Flower Mound Marcus’ Emma Sralla closes in on U.S. discus record at Jesuit-Sheaner Relays

See all of the results from the meet here.

After the running events had been completed Saturday at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays, there was still one event going on. It was appropriate that the prestigious meet saved its most memorable moment for last.

On the final throw of the day, Stanford signee Emma Sralla of Flower Mound Marcus unleashed a monstrous heave of 193 feet, 8 inches to shatter the meet record by more than 40 feet in the discus. What made it spectacular, though, was the fact that only one high school girl in United States history has thrown farther than Sralla.

That was Olympian Shelbi Vaughan of Mansfield Legacy, who set the national record of 198-9 in 2012 and owns five throws of farther than 193-8 in her career, according to Track & Field News. Sralla did surpass Vaughan’s throw of 191-6 from 2012 that is recognized by the National Federation of State High School Associations as the national record for high school-only competitions.

“I’ve thrown that maybe once in practice, with a really good wind,” Sralla said. “But I’ve gotten a lot stronger since then. I knew it was in me.”

Sralla, the defending Class 6A state champion, came in leading the nation with a throw of 180-7. She won a matchup of the top two throwers in America, as defending 5A state champion Madeleine Fey of Midlothian finished a distant second at 168-3.

Sralla has won the discus in 11 of her last 12 UIL meets, and she now leads the national rankings by more than 24 feet. She also threw 184-2 this summer to win the Under-20 World Championships in Colombia while representing Sweden.

“I don’t think there is a limit to how far I can throw,” Sralla said. “I think I’m really capable of anything. I did a lot of training in the weight room, and a lot of mental work just to gain the confidence to do something like this.”

Sralla had to face another defending state champion, USC volleyball pledge Favor Anyanwu of Sachse, in the shot put. Anyanwu won the 6A title last year with a throw of 45-1.50, and she improved on that Saturday in winning with a meet-record throw and personal best of 49-2 — three feet farther than Sralla, who was the runner-up. Anyanwu, who plans to compete in volleyball and track in college, now owns a mark that ranks third nationally in 2023.

“I felt like I threw great. It felt easy and it felt smooth,” Anyanwu said. “We’re aiming for the 50s.”

America’s best

Allen senior Sidney Green put her hands over her mouth as if in disbelief when her time was announced Saturday at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays.

The Michigan signee had just run 40.91 seconds in the girls 300-meter hurdles to smash the meet record by more than a second. Not only that, Green ran the fastest time in the nation this year, and her time would have been the third-fastest in state history if she hadn’t already run 40.82 last year.

Green wasn’t content with all of that. She has her eye on breaking the state record of 40.68 that was set by Katy Mayde Creek’s Simone Ballard in 2022. The state-meet record of 40.81 by Carrollton Creekview’s Sam Gonzalez from 2015 is also well within reach for Green, who finished third at state last year in 42.18.

“Our goal is going 39 and breaking the state record, so each practice we’re hitting it hard,” Green said. “I just have to be clean on the hurdles, trust myself, trust my steps and keep on putting in work day in and day out.”

Green wasn’t the only Division I recruit to ascend to No. 1 in the nation. Texas signee Lauren Lewis of Prosper won the girls 400 in 52.52, crushing the meet record of 53.80 that had been set by Frisco Heritage’s Bailey Lear in 2018.

Lewis ran the fifth-fastest time in state history, replacing her 52.54 that she won state with last year. Lewis is the only runner in the country to go under 53 seconds this season, according to MileSplit, but the state record of 51.96 by Fort Bend Marshall’s Brandi Cross in 2006 could be in jeopardy.

“Running 52.52 is crazy,” Lewis said. “But my whole goal this year is 51. I have to get 51. I’ve been doing speed endurance [work in practice] instead of just going long distance stuff, because it’s a sprint. You have to know how to pace it.”

Lewis also won the 200 in 23.66, falling just short of the meet record of 23.64.

Hurst L.D. Bell’s Trey Wilson won the 6A boys shot put with a nation-leading throw of 64-11.75. He finished more than 11 feet ahead of runner-up Markis Deal of Garland Naaman Forest, a four-star TCU football signee who is rated the 14th-best defensive lineman in the nation in the Class of 2023.

Making pace! Allen's Jonathan Simms runs the 400 meter dash during the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays

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Duncanville gets second chance

Duncanville avoided disaster at the start of the 6A boys 4x100-meter relay after leadoff leg Elijah Beal dropped the baton when the gun went off. Rather than disqualify Duncanville, the defending state champion, meet officials restarted the race, giving Duncanville a second chance.

