All things considered, Abilene High had a strong day in Lubbock. Cooper, on the other hand, struggled.

First, the good.

The Eagles were able to move several into today’s finals, and I was impressed with the fact that most of those running well were underclassmen. Distance ace Jourdan Ellis finished third in the 3,200 and she’s just a freshman. Sophomore hurdler Amanda McGill was even more impressive. Her time in the 100 hurdles was among the state’s top 10 so far this year – probably somewhere around No. 7, though that is without figuring in the other regionals this week. Her 300 time was even better, and would rank No. 3 without the other regional meets figured in. And Jordan Harris is a beast, and will be even better next year as a senior.

Then, the bad. Well, not so much bad, really, as unfortunate.

Cooper sent a lot of relays and field event competitors to Lubbock, and so far they haven’t managed to break into the points. The boys sprint relay, though, ran well, and Will Ford – who qualified for the triple jump and long jump – was also on a pair of relays as a sophomore. He’s also a great hurdler, but got DQ’d at the district meet. He might not have made the medal stand, but mark it down right now: Ford is going to be a major factor next season in football and will be back full force next spring.

A positive for Cooper, too, is that regardless of how the team finishes here, it’s a step up from last year. The Cougars have far more representatives in Lubbock than they’ve had for a while, and that’s good to see – I’d like to think of it as the Mike Spradlin Effect.