Jesuit Dallas’s Track and Field Squad started the season out strong, competing at Mckinney Boyd Relays on February 16th & 17th, the Desoto Nike Invitational on February 24th, the Texas A&M Bluebonnet High School Invitational on March 1st, and the Lovejoy Invitational on March 2nd. It was a strong performance by the Rangers in the early season. When asked his thoughts on the regular season, Peirce Nikolai gave gratitude for his teammates, quoting Ton Fadell, saying,
“what you’re building never matter as much as who you’re building it with.”
McKinney Boyd Relays
Jesuit started off the meet strong, with senior Charlie Thornton finishing 13th in the boys 1600 meter run with a time of 4:41.66. Thornton then again showed his distance prowess with a 17th place finish in the 3200-meter run with a 10:07.75. The day concluded with arguably the Rangers’ best performance: two guys finishing within the top-10 in the pole vault. Senior Thatch Balady, who has a sensational run in which he finished 8th at last year’s state meet, finished 3rd with a mark of 14-6.00. He was followed by Junior Mason Adams, who finished with a mark of 13-00.00.
DeSoto Nike Invitational
The Blue & Gold took a fifth-place finish at the meet. Sophomore Harlen Beucler started with a 10th place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.08. Following Beucler, senior Caden Cutchall finished 8th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.82. The Ranger’s best performance of the meet came in the 800-meter run, where the Rangers took the top two spots and finished with three runners in the top ten. Seniors Henry Beckam and Charlie Thornton went 1-2, finishing with a 1:57.32 and a 1:59.40, respectively. Brayden Higginbotham came in 9th, with a 2:04.11. In the 3200-meter run, Drew Lamberson came up with a 6th place finish, with a time of 10:41.13.
“the best part about track isn’t running, it’s the friendships that are made” -harlen beucler ’26
Bluebonnet Invitational
Jesuit participated in one race during the meet: the 4×800 Relay. The placed fourth, with an 8:01.94. The team of seniors Henry Beckam, Caden Cutchall, Charlie Thornton and sophomore Brayeden Higginbotham set a new school record, breaking the previous time of 8:02.88, set last year by Beckman, Cutchall, Thornton, and Ben McKinney ’23, who currently competes at Wesleyan University.
Lovejoy Invitational
Despite the quick turnaround, Jesuit continued finding success at the Lovejoy Invitational. Jett Kipness started strong for the Rangers, finishing tenth in the 100-meter dash with a 11.23. Henry Bourrnet followed that with another tenth-place finish in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 24.11. Senior Caden Cutchall picked up the first win of the day for the Rangers, finishing with a time of 50.46 in the 400-meter dash. Henry Beckam followed with a second-place finish in the 1600 meter run with a time of 4:24.63. In their first relay, Jesuit finished fourth in the 4×100, crossing the line with a time of 43.03. The 4×200 meter team followed that up with a second-place finish with a time of 1:29.72. The 4×400 meter team picked up the second win of the day for the Rangers with a time of 3:24.93. They outdid the next fastest finisher, Colleyville Heritage, by almost four seconds. In the field events, Jesuit started strong, going 1-2 in the Pole Vault. Thatch Balady finished first with a 15-00.00, while Mason Adams finished second with a 14-00.00.
Jesuit Sheaner Relays
This year’s Sheaner Relays, one of the pinnacle mid-season meets in the country, featured 47 teams in the 6A classification. Of those 47 teams, Jesuit came in sixth, scoring 30 points. Jesuit’s 4×200 meter relay team, consisting of Sammy McFarland, Harlen Beucler, John Parrish, and Sean Watson, placed seventeenth to start off the meet. Following them, the 4×400 meter relay team, consisting of Caden Cutchall, Beucler, Watson, and Henry Beckam, placed seventh. A top 5 finish was next up for the Rangers, as Charlie Thorton, Watson, Cutchall, and Beckman placed second in the Distance Medley, finishing just six seconds behind Waxahachie. Jesuit’s 4×100 meter dash relay, featuring McFarland, Beucler, Parrish, and Zach Musso placed twentieth with a time of 43.88.
Jesuit would send three teams to this year’s finals. The 4×200 relay team placed eighth, finishing with a time of 1:29.38. The 4×400 relay team finished fifth, crossing the line at a 4:22.21. To finish the meet, the distance Medley team finished second, with a time of 10:53.22.
Looking Toward the Postseason
Jesuit Track & Field starts the postseason hosting the District 7-6A Championships. Then qualifiers will move on to the Area Championships, which will also be hosted by Jesuit. After that, they travel to Arlington for the Region-1 Championships. Finally, they travel to the Mike A. Meyers Track and Soccer Stadium in Austin for the UIL 6A State Championships.