As COVID-19 vaccination numbers rise and new cases decline in Texas, the University Interscholastic League has recently reversed a mitigation policy for the upcoming track and field postseason.
The UIL had limited qualifiers for the regional meet to the top two places in the area meet to keep numbers down at the regional meets. However, two weeks ago, the state’s governing body for public schools athletics reinstated four qualifiers from the area meet to the regional meet.
La Vega boys’ track coach Chris Ward, whose Pirates won the 2019 state championship, said that will allow for slightly more margin for error in the area meet.
“A relay team that might have had a bad handoff and placed third in area would’ve got knocked out,” Ward said. “Now they will have a chance to keep going.”
The UIL also recently set the dates for the state track meet, which will be held May 6-8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. Classes 3A and 4A will compete on May 6, 2A and 5A will compete on May 7 and 1A and 6A will compete on May 8.
Chad Conine
Longtime Waco sportswriter and Texas Tech graduate Chad Conine is the author of "The Republic of Football: Legends of the Texas High School Game" and "Texas Sports: Unforgettable Stories for Every Day of the Year," among other titles.
