Southwest runner determined to improve following regional tumble
It has been a dream track season for Fort Worth Southwest runner Brandon Reasoner.
But it came following a nightmare finish to the 2015 season.
Slightly less than a year ago Reasoner, then a sophomore, was competing in the 800-meter run at the UIL Class 5A state track meet in Austin when he stepped on the heel of a runner on the final curve and tumbled onto the track.
He got up and finished the race, last among the field of nine. But he left the track with more than embarrassment. He walked away with an increased determination.
He hasn’t lost an 800 race since, standing 8-0 this season entering the 5A Region I meet in Lubbock on Friday and Saturday.
“I’ve thought about that incident every day from then to now,” Reasoner said. “It helps me stay focused. It lets me know to get out in front, don’t get boxed in, don’t wait until the last curve to make my move.”
Reasoner enters the regional meet, his third straight season to qualify, with the best time in the region at 1:55.20. It’s the third-best time in all of Class 5A, less than a second behind state leader Carter Floyd of Humble Kingwood Park (1:54.44).
“He took a bad experience at last year’s state meet and turned it into a winning spirit,” Southwest coach Ned Smith said. “His heart is what everyone talks about.”
Reasoner is nicknamed “The Machine” by his teammates. He also runs the 400, which is often not too far apart in scheduling during meets.
He has surpassed the test of speed and stamina by also being good at the 400, winning at area to qualify for regionals. His top time this season is 49.08 seconds.
“It’s crazy to now also see him, perhaps an hour later, also win the 400 going sub-.50,” Smith said.
As if that’s not grueling enough, Reasoner ran a leg of the 4x400 relay that finished second in district and qualified for area.
Though college is still down the road, Reasoner is hoping a better performance at state this season will impress scouts. He’s considering a major of engineering.
“I want to give them something better to see this year,” he said with a chuckle.
“Some college, because he’s a great kid, great student and great athlete, is going to be happy to have him,” Smith said.
Reasoner said what happened at state last season inspired him more than athletically. He said it was a lesson that he will apply every day for the rest of his life.
“It taught me to not follow people, to go out on my own path,” he said. “It taught me to always be a leader.”
Strong in Burleson
Burleson senior Kody Russey seeks his second state appearance in just over a month as he competes in the shot put at the Class 5A Region I Meet.
A top-two finish would guarantee him a berth at state in Austin on May 12-14.
It was in early April that Russey won a state powerlifting championship, also leading the Elks to a team state title. He competed in the heavyweight (275 pounds) division, and among his lifts was a state-record 740 pounds in the deadlift.
“I think I got more excited about the team winning than I did myself,” said Russey. “It’s cool to share this championship with my teammates, especially when the rings come in.”
Russey’s best shot put throw this season is 50 feet, 2 inches at the District 8-5A meet, good for second place. He was third in the recent Area 7/8-5A meet with a throw of 49-1.
Russey was also the starting nose tackle for the Elks football team. He has signed a letter-of-intent to play for Louisiana Tech.
“If you look around at the athletes that you see at any level of competition, you can tell that strength development is becoming more and more important in every sport,” Burleson coach Steve Goben said. “Our track program has benefited. The stronger our kids have gotten, the more competitive we have become.”
As evidence, Kody’s top throw prior to this season was 47 feet as a junior. This is also his first regional track appearance.
All in the family
Three years ago Elisha Peters of Azle won the Class 4A high jumping championship.
Now, that performance is serving as inspiration for her younger sister, Kaylie, who has qualified for this weekend’s Class 5A Region I Meet for the Lady Hornets.
“Having Elisha as my sister definitely makes me want to push myself and never be satisfied,” said Kaylie prior to winning the District 5-5A meet and qualifying for regionals for a second straight year.
“The Peters sisters brought a tremendous amount of athleticism to track and field,” Azle coach Melody Dennis said. “They were both multi-event athletes and scored points as individuals and on our relays. When you look at them, your first visual impression is, ‘That girl is an athlete!’ ”
Elisha is now married and is Elisha Peters-Miller. She and her son Owen, almost a year old, are regular attendees to cheer on his aunt.
