HEWITT – The Temple Wildcat Junior Varsity Track & Field team officially launched their 2026 campaign on Friday, delivering a strong statement at the Panther Relays. Competing against a deep field at Midway High School, the Wildcats battled their way to a third-place team finish, signaling a promising season ahead for the program.
The Harker Heights Knights took the top spot in the team standings with 179 points, followed by the host Midway Panthers in second with 160. Temple’s third-place finish was anchored by a dominant performance in the relay events and several standout individual efforts in the field.
Meet Highlights
The Wildcats' depth was on full display, particularly in the jumping and relay events:
Relay Dominance: The 4x200 Relay team provided the highlight of the night, sprinting to a first-place finish with a blazing time of 1:33.20.
Jump Squad: Mehkai Armstrong led the charge in the pits, securing 2nd Place in the Long Jump (20'3 ½) and 4th Place in the Triple Jump (40'0 ½).
Hurdle Consistency: Austyn Shuster proved to be a workhorse for Temple, placing in both the 110m and 300m hurdle events.
Wildcat Results
Running Events
110 Hurdles: Austyn Shuster (7th) – 18.17; Davin Veal (11th) – 20.46; Elijah Shotkoski (14th) – 22.01
300 Hurdles: Austyn Shuster (5th) – 48.40; Elijah Shotkoski (7th) – 51.56; Marcus Lee (12th) – 57.83
3200 Meters: Weston Ricks (6th) – 12:05.82; Louis Zapata (8th) – 12:29.16; Nathaniel Bowker (14th) – 15:50.13
Relays
4x100 Relay: 3rd Place – 44.77
4x200 Relay: 1st Place – 1:33.20
4x400 Relay: 2nd Place – 3:42.89
4x800 Relay: 3rd Place – 10:16.09
800 Sprint Medley: 3rd Place – 1:42.51
Field Events
Long Jump: Mehkai Armstrong (2nd) – 20’3 ½; Eric Shelley (6th) – 19’8; Davin Veal (13th) – 17’2
Triple Jump: Mehkia Armstrong (4th) – 40’0 ½; Alzaerian Lopez (6th) – 38’11 ¾; Jordan Grigsby (9th) – 34’8 ½
Discus: Teiaurione Thomas (3rd) – 107’5; Kyler Skrabanek (11th) – 81’9; Alvin Lawrence (13th) – 75’5
Shot Put: Teiaurione Thomas (13th) – 31’7 ½; Alvin Lawrence (16th) – 23’6
Pole Vault: Marcus Lee (6th) – 8’0; Elijah Shotkoski (9th) – 7’0; Anthony Abney (10th) – 7’0
Up Next: The Wildcats will look to build on this momentum on February 19 as they travel to Gatesville High School for the Hornet Relays.
