Hightower track coach David Pollack had a feeling that his team was going to have a good day.

But in the eyes of many, the Hurricanes had more than just a good day.

Hightower’s relay teams won two relay events and finished second in another as they rolled to a second straight Region III-5A championship Saturday at Humble’s Turner Stadium. The Hurricanes also made a big statement that they are ready to defend their state title in Austin on May 6.

“We felt coming in we had a real good chance of doing well,” Pollack said. “We’ve ran and got progressively better, and we felt that one of our strengths is keeping our kids healthy all season. We felt we had the advantage to perform on the track and keep the sticks around and go back to defend our state championship.”

The 800-meter relay team of seniors Isaiah Sweeney, Cleon Davis and Robert Simmons, with junior Darius Johnson, set a new regional record with a time of one minute and 24.06 seconds. It was the team’s second fastest time this season, and it set the tone for Hightower at the meet.

The Hurricanes garnered 112 points, with Lamar a very distant second with 33. Eisenhower and Willowridge tied for third with 30 points.

“It’s always a good feeling that we worked hard all season and we came out here and we did what we’re supposed to do,” Sweeney said, who also won 100-meter dash and finished second in the long jump. “It’s hard for everything to go perfect in every time, but somehow it happened twice in a row.”

Simmons won the 200 while helping the 1,600 relay team qualify for state with a second-place finish behind district rival Fort Bend Marshall. Also, teammate Jarrett Gilliam finished second in the discus throw, qualifying for a state berth. He finished behind Humble's Matt Kosecki, who threw a 180.

Hightower also won in the 400 relay, posting a blistering time of 40.99 seconds. Trayvion Jones, who is part of that relay team, finished second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.71 seconds. Atascocita’s Cameron LaCour won the event with a time of 14.31 seconds.

In other boys events, Cypress Falls senior Blake Shaw won the 800 and the 1,600 races to make it to the state meet for the second year in a row.

 Complete results are as follows:

TEAM SCORES: Fort Bend Hightower 112, Lamar 33, Eisenhower 30, Willowridge 30, Atascocita 26, Strake Jesuit 25, Jersey Village 24, Fort Bend Marshall 22, Cypress Falls 21.75, North Shore 21.

3,200: 1. James Webb, Strake Jesuit, 9:25.03;  2. Chad Brown, Clear Lake, 9:32.78; 3. Austin Bussing, Katy Taylor, 9:45.64.

4-by-100: 1. Hightower, 40.99; 2. Lamar, 41.71; 3. Eisenhower, 41.85.

800: 1. Blake Shaw, Cy Falls, 1:56.14; 2. Phillip Pierrott, Westbury, 1:57.27; 3. Jordan Hmaidan, Strake Jesuit, 1:58.42.

 110 hurdles: 1. Trayvion Jones, Hightower, 14.31; 2. Cameron LaCour, Atascocita, 14.71; 3. Marcus Davis, Clear Creek, 14.81.

100 dash: 1. Isaiah Sweeny, Hightower, 10.7; 2. Cleon Davis, Hightower, 10.88; 3. T.C. Scott, Elsik, 10.89.

4-by-200: 1. Hightower, 1:24.06; 2. Eisenhower, 1:26.79; 3. North Shore, 1:27.26.

400: 1. Arte’ Collins, Willowridge, 48.01; 2. Michael Preble, Jersey Village, 48.52; 3. Michael Williams, Beaumont West Brook, 49.2.

300 hurdles:1. Cameron LaCour, Atascocita, 38.18; 2.  Sheroid Evans, Dulles, 38.37; 3. Travis Johnson, Aldine, 38.83.

200: 1. Robert Simmons, Hightower, 21.65; 2. Dewayne Buggs, Lamar, 22.22; 3. Cameron Bridgewater, Channelview, 22.34.

1,600: 1. Blake Shaw, Cypress Falls, 4:23.14; 2. James Webb, Strake Jesuit, 4:26.56; 3. Chad Brown, Clear Lake, 4:27.77.

4-by-400: 1. Fort Bend Marshall, 3:14.19; 2. Hightower, 3:15.92; 3. Willowridge, 3:15.96.

Discus: 1. Matt Kosecki, Humble, 180-00; 2. Jarrett Gilliam, Hightower, 179-9; 3. Michael Barbas, Jersey Village, 177-1.

Long Jump: 1. Richard Knotts, Nimitz, 24-8.25; 2. Isaiah Sweeny, Hightower, 23-10.5; 3. Emerson Sanderson, Mayde Creek, 23-8.25.

Pole Vault: 1. Greg Gabrisch, Kingwood, 16-0; 2. David McKenzie, Katy Taylor, 15-6; 3. Juan Gonzalez, Katy, 14-6.

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