Nation’s best
Entering regional competition this weekend, several area athletes find themselves at or near the top of their events in national rankings.
Among the most anticipated events this weekend will be another matchup between the Arlington Bowie and Arlington Martin boys 4x400 relays. Bowie has the nation’s fastest time of 3:12.31 and Martin is third at 3:13.09, both times at the Texas Relays.
Martin has sinced bested Bowie at both the District 4-6A and Area 3/4-6A meets.
Arlington Seguin senior Tonea Marshall is tied for the nation’s top time in the 100 hurdles, having clocked a 13.04 at the Texas Relays.
Mansfield Lake Ridge freshman Jasmine Moore is the only area athlete in the top 10 nationally in two events. She is tied for fourth in the triple jump with a 41-0.5 and is sixth in the long jump with a 20-0.
Northwest Nelson has two girls among the nation’s best. Senior Leilyn Miles is seventh in the shot put with a throw of 48-0.25, and sophomore Sanaa Barnes has cleared 5-9 in the high jump, which ties for her seventh.
Other area boys in the top 10 in their respective events include:
▪ Southlake Carroll junior Reed Brown, third in the 1600, 4:09.12.
▪ Boswell junior Jalen Seals, fourth in the triple jump, 49-6.5.
▪ Mansfield Timberview senior Chuck Harris, sixth in 300 hurdles, 36.84.
▪ Grapevine junior Peyton Weissmann, tied for sixth in pole vault, 16-6.
▪ Mansfield 4x100 relay, tied for eighth, 40.78.
▪ Mansfield Timberview 4x400 relay, eighth, 3:13.93.
▪ Trimble Tech sophomore Keishawn Everly, 10th in 100, 10.38.
Regional meets
All meets involving area teams are Friday and Saturday.
*Class 6A, Region I, Maverick Stadium, University of Texas-Arlington.
*Class 5A Region I, Plains Capital Park/Lowrey Field, Lubbock.
*Class 5A Region II, Maverick Stadium.
*Class 4A Region I, Plains Capital Park/Lowrey Field.
From each region, the top two finishers in each event will advance to state at the University of Texas in Austin on May 12-14. There will also be a wild-card entry in each event at state, which is the top second-place finisher from across all four regions.
Area track & field leaders
Boys
100
Keishawn Everly, Fort Worth Trimble Tech, 10.38
Trent McDonald, Mansfield Legacy, 10.44
Tyson McDaniel, Saginaw Chisholm Trail, 10.54
Sonnie Williams, Keller Timber Creek, 10.55
Roderick Ford, Fort Worth Southwest, 10.62
200
Keshun Reed, Arlington Martin, 21.09
Jackson Gleeson, Mansfield, 21.14
Deion Griffin, Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 21.18
Keishawn Everly, Fort Worth Trimble Tech, 21.19
Derrick Samuels, North Crowley, 21.29
400
Jamarkus Birks, North Crowley, 47.14
Keshun Reed, Arlington Martin, 47.30
Sean Mercer, Keller Fossil Ridge, 48.00
Keylon Dennis, Arlington Seguin, 48.27
Cameron Jones, Euless Trinity, 48.35
800
Cade Bethmann, Arlington Martin, 1:53.52
Micah Langat, Keller Central, 1:54.21
Brandon Reasoner, Fort Worth Southwest, 1:55.20
Kennedy Matthews, Everman, 1:55.84
Ryan Sterling, Mansfield, 1:55.92
1600
Reed Brown, Southlake Carroll, 4:09.12
David Strome, Colleyville Heritage, 4:16.18
Cade Bethmann, Arlington Martin, 4:17.84
Carter Persyn, Keller, 4:22.68
Eduardo Trevizo, Fort Worth Castleberry, 4:22.77
3200
Reed Brown, Southlake Carroll, 9:01.43
