Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 07, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 14, 2014 Page: 5 of 10
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Mineral Wells Index / Wednesday, May 14, 2014 ♦ Call Classifieds at 940-327-0838
PAGE 5
Hisks, Sutton run hurt,
finish sixth at state
By CLINT FOSTER
cfoster@mineralwellsindex.com
AUSTIN - Senior DaShawn Hicks
and junior Juvaree Sutton had dreams
of returning to Mineral Wells with
gold medals from their respective
events at the UIL Track and Field
State Meet.
But despite strong starts, both ath-
letes were hampered by untimely,
mid-race injuries over the weekend in
Austin and saw their championship
aspirations unfulfilled.
Both Hicks and Sutton finished
sixth in their events at state: Hicks in
the 100-meter dash and Sutton in the
300-meter hurdles.
For Hicks - who had designs on
earning a gold medal to cap off a
remarkable comeback from a
December knee injury that required
surgery - 2014's state meet turned out
to be the last chapter in a long line of
hard luck in each of his previous
three appearances in Austin.
Last year, it was a false start that
disqualified Hicks from the 100 at
state. This time, it was his knee -
choosing the most inconvenient time
to nag him despite carrying him to a
gold-medal finish at regionals in
Lubbock just two weeks before.
"I got a good start out of the blocks
and then my knee popped and it just
threw me off balance," Hicks said of
his final race as a Ram. "I slowed up
and just went through the rest of the
race. I guess I just wasn't ready to go
that fast, yet. I don't know.
"It sucked. I mean, I didn't really
hang my head on it, though. I was
just blessed to be able to run there
anyway. It bothered me [to not win],
but not extremely."
Hicks finished in 10.80 for sixth. It
was well off of the 10.61 he ran at
regionals to qualify and his personal-
best 10.28 at last year's area meet.
Head coach Jackie Harvey said he
was surprised Hicks wasn't able to
run at his peak at state, especially
considering the good week of practice
leading up to the trip south.
"It's always in the back of your
mind whether 'Shawn fully recovered
from his surgery and stuff," he said.
"But I don't know. Who knows? I
thought he'd be fine and be able to go
do it, but evidently he wasn't."
Sutton came in to state not only
healthy, but fresh off of a personal-
best, silver-medal performance at
regionals, where he ran the 300 hur-
dles in 39.53. But whatever bug was
in the University of Texas' Mike A.
Myers Stadium that day got a hold of
him, too, as leg pain kept him from
finishing strong.
"[My opponents] were talented,
but I felt confident going into the
race," he said. "Coming out of the
blocks I felt good and thought, 'I'm
going to win this.' But I just cramped
around the fourth hurdle. I couldn't
handle it. You can tell on my video -
I had a couple of friends record it for
me. I was struggling trying to get
over the hurdles."
Running with a cramp, Sutton
crossed the finish line in 40.12 to lock
up sixth place in his first appearance
at the state meet.
Harvey speculated that the weather
and the big stage might have contrib-
uted to Sutton's misfortune.
"With Juvaree, I think more than
anything, he was nervous," he said.
"Of course, a kid going into his first
time at a big meet like that is going to
be nervous. The heat maybe
had a little bit to do with
it, too."
Looking back at both
of their races, Hicks said
it was a shame that he
and Juvaree were ham-
pered by injuries in what
could have been their
finest hour.
"Neither one of us ran
our best, at all," Hicks
said. "There's not really
much else you can say. If
we would have run our
best, I'm sure both of us
would have come home
with gold medals.
Regardless, both
Mineral Wells ath-
letes said they
enjoyed their time
in Austin.
"I felt like a kid
in a candy factory,"
Sutton said. "It was
exciting. All the talent
and everything just shocked
me. It makes you want to go
back every year. But I only
have one year left, so I've
got to make the best of it.
"I'm just glad that me and
DaShawn had the opportu-
nity to go. It was a good
experience for me, being my
first year and all."
With one year left of eligi-
bility, Harvey said Sutton has
a great chance to return to
state as a senior and finally
capture a gold medal. He
said it's Sutton's work ethic
that gives him the most rea-
son for optimism.
"Juvaree will work and
get stronger," Harvey
said without hesi- ^
tation. "Hopefully,
he can make it in
both hurdle races
next year and maybe
even a relay also."
In addition to continual hard work,
Sutton said he believes the key is
more potassium.
"I'll make sure to eat a more banan-
as, too," he said. "A lot more."
Although Hicks' high school career
is over, he still has a bright future
ahead of him as a scholarship track
athlete at the University of Texas in
Arlington.
Hicks said he has no worries about
his knee and hasn't consulted a doctor
about the pop at state. However, he
said continuing to build his knee's
strength this summer is his top priority.
Harvey said such continued work
is imperative to Hicks' success at the
college level.
"He just needs to continue work-
ing," he said. "I don't think he can
afford to just sit around this summer
and do nothing. They're going to
expect him to come in in decent
shape. They don't want him just com-
ing in overweight and out of shape.
They'll want him to continue to work
to get his leg stronger where he won't
have any problems with it."
Although the end results at state
may seem disappointing, Hicks' and
Sutton's representation of Mineral
Wells was a fine feather in the cap of
what was nothing short of a fantastic
track and field season for the Rams
and Lady Rams. It can also serve as a
great launching point and motivator
for both athletes moving forward.
COURTESY RENEE HICKS
Juvaree Sutton, center in red, ran with a cramp in his first trip to state and fin-
ished sixth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.12. He plans to work hard
to return to Austin for his senior year and capture an elusive state championship.
Pick up a copy of Thursday’s Index for
recaps of the other Palo Pinto County
schools at the UIL Track and Field State
Meet. Gordon, Strawn and Santo saw mul-
tiple great finishes, including a showing for
Gordon that capped off one of the greatest
track seasons in school history.
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May, David. Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 07, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 14, 2014, newspaper, May 14, 2014; Mineral Wells, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth707239/m1/5/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Boyce Ditto Public Library.