After finishing fourth in the triple jump at last year’s state meet, Thorn-dale High School sophomore Michael Herzog ended this year’s trip to Austin winning gold with a jump of 45-08.50.
“Michael went out there and did great,” said Bobby Sugg, THS boys track coach. “He went out there with the goal to win it all and that’s what he ended up doing.”
Herzog set the bar high with a 45-05.75 on his first attempt. That ended up being enough to beat Gruver’s Jalin Conyers who peaked on his first dive into the dirt at 45-01. The young Bulldog also jumped 45-08.50 on his final try.
“Michael is a fun kid to be around and he’s someone who really enjoys track,” Sugg said. “But when he was a freshmen, he told me he wanted to make it to the state meet in Austin.
“Little did we know that he would be going later that year and that he would be a state champion the following year.”
Prior to Herzog’s gold medal performance, senior Corey Preusse ended his high school career with two silver medals after spending the earlier part of the day battling with Alto’s Fred Thacker.
In the morning, Thacker led Preusse in the discus 170-11 to 163-03 on the final throw. Preusse gained the lead with a throw of 174-00 but Thacker won the event with a 179-02 that was just right of the left boundary line.
Later in the day, Preusse and Thacker faced off once again in the shot put. Preusse had the lead with a 54-0.50 on his second throw but the discus champion became the shot put champ with a 55-01.50 on his third. Thacker also threw a 56-05.50 on his final try.
Preusse ends his high school track career with three straight state meet appearances. He holds the school discus record of 178-8 that he threw on Saturday, April 5, at the Region IV meet in Kingsville. The senior thrower has broken the record four times since breaking a 57-year old record set by Bobby Evans in 1960 during his sophomore season.
“We could tell as a freshman that he had a lot of potential to be a special athlete,” said Scott Hawkins, THS athletic director and throwing coach. “And he has been a hard worker in all that he does.”
“I’m super proud of him and he should be very proud of what he’s done.”
Hannah Laurence was the lone Lady Bulldog competing at Myers on Saturday. Laurence finished her track career placing seventh in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.69. Zoe Webb of Vega won the event with a time of 14.82.
“Hannah did great,” said Kalyn Paceley, THS track coach. “Especially being on that stage for the first time and making it their while balancing her time between track and softball. She should feel nothing less than accomplished.”
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