After the Milano High School boys track team made history in 2018 with the school’s first-ever state title in any sport, this year the team established their legacy with a second straight UIL Class 2A championship title.
The day got off to an auspitious start with a first place finish in the mile and second place in the long jump. After an eight-hour wait, the Milano boys team was stoic, focused and ready to win. They clenched the first place spot in UIL Class 2A State Track and Field Championships, after a second place finish in the 4x200 meter relay. The rest of the golds, and bronze medals the team won were icing on the cake.
“It means everything to me to go out on top,” said Devonte Jones, a senior who left Austin with four medals. “I’ve run track since I was seven years old and I’ve worked my entire life for this moment.”
Milano won by compiling a total of 62 points in six events on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. They beat out District 25-2A competition Holland by 22 points.
The day started off at 8 a.m. with the 3200-meter race where Parker Jones beat three-time state champion Stephen Quintanilla in the final stretch. The two battled for the state cross country title in November, with Quintanilla beating Jones in the final 100 meters.
“I honestly didn’t know what to expect from Quintanilla. But I knew I had to wear him down during the mile,” Parker said. “He’s an amazing competitor and a great athlete that runs a quarter in less than fifty seconds. So I wanted him to use up some of his speed before the final lap.
“It didn’t go exactly as planned, but my endurance outlasted his speed, thankfully,” Parker said.
Devonte’s morning also got off to a winning start when he faced off with Joaquin High School’s Connor Bragg in the long jump. Devonte Jones had the longest distance in the field of nine early. Bragg took gold with a leap of 22-09.75.
The Eagles, who were in second place behind Alto High School, had to wait eight hours before their next event.
In the evening, Devonte got his first individual gold medal in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.73. Teammate Christian Thurman placed fifth with a time of 11.04. Giving the team a total of 12 points in the event.
The 4x200-meter relay team’s second place finish-with a time of 1:28.73 gave the Eagles 16 more points in its quest for state. This put them ahead of Alto High School by 10 points.
Devonte added one more medal to his collection an hour later and clenched a second state title for the Eagles with his third place finish in the 300-meter hurdles 38.80.
The night ended for Milano when Parker Jones won gold in the mile with a time of 4:25.27 for the second straight year over Quintanilla, who was one second behind Parker. This happened a mere 13 hours after Parker’s first event.
Unlike last year’s championship, where the Eagles fate was decided toward the end of the night in an emotional mile relay race, the 2019 title was more subdued.
Milano fans including the four members from last year’s state championship team (Tim Demetritt, Kaleb Dodd, Kyle King, Ronnie Messer), cheered on the history-making Eagle team.
“I’m very elated,” said Westbrook. “We knew the opportunity was there and we thought if we performed as well as we possibly could that there was a great chance we could win it all once again.”
Westbrook said Drew Demeritt, Gus Downey and Thurman, who ran in the 4x200 relay with Devonte, played a large part in the team’s victory.
“Drew is a sophomore and he’s made so many dramatic strides of improvement mentally, physically and emotionally, and Gus didn’t even get to run most of the season last year,” Westbrook said. “He was an alternate at the state meet last year and I believe that experience alone helped him.
“Christian hasn’t run track since eighth grade but has always been someone I’ve wanted to run. I think once he saw all of our guys come back with a state title he was determined to run this year,” he said. “Devonte and Parker have been the cornerstone for our program. It takes all of them, but this started a long time ago for both of those boys and everything paid off for them on Saturday night.”
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