Boyd blasts by records once again at Area

Cove senior Amber Boyd has an internal drive that doesn’t need much outside motivation. The faint sound of her father’s voice that grows louder and louder with each step towards the finish line gives her that extra jolt.

 

Boyd used that intestinal fortitude and external motivation to again surpass her own school and personal records in both the 800-meter run and 1,600m run at the 11-6A and 12-6A Area Track and Field Meet at Bulldawg Stadium on Friday.

 

“It gives me all the motivation I need,” she said with a smile from ear to ear. He works with my coach, he gives me workouts and he’s always here with coach Smart pushing me to go faster. Now he’s starting to use the motivation that you’re going to run one more if you don’t make it.

 

She improved her time nearly three seconds in the 800m and nearly five seconds in the 1,600m to break her own school record - again. Each time she steps on a track, she sets a new record.

 

“It feels great seeing that hard work and pain in practice really pays off,” she said. “It feels amazing. I just knew in my heart that I could do it. I was trying to push myself to sprint on the third 200 then finish it out the best I could.”

 

Boyd slowly began to churn away at the 800m field after starting the race buried in the pack. She slowly began to up the pace and began to put some distance between herself and the field on her way to another personal best time of 2 minutes, 15.59 seconds. As she rounded the final curve to the increasing volume of her father, she increased the pace and finished nearly four seconds in front of her nearest competitor Amira Lambertis of Killeen (2:19.53) and more than seven seconds in front of the rest of the pack. Rockwall’s Liah Collins (2:22.75) and Ariel Hopkins (2:23.57) close out the regional qualifiers in the event.

 

“I’ve been practicing to get my times down and working on the 600 to get that in 1:40 then just finish out the rest so I can get under that 2:18,” said Boyd.

 

Similarly, Boyd again set a new record by defeating perennial rival Brooke Gilmore of Belton by over three seconds in the 1,600m run for her second school record and gold medal of the day.

 

Boyd dropped her mark of 5:13.69 posted at district two weeks ago in her second ever win over Gilmore with a 5:08.89 at the area meet. Gilmore finished with a mark of 5:12.14 and Mary Neal of finished third with a mark of 5:12.44. Killeen’s Lambertis nabbed the final regional spot with a mark of 5:23.45.

 

Boyd feels like the best is yet to come. She feels she’ll only get better at the Region II-6A meet scheduled for this Friday and Saturday and Baylor’s Clyde Hart Track and Field Complex.

 

“I would say that I can improve,” she said. “I just have to push myself in practice.”

 

Cove’s Shyresha Steen finished fifth in discus to add two points to the girls’ totals with a 101 feet, 7 inch mark. She was less than two feet away from the fourth and final qualifying spot. Ellison’s Jania Price won the event with a throw of 140’, 5”.

 

Mahal Thorpe notched a sixth-place finish in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.45. Teal Williams of Harker Heights won the event with a mark of 15.25.

 

Imari Neal, the Cove girls’ final area qualifier, finished with a mark of 1:01.92 in the 400m dash. Chika Iwuamadi of Rockwall won with a mark of 58.05.

 

Boyd competes at 1:20 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.