Tuesday, July 25, 2017

TMS Track Teams Celebrate Success

tcrow@taylorisd.org 
The Taylor Middle School track teams have done exceptionally well over the past two years, earning several championships titles in both team and individual events.  


“Our track teams this year as well as last year have all been very successful,” Coach Allen Dews said. “We’ve won every track meet we’ve been to with the exception of one.”

Dews said that while both the seventh and eighth grade track teams have been highly successful, one particular team of eighth graders have truly excelled. Ben Roberts, Jayson Saucedo, Ethan Rodriguez, Eric Calzada and Anthony Salazar remain undefeated in the mile relay.  

“These 8th graders are district champs,” Dews said. “They were district champs as seventh graders and district champs as eighth graders. They are two-time district champs.”

Last year Dews told the undefeated team that if they won the final district track meet he would buy five plaques, one for each track they won, to display in the school. As soon as Ben Roberts crossed the finish line, he informed Dews that it was time to buy those five plaques.

“It was a fun year for me because I like being with friends and I had an amazing team to be a part of,” Roberts said. He added that it was nice to be able to show that Taylor can do great things. “I just wanted to prove people wrong about Taylor, about how small we were and how big we really were.”

Jayson Saucedo is the record holder in a number of events.

“He ran all of our relays,” Dews said. “As an individual, he was the long jump champ, triple jump champ, hundred-meter champ, 200 meter champ and 400 meter champ in the two years that he was competing for us. He is undefeated in the hundred, two hundred and 400 Has never been beaten in the running events.”  

Saucedo credits his success to his team and their efforts to push each other to reach individual goals.

“As a team we all push each other,” he said. “We all want to compete against each other, we push each other to our limits. We know what our limit is, but we always want to make it higher, always want to do better.”

Roberts agreed that teamwork is the secret their success. “I think it’s really important to work as a team, because when we aren’t together our morale is low and when we are together we’re unstoppable.”

Anthony Salazar added that as a team they also encourage each other and keep each other focused.

“We push each other hard, trying to be better than someone else, trying to get there,” He commented. “Keep encouraging when you think everything is lost, but you still have a team and you still have friends. You make sure nothing happens to your team, and that your friends are ok. Focus on what you’re doing and keep doing it.”

Ethan Rodriguez said the competition among team members is ongoing.

“Everything is a race for us, we’re always competing against each other,” he said.  “Whoever is in front, we all try to catch up to them. We try to beat each other in everything.”  

“You can’t do this individually,” said Eric Calzada. “You have to do it with your team.”

Dews said he is looking for more great things from this team in the future.


“I’ve coached a lot of track in Taylor over the years, been involved with a several great ones,” Dews said. “These guys are just as good as those guys were at this age, if not better. It’s going to be exciting to see where they go.”