Track and field: Aledo vaulter among nation’s best

Braylon Brown is the latest in a long line of Aledo High School pole vaulters to be considered among the best at their craft. The senior is tied for ninth in the nation with his vault of 16 feet, 6 inches at the Northwest Texan Invitational recently, according to MileSplit.

That vault has him tied for fifth in the state of Texas in all classifications and tied for third in Class 5A  — which is where he finished last state at the 5A State Meet, his first time to compete at that level.

“Braylon is having a great year with two of his three meets over 16 feet,” Aledo pole vaulting coach John Rhodes said. “His goal is to break Sean Gribble’s school record of 17 feet, 3/4 inches  — and I believe if the conditions are right he will have a chance.

“For now we are just focusing on preparing for the series of meets, district, area and state. Our goal is always to get to state and fight to get on the medal stand. Class 5A has two vaulters over 17’ already so it will be a challenge, but Braylon has put in the work and is up to the challenge.”

Bearcat Adam Averett is also among the top vaulters in 5A. He is eighth with a 15-0 vault.

The Ladycats have two pole vaulters among the girls’ state leaders in Class 5A. Maggie Kilburn is sixth, having cleared 11-9, and Emma Ralph has cleared 11-6 to tie for ninth.

In non-vaulting events, Tyler Connelly of the Bearcats is 10th in the state in 5A with his time of 9 minutes, 35.60 seconds in the 3200-meter run. He is a mere .01 seconds out of ninth and less than a minute out of ranking as high as sixth.

The Bearcats and Ladycats are back in competition March 27 at Saginaw Chisholm. They will follow by competing at the District 5-5A Meet at Saginaw High and will host the Area 5/6 Meet at Tim Buchanan Stadium on April 10.

The Bearcats are seeking a sixth consecutive district title  — with no meet held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ladycats finished second in district by a single point last season to Justin Northwest, which has now moved up to Class 6A.