In his first year of competition, Coahoma High School freshman Vance Ott has qualified for both junior national competition and UIL state competition in track and field.
Ott qualified at a meet held in San Antonio this past weekend in the 100 dash, 200 dash, 400 dash, shot put, and powerlifting to attend the Adaptive Sports US Junior Nationals which will be held in Minnesota on July 17-19.
Last week, the Coahoma High School freshman learned he is heading to state in three UIL track and field events.
To qualify for UIL adaptive sports events, an athlete must place in the top nine performances from around the state based off of submitted results from local, area, and regional competitions.
Ott, a paralympic athletic, is currently third in the state for the 100 dash, fourth in the 400 dash event and ninth in the shot put event.
“This is an extremely impressive accomplishment for a freshman who has never competed in track until this year,” said CHS Head Track Coach John-Michael Leggett.
At UIL 3A Region track contest held recently, Ott, Zack Schneider and Sean Streighler had an outstanding day on the Abilene Christian University field. Ott earned gold in all three of his events. He finished the 100 dash in 18.39 seconds, the 400 dash in 1:09 seconds and threw 16 ft, 3 in the shot put competition.
Schneider, a junior, finished third in his shot put competition. His performance placed him in a wildcard position for state, but he just missed by one inch. Schneider threw 47 ft, 5 inches. Rounding out the team, sophomore Streighler placed ninth in the semi-finals for the long jump. His distance was 20 feet, 2 inches.
The UIL State Track and Field meet will be held on Friday and Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus in Austin.