TEMPLE, TX — Wildcat Stadium was the center of the track and field world this past Saturday as the Temple Wildcat freshman boys hosted the Temple Relays. It was a quintessential day for racing—sunny, warm, and breezy—providing the perfect backdrop for 11 competing teams to showcase their talent.

The Wildcats put on a clinic in front of the home crowd, finishing in 2nd Place overall with a team score of 160 points. While Killeen Shoemaker took the top spot with 175 points, Temple comfortably outpaced 3rd-place Belton (120 points) to secure the runner-up trophy.

Meet Headliner: Leon Tolbert IV

The standout performer of the meet was undoubtedly Leon Tolbert IV, who dominated both the track and the field. Tolbert IV captured four gold medals, winning the 100m, 200m, High Jump, and Long Jump, accounting for a massive portion of the Wildcats' total points.

Podium Finishers (Medalists)

1st Place: Leon Tolbert IV (100m, 200m, High Jump, Long Jump)

2nd Place: Elijah Morse (3200m), Austyn Shuster (110H, 300H), Dennis Gibson (200m), Bre’Lon Matthews (400m), Ayden Johnson (Shot Put), and the 4x200 Relay team.

3rd Place: Louis Zapata (3200m), Da’Ravion Bell (100m), Markell Estrada (400m), Emeri Shelly (Discus).

Full Participant Results

Every Wildcat contribution mattered in the race for the team title. Here is how the full roster performed:

Sprints & Middle Distance

100m: Leon Tolbert IV – 1st Place (11.10)
100m: Da’Ravion Bell – 3rd Place (11.52)
100m: Anthony Ramos – 8th Place (11.81)
200m: Leon Tolbert IV – 1st Place (22.65)
200m: Dennis Gibson – 2nd Place (23.49)
200m: Jaylin Carr – 4th Place (24.25)
400m: Bre’Lon Matthews – 2nd Place (56.56)
400m: Markell Estrada – 3rd Place (56.97)
800m: Kenyon Watkins – 9th Place (2:33.29)

Distance & Hurdles

110m Hurdles: Austyn Shuster – 2nd Place (18.68)
110m Hurdles: Julius Watts – 5th Place (21.89)
300m Hurdles: Austyn Shuster – 2nd Place (47.34)
300m Hurdles: Julius Watts – 4th Place (48.50)
1600m: Louis Zapata – 6th Place (6:19.54)
1600m: Elijah Morse – 7th Place (6:23.71)
1600m: Steven Taylor – 9th Place (6:29.30)
3200m: Elijah Morse – 2nd Place (13:28.23)
3200m: Louis Zapata – 3rd Place (13:38.71)
3200m: Steven Taylor – 4th Place (13:42.88)

Relays

4x100m Relay: 4th Place (59.88) – Jaylin Carr, Anthony Ramos, Da'Ravion Bell, Dennis Gibson
4x200m Relay: 2nd Place (1:33.49) – Tomarian Abernathy, Dennis Gibson, Jaylin Carr, Da'Ravion Bell
4x400m Relay: 4th Place (3:58.98) – Markell Estrada, Bre'Lon Matthews, Mehki Austin, Tomarian Abernathy

Field Events

High Jump: Leon Tolbert IV – 1st Place (5’6”)
High Jump: Da’Ravion Bell – 7th Place (5’2”)
Long Jump: Leon Tolbert IV – 1st Place (19’8 ¾”)
Long Jump: Jaylin Carr – 6th Place (17’3 ½”)
Long Jump: Da’Ravion Bell – 11th Place (15’8”)
Triple Jump: Julius Watts – 6th Place (34’11”)
Triple Jump: Jordan Grigsby – 7th Place (34’10”)
Discus: Emeri Shelly – 3rd Place (90’3”)
Discus: Ayden Johnson – 5th Place (79’3”)
Discus: Dontae Howell – 6th Place (78’1”)
Shot Put: Ayden Johnson – 2nd Place (32’7 ½”)
Shot Put: Dontae Howell – 5th Place (30’1”)
Shot Put: Afatasi Saga – 6th Place (29’0 ½”)

Up Next

The Wildcats will look to carry this momentum into their next meet on March 29th at the Killeen Relays, held at Leo Buckley Stadium.