Duncanville made the most of it, winning in 40.81 — a time that is tied for sixth-best in the nation. Duncanville’s team of Beal, four-star football recruit Caden Durham, five-star football recruit Dakorien Moore and North Texas pledge Jaylen Washington are trying to maintain the standard that was set last year, when Duncanville won state in 39.98, became the sixth school in United States history to run under 40 seconds and challenged the legendary national record of 39.76 that was run by Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt in 1998.

“I feel pretty good,” Beal said. “There are a lot of expectations, but we’ve got more to go.”

Durham and Moore each won another gold medal, with Durham winning the 200 in 21.44 and Moore winning the long jump with a meet-record leap of 24-7. Moore, rated the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 1 overall recruit in Texas in football in the Class of 2025, now owns the best jump in Texas this season and he broke the meet record of 24-3.75 that was set by Olympian Marquise Goodwin from Rowlett in 2009.

Duncanville was denied the boys team title, as Mansfield Lake Ridge won the final running event — the 4x400 relay — to claim the team crown in 6A. Lake Ridge, the 4x400 state runner-up last season, got a time of 3:17.48 from seniors Andrew McCloud, Jacob Alexander, Jayden Williams and TCU signee Dominic Byles to edge Allen (3:17.80) and beat Duncanville by one point and Allen by four points in the team standings.

Byles, who placed fourth in the open 400 at state last year with a time of 47.03, chose not to run the 400 final on Saturday as he works his way back from an assortment of injuries. Fans were denied a chance to see him go head-to-head with Allen’s Jonathan Simms, who entered the week with the fastest time in the nation at 46.35.

Simms cruised to the victory Saturday, running 47.51.

The other team champions were the DeSoto girls and the Mansfield Timberview boys (5A). The DeSoto girls won all three relays — the 4x100 (46.23), 4x200 (1:37.47) and 4x400 (3:47.94) and got a victory from Taryn Bailey in the 800 in 2:11.59. Timberview’s Ethan Moffett won the 400 in 49.02 and Cameron Bates won the 110 hurdles in 14.23.

Denton Ryan finished second in the 5A boys team standings thanks in large part to Iowa signee Josiyah Taylor. He won the 100 in 10.59 and helped Ryan win the 4x100 (41.42) and 4x200 (1:26.23).

Beating a legend

Mansfield Timberview’s Taylor Fingers, an LSU signee, won the girls triple jump with a leap of 41-7.50. That is the second-best jump in the nation this year, and it broke the meet record of 40-5 that was set by Mansfield Lake Ridge Olympian Jasmine Moore in 2016.

Competing for Florida, Moore broke the American record in the triple jump with a mark of 49-7.25 on the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this month. Fingers finished fourth at state last year with a mark of 40-5.75.

Still the best

A year ago, Rockwall’s Claire Lowrey broke the meet record in the girls high jump at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays by clearing 6 feet, 0 inches. After defending her title with a winning clearance of 5-10 on Saturday, the Texas Tech signee wasn’t satisfied with a new season best.

So she attempted 6-2, which would have tied the third-best mark in state history. She just didn’t know she was attempting that height.

“My coach told me that was 6-foot, a half inch. I had no clue I was going 6-2. I thought they had it wrong on the board,” Lowrey said. “But the first attempt at 6-2, I tell myself I cleared it. My elbow knocked it off.”

Lowrey didn’t clear 6-2, but it gave her confidence that she can challenge the state-meet record of 6-2 that was set by five-time Olympian Amy Acuff from Corpus Christi Calallen in 1992. Playing volleyball this fall helped Lowrey prepare for a big senior year in track.

“My goal this year is 6-2.5. I really want to take that state [meet] record down,” said Lowrey, who tied for second at state last year with a mark of 5-8. “This year I feel like I’m so much stronger. I hit the weight room really hard this summer. I feel like I was pretty much in my prime during volleyball season, so that just kind of carried over to track season.”

Dartmouth signee Megan Judd from Coppell entered the week with the No. 1 jump in the state at 5-9. She finished second Saturday with a clearance of 5-8, and she was surpassed on the state leaderboard by Lowrey and defending 6A state champion Riley Ward from Flower Mound, a Colorado pledge who took over the national lead by clearing 6-0 at the Max Goldsmith Relays on Thursday.

On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle

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