Blanket Tiger senior Tyler Simpson qualified for the UIL Class A Track and Field State Championships by winning the Region III-A boys 400 meters in Whitney this past weekend.

Simpson, who is bound for Angelo State to play football, was clocked at 53.0 to outdistance runner-up Dustin Matthews of Graford (53.51) by almost a full second.

Simpson’s regional championship brings the number of Brown County entries into the UIL Track and Field State Championships – which will take place May 6-8 at the University of Texas’ Myers Stadium in Austin – to eight.