David Strome, Colleyville Heritage, 9:12.84
Charlie Gardner, Southlake Carroll, 9:24.4
Shea Whatley, Southlake Carroll, 9:26.60
Kristian Ramirez, Keller Timber Creek, 9:28.04
110 hurdles
Medric Roberson, Mansfield Summit, 13.94
Patrick Johnson, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 14.14
Cameron Thomas, Fort Worth Trimble Tech, 14.24
Chuck Harris, Mansfield Timberview, 14.34
P.J. Hill, Richland, 14.37
300 hurdles
Chuck Harris, Mansfield Timberview, 36.84
Ardran Carr, Arlington Bowie, 37.13
Patrick Johnson, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 38.15
Cameron Thomas, Fort Worth Trimble Tech, 38.16
Medric Roberson, Mansfield Summit, 38.46
4x100 relay
Mansfield, 40.78
Mansfield Legacy, 40.92
Arlington Martin, 41.18
Arlington Bowie, 41.34
Mansfield Summit, 41.49
4x200 relay
Mansfield, 1:24.88
Arlington Bowie, 1:25.44
Arlington Martin, 1:25.77
Mansfield Legacy, 1:26.31
Mansfield Summit, 1:26.59
4x400 relay
Arlington Bowie, 3:12.31
Arlington Martin, 3:13.09
Mansfield Timberview, 3:13.93
Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 3:16.72
Mansfield, 3:18.53
4x800 relay
Keller Central, 8:01.89
Arlington Bowie, 8:03.02
Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 8:11.46
Southlake Carroll, 8:17.83
Northwest Nelson, 8:19.40
Shot put
Wes Harris, Aledo, 59-9.5
Patrick Jones, Fort Worth Arlington Heights, 55-8.5
Chris Daniels, Euless Trinity, 55-3.50
Bryce Peoples, North Crowley, 53-9
LaJuan Cooper, Arlington Sam Houston, 53-0
Discus
Chase Dennis, Keller Timber Creek, 186-11
Caden McDonald, Northwest, 177-9
Myles Adames, Mansfield Summit, 163-1
Adrian Garza, Mansfield, 162-11
Thomas Patterson, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 158-10
High jump
Brandon Bowen, Northwest Nelson, 6-10
Iyanu Adeyeye, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 6-10
Clayton Brewer, Keller, 6-8
Quinton Brigham, Fort Worth Dunbar, 6-8
Ramish Aida, Hurst L.D. Bell, 6-6
Austin Ondijo, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 6-6
Mbaya Tschienda, Saginaw, 6-6
Leroy Carr, Saginaw, 6-6
Pole vault
Peyton Weissman, Grapevine, 16-6
Michael McCarrol, Joshua, 15-1
Dan Clute, Aledo, 15-1
Eric Etie, Keller, 15-0
T.J. Zalar, Aledo, 15-0
Johnathon Solley, White Settlement Brewer, 15-0
Dakota Gillispie, Saginaw, 15-0
Logan Freeman, Keller Central, 15-0
Adam McAdoo, Nolan Catholic, 15-0
Long jump
Jalen Seals, Saginaw Boswell, 24-0.5
Sonnie Williams, Keller Timber Creek, 23-10.75
Jimmy Enobabor, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 23-4
Nathan Batoba, Keller Central, 23-0
Brandon Bowen, Northwest Nelson, 23-0
Triple jump
Jalen Seals, Saginaw Boswell, 49-6.5
Jimmy Enobabor, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 48-7
Jaylin Brooks, Hurst L.D. Bell, 46-6.75
Sedric Baker, Crowley, 45-11
Deon Washington, Euless Trinity, 45-5
Girls
100
Jhane’ King, Keller Timber Creek, 11.74
Mikia Jordan, Aledo, 11.79
Ja’Leesa Giles, Mansfield Legacy, 11.86
Bria Washington, Arlington Martin, 11.87
Alexis Brown, Kennedale, 11.90
200
Jhane’ King, Keller Timber Creek, 24.10
Ja’Leesa Giles, Mansfield Legacy, 24.15
Ariel Ford, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 24.39
Hanniyah Roberson, North Crowley, 24.49
