Navasota, Rockdale, Brenham athletes win gold medals at state track meet

AUSTIN -- Rodney Brown stalked the discus ring like he owned the place. Why not? The defending champion's photo is on the cover of the UIL state track and field meet program.

On an up-and-down day for the Navasota senior at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Brown's performance in the discus made the cover selection look like a prophecy as he won his second straight Class 3A state championship in the event.

Among other Brazos Valley competitors, Rockdale junior Daniel Brooks and Brenham senior Will Antkowiak each pocketed two medals while claiming an impressive gold in their second races.

Brown had what could have been a winning throw of 181 feet, 1 inch on his first attempt, then bettered it with his second throw of the finals at 182-7. District rival Le'Raven Clark of Rockdale was fifth at 160-4.

"I just got comfortable and stopped thinking so much about it," Brown said. "Just knowing everybody is looking up there is a proud feeling. You know you did something good."

Clark had more fun in the shot put. A wild-card entry to the state meet after his third-place finish at regionals, the Texas Tech-bound senior finished third with a throw of 51-10 1/2. It was the first medal in the shot put for Clark, who was third in the discus last year.

Celina's Jordan Roos dominated the event, winning at 60-10 1/2. Brown never got in synch. He was called for a foot fault in his first two attempts and finished ninth.

Brooks earned medals in two of his three state finals, winning the 100 meters just 17 minutes after placing third in the 110 hurdles. Brooks had to race to the medal stand in between events.

Brooks got a good start in the 100 and looked to have the race locked up at the 50-meter mark, but competition in his rear view mirror was closer than they appeared.

"That's why I leaned," said Brooks, who finished in 10.61 seconds to beat Darnell Butler Quentin of Corpus Christi West Oso by 0.01. "Running those 110s and that 100, it wears on you. It's hard, just a mental thing. I don't think about it. I just do it."

Brooks ran 14.23 for third place in the 110 hurdles behind a 13.64 by Lorenzo Johnson of Mineral Wells and Dallas Madison's Maquis Smith (13.80).

The 300 hurdles, which his father Tony still holds the 3A record for, was the only race that didn't end with a medal for Brooks, who placed sixth in 38.95. Brooks still has the 100-meter gold to show Dad, who never won one.

"In the 110s and the 300s, there was a lot of competition in that, so I was really worried," Brooks said. "I wanted to get first. Hey, I medaled and I've got next year. I'm lucky. I'm a junior. I worked hard this year, but I'm going to work even harder next year to get three golds."

Antkowiak took second in the 3,200 at 9:14.46. The defending champion and 4A record-holder surged to the front at the opening gun, but midway through the race, a small pack of runners pulled even with him. On the fifth lap, Boerne Champion's Travis Barclay moved into a lead that he never lost, winning in 9:10.11. Antkowiak had to muster two quick surges, including one near the finish line, to hold second place. El Paso Austin's Issac Spencer took third in 9:14.73.

"At the beginning, my strategy was to take it out on my own and race on my own pace, but halfway through, I wasn't feeling the greatest," Antkowiak said. "When Travis came around, he threw in a good surge, and I just couldn't hold on with him. I was losing rhythm and slowing down in pace."

Antkowiak admitted he wanted more.

"I came here hoping to win and maybe break 9 minutes, but it didn't go as planned," he said. "It's not like something happened where I got tripped up or was cheated out of. We both raced our best and he won, so you can't argue with that."

If his body failed to respond in the early-morning race, Antkowiak had it working wonderfully in the 1,600 on Friday night. With 400 meters to go, he surged around a turn to build a gap between him and his pursuers and raced to the victory in 4:15.48. Only Herbert Gutierrez of Cedar Hill (4:16.70) offered any challenge on the final lap.

From the open in the long jump, Centerville's Kayla Brewer put herself in medal position, jumping 18-1 3/4 on the first try. She finished third. Keraveon Rodgers of Troup, who matched Brewer on her first jump, took the lead at 18-3 with her third try. That became the second-place jump when Whitney's multisport standout Wren Bonner went 18-5 1/4 on her second jump of the final. Bonner qualified for state in four events.

Hearne's Re'Jana Ellison, competing in the first of her three events, took fourth with a jump of 17-10.

In the 3A 200, Caldwell's William Deere was quick out of the blocks but finished fourth at 21.77. Navasota's Vanesha Wilcox started slowly but finished strong in the girls 3A 400 to take fourth at 57.93.