Jerry Tennell explained to Fono Vakalahi that the student had become the master Wednesday.

It was good-natured teasing between the Bryan teammates, but after winning the District 12-5A shot put championship, Tennell had a point.

"When Fono came along, he showed me a few pointers," Tennell said. "My mom is always telling me that it's OK to ask for help and to never give up. Fono is always telling me to keep my head up and be strong."

Mom's and Vakalahi's advice served Tennell nicely as he took an early lead Wednesday at A&M Consolidated's shot put pit.

Tennell's first throw of 50 feet, 6 inches won the competition, and his teammate Vakalahi also qualified for the regional meet with a third-place toss of 49-5 3/4. All the finalists came from the first flight of throwers, and there was little movement in the finals. Belton's Zack Sakaria passed Vakalahi for second prior to the finals.

"I'm not satisfied, but I'm proud of myself," Tennell said. "This time last year I wasn't getting close to throwing 50 [feet]. I've still got opportunities with regionals and hopefully state."

With both Vakalahi and Tennell headed to the 5A Region II meet, there will be more chances to learn, said Tennell.

"He can still show me some stuff," Tennell said, who credits Vakalahi for improving his form. "He told me 'Hey, your back is not straight at all.' When I straightened it, that's when I hit my first 50, and it has gotten progressively better."

Bryan's Michael Piatt claimed the silver medal in the pole vault, won by Belton's Kyle Rhoads with a vault of 14-0.

Piatt, in his first district meet on the varsity level, took second because of an advantage on misses over Belton's Jon Evans, who also cleared 13-0. Belton took third and fourth and Bryan's Will Garrison finished fifth at 12-0.

"It came down to me against Belton, and it was one on three, basically," Piatt said.

The fight for a regional berth turned into a two-school battle when Harker Heights' Regan Gilbert broke his pole and fell out of contention.

"After he broke his pole, everybody got relaxed because he was the one to beat," Piatt said. "I really felt for the kid."

Piatt made the most of his opportunity after missing district a year ago when he sprained his ankle just prior to the 13-5A meet in Temple.

"Two days before district, me and my coach were practicing and I came down in the box and rolled my ankle," Piatt said. "The doctors rank ankle sprains one to three and he gave me a four. They said I would have been better if I would have broken it. I was in a boot for six weeks, so district was kind of out of the question."

Consol's only first-day points on the boys side came in the 3,200 meters with Eugene Sohn taking fifth in 10 minutes, 11.37 seconds and Jesse Hall taking sixth at 10:15.61. Both times were season bests.

Consol's Marcus Seawood had the third-fastest qualifying time in the 100 at 11.23, trailing Killeen Ellison's Prezel Hardy (10.8) and Michael Bryan (10.98).

Seawood had the best qualifying time in the 200 at 22.56. Bryan's Tre Odom ran the third-fastest at 22.8.

Bryan's Jamarcus Gaines placed fifth in the long jump at 20-10 1/4, which he got on his last leap of the finals. Temple's Tevin Reese (23-6 1/2) broke his own school record to defeat teammate Daniel Carr for the long jump gold. Carr jumped 22-10 3/4 on his first jump of the finals, one attempt before Reese hit his winning mark.