about being the fastest team in the country. “God got us through these injuries. Got our teammates healthy. It’s just a blessing. What can you say it’s a national record?”
The talk of being the fastest 4X200-meter relay team started in March.
The first time the group ran together at Rice University, The Woodlands coach Juris Green said he told people privately that he thought the guys could accomplish that feat.
“That anchor leg was about sub-20 second, about 19.4,” Green said. “Just fantastic.”
The Woodlands finished the night racking up 68 points across nine events and that was enough to top Converse Judson (49 points) for the 6A Boys Team Track & Field State Championship.
The Woodlands has now won two-straight team state cross country titles and two-straight team track and field titles, which has never been done by a boys team in history.
“I’m not sure how we top this,” Green said with a smile. “We win another one next year? I don’t know. We’re certainly going to enjoy this one and recognize how special it is.”
Outside of the relays, The Woodlands got points from the 100-meter dash, high jump, 3200 and 1600-meter runs, discus and shot put.
The Woodlands junior Patrick Piperi, after not scoring any points in last year's title run for the Highlanders, scored 14 with a bronze medal in the discus and a silver in the shot put.
"It means a lot, going back-to-back is crazy," Piperi said. "I came into the locker room first day of school and I told my coach we're going to win again. I'm very happy I could score points this time. It feels insane."
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
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