The Brenham Cubs host their 19th annual regional qualfiers' meet Friday. Brenham coach Jerry Newman started the first one and is the driving force behind the continued success of the meet.

"We took a risk back in 1991," Newman said. "I went to our AD then, Mark Elam, and said we would be going to have one and have to pay for it. It's late in the year, and we're centrally located."

Newman bought the medals and trophies and organized the entries and made it work.

"We make a little off the meet, but we earn every dime because it's so hard to put on," Newman said. "It's a little easier now that it's online, but with my computer skills, I'm feeling my way through."

Although he accommodates requests from coaches who want to keep their athletes in the same heats or want them separated, Newman tries his best to keep the competition even. He wants everyone to feel they have been pushed. He also wants the athletes to be prepared for next week's regional meets. That why Brenham's meet is run like a regional, with the infield cleared and athletes escorted to and from the track.

Among this year's field are Tomball, Galena Park North Shore and Converse Judson, with athletes from Class A to 5A.

"When does Tomball get a chance to run against Judson, unless it's at state?" Newman says.

The Brenham coach feels that first meet in 1991 set the stage for more to come.

"It was a beautiful day, about 82 degrees and not humid," Newman said. "We had a lot of entries, and it was a great meet. I asked everybody if they liked it and if they were coming back."

Many still are, and from the beginning, local business appreciated the meet.

"The businesses in town, especially the restaurants and the gas stations, wanted to know where all of the people were coming from," said the 24-year coach. "I said they were coming to a little old track meet. There were people everywhere. It's a monster we just keep feeding."

Field events open at 2:30 p.m. with the 1,600 meters set for 4:30 p.m. The remaining running finals will start at 5:30 p.m. on a rolling schedule. The 3,200 will be held just prior to the final event, the 1,600 relay, to allow the distance runners to compete in cooler temperatures.

The rich history of the Brenham meet is apparent in its record book. Georgetown's Rick Harney, who ran the 800 in 1:54.86, set the longest-standing records at the Brenham meet in 1991. Also in that inaugural meet, Harney won the 1,600 in a still-record time of 4:17.84.

Katy Cinco Ranch set the most recent meet records. Scott Sellers, the versatile jumper who now is the defending NCAA high jump champion at Kansas State, cleared 7 feet, 2 inches in the event in 2005. Cinco Ranch set the record time in the 800 relay that year, running a 1:28.01.

Orangefield's Erin Eschbach, who owns the Texas high school pole vault record (18-2 1/4), got over the bar at 17-6 in Brenham in 1999.

The host team could field one of the stronger overall squads this year. The Cubs scored 226 points in winning the District 18-4A championship. Brenham got double gold medal performances from Luke Poehlmann (56-3 shot, 146-7 discus), Justin Preuss (51.74 in 400, 2:02.17 in 800) and Will Antkowiak (9:42 in 3,200, 4:26.27 in 1,600). Also mining gold were Quentin Chapel (21-11 long jump) and D'Anthony Stewart-Manley (39.73 in the 300 hurdles) as well as all three Brenham relay teams.

Vikings have top marks: A pair of performances by Bryan athletes put the Vikings into the state top 10 rankings for the season at texastrack.com. The Vikings' 800 relay time of 1:27.07, which won the 13-5A title, is ranked eighth statewide but only sixth in Class 5A Region II, proving how tough the region can be.

The rankings in the long jump go 11 deep, with Bryan's Jaron Gentry tied for 11th with the guy he jumped against in the 13-5A meet, Temple's Tevin Reese. Both leaped 23-2 1/2 for the third-best mark in the region.

Baylor hosts qualifiers' meet: It's a preview of coming attractions for the Bryan Vikings, who will compete in the Baylor University regional qualifiers' meet Friday.

Baylor's Hart-Patterson Track is also the site for the 5A Region II meet a week later. The first of the field events begins at 3:30 p.m. and the running starts at 5:30 p.m. with the 3,200-meter run.

Since it began, the Baylor meet has had a strong and varied field. Class 5A schools attend as a regional preview, while smaller schools want the opportunity to run on one of the state's best tracks. It has led to one of the most versatile meets of the year, with competitors who rarely square off against one another.

Consol runs at The Woodlands: With a better concentration of distance runners, The Woodlands regional qualifiers' meet makes more sense for A&M Consolidated. Field events start at 5 p.m. Friday, with the 3,200 at 5:30 p.m. and other running events starting at 6:30 p.m.

2A Region IV competitors set: For years, Class 2A's Region IV has had the best Web site (www.regionivaa.org) for regional meets in the state. It's not surprising that 26-2A's athletes, who compete in that region, already know who their direct competition will be in individual events.

The track page is www.regionivaatrack.org/trackresults2008/index.htm, and heats and flight are already set based on performance standards set at district meets.

Somerville, Lexington, Hearne and Franklin each have athletes in the competition.

Hearne's Andre Gurode tops the long jump at 22-11. Gurode also runs on the Hearne's 400 relay team, which holds the region's top time at 42.76. Kenneth Jones, DeMarcus Blue and Quinn Taylor complete that quartet.

St. Joseph heads to regional: The St. Joseph Eagles run Thursday at the TAPPS 2-3A regional meet in Hallesttsville.

St. Joseph had a pair of event winners in the District 3-3A meet, held at Austin's Nelson Field. DeVodrick Brown won the 100 in 11.4. Alec Castilleja won the long jump at 19-8 1/2. Castilleja's 11.5 was second in the 100, and he joined Brown, Chad Peevey and Jae-Min Shin on the silver medalist 400 relay team, which ran 46.7.

Peevey was third in the triple jump at 38-3 1/2.

Watson wins: Texas-San Antonio freshman Terence Watson, a former A&M Consolidated standout, won the 400 hurdles at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelina Invitational on Saturday. Watson finished in 54.77.

Cermin sets record: Cameron Cermin, an eighth-grader at College Station Middle School, set a school record in the discus earlier this month at the district meet at Viking Stadium. He threw 164-3 1/2, breaking a record that had held up since 1976.

• David Campbell covers boys track and field in the Brazos Valley. If you have something of interest to report, e-mail him at david.campbell@theeagle.com.

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