Olivia Esemena, Arlington Bowie, 24.60
400
Ariel Ford, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 55.87
Alexandra Byrnes, Fort Worth Paschal, 56.12
Jhane’ King, Keller Timber Creek, 56.12
Annette Bolomboy, Keller Central, 56.38
Precious Ogba, Euless Trinity, 56.54
800
Soren Underwood, Joshua, 2:13.18
Alexandra Byrnes, Fort Worth Paschal, 2:16.57
Isabel Van Camp, 2:17.68
Andrea Karlen, Northwest Nelson, 2:18.00
Maddee Rowe, Arlington, 2:19.80
1600
Catherine Tracht, Southlake Carroll, 5:03.33
Binta Ka, Richland, 5:04.83
Abbey Santoro, Keller, 5:05.15
Denae Chapman, Fort Worth Christian, 5:05.77
Allison Esparza, Southlake Carroll, 5:07.59
3200
Allison Esparza, Southlake Carroll, 10:48.89
Denae Chapman, Fort Worth Christian, 10:51.30
Gillian Mortimer, Southlake Carroll, 10:54.81
Catherine Tracht, Southlake Carroll, 10:56.69
Binta Ka, Richland, 10:59.25
100 hurdles
Tonea Marshall, Arlington Seguin, 13.04
Ivy Walker, Mansfield Summit, 13.81
Madysen Hunter, Southlake Carroll, 14.44
Emalee Wright, Northwest, 14.62
Katherine Halbert, Keller, 14.78
300 hurdles
Madysen Hunter, Southlake Carroll, 42.62
Jaycee Panell, Godley, 44.03
Emalee Wright, Northwest, 45.23
Xariah Williams, Mansfield Summit, 45.36
Tania Lee, Boswell, 45.88
4x100 relay
Arlington Seguin, 46.16
Mansfield Lake Ridge, 46.77
Arlington Martin, 47.63
Mansfield Timberview, 47.83
Kennedale, 48.00
4x200 relay
Arlington Seguin, 1:37.20
Mansfield Lake Ridge, 1:39.45
North Crowley, 1:39.52
Mansfield Timberview, 1:40.76
Arlington Martin, 1:40.90
4x400 relay
Mansfield Lake Ridge, 3:54.21
Euless Trinity, 3:54.91
Crowley, 3:55.20
Mansfield Summit, 3:57.08
Arlington Bowie, 3:57.74
4x800 relay
Southlake Carroll, 9:53.83
Arlington Heights, 10:14.68
Northwest, 10:20.75
Mansfield, 10:25.90
Nolan Catholic, 10:47.02
Shot put
Leilyn Miles, Northwest Nelson, 48-0.25
Faith Ette, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 43-1.5
Deonmonique Granville, Fort Worth Dunbar, 42-1
Richon Rogers, Arlington Bowie, 42-1
Christina Baker, Mansfield Summit, 41-8.5
Discus
Zoe Broadway, Joshua, 145-7
Elise Hodges, Keller Timber Creek, 133-2
Ryanne Johnson, Keller, 132-1
Richon Rogers, Arlington Bowie, 126-0
Deonmonique Granville, Fort Worth Dunbar, 123-7.5
High jump
Sanaa Barnes, Northwest Nelson, 5-9
Courtney Cleveland, Arlington, 5-6
Lilli Williamson, Fort Worth Trinity Valley, 5-6
Brianna Hudson, Fort Worth Trinity Valley, 5-6
Jillian Johnson, Mansfield, 5-5
Pole vault
Sierra White, Aledo, 11-6
Sierra Sullivan, Arlington Lamar, 11-6
Mackenzie Lyon, Aledo, 11-3
Alexis Gomez, Keller Timber Creek, 11-0
Maggie Turner, Grapevine, 11-0
Mary Piercy, Keller Central, 11-0
Long jump
Jasmine Moore, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 20-0
Ivy Walker, Mansfield Summit, 19-6.5
Tonea Marshall, Arlington Seguin, 19-5.75
Sanaa Barnes, Northwest Nelson, 18-7
Jordan Washington, Mansfield Summit, 18-7
Triple jump
Jasmine Moore, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 41-0.5
Skaila White, Cleburne, 39-8.25
Valencia Bullock, Mansfield Lake Ridge, 38-8.75
Olivia Esemena, Arlington Bowie, 38-4
Trenadey Scott, Everman, 38-0
This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Southwest runner determined to improve following regional tumble."