Hi this is Oceane, and today I will be recapping Texas Relays. There was so much great competition, fast times and new records, this year’s relays was definitely a success. I must admit it was a rather stressful event-I was initially refused a press pass because of my age, but I conducted interviews outside the stands and eventually was given a pass.
On Thursday, Olympic medalist Leo Manzano beat his previous record and ran 1:47.34 in the 800, a new meet record. I was able to interview him after he signed autographs on Saturday.
Also on Thursday was the steeplechase, and Gabby Thompson left everyone in the dust after running 7:29 for the 2000m steeplechase. I was able to interview her after her race.
Friday consisted of prelims for relays and the 1600m run for high schoolers. This was a fast race for the girls, Morgan Szekely came in with the fastest time of 4:56 and led the pack for most of the race. All of a sudden sophomore Aaliyah Miller stole the show, running 4:50.17, destroying her previous time of 5:12. Here is her interview.
Brendon Taylor came all the way from Arkansas and stole the gold for the boys 1600 with a time of 4:14.
Another interesting race was the girls distance medley relay. Marcus led the way, but Paige Hofstad was the standout after running a 4:55 1600 as the anchor and gaining a lot of ground.
Saturday was packed with talent, and arguably the most competitive race of the event was the girls 3200m run. The field was filled with state champions and record holders. Madie Boreman and Julia Heymach controlled the pace for the first mile, but once Hofstad made her move the race was hers. Hofstad finished in a time of 10:27, and following 3 seconds behind was Devin Clark. I was able to interview her after her race.
Unfortunately Austen Dalquist, who holds the fastest time of the season wasn’t present, but Carter Blunt won the boys 3200 with a time of 9:06 in a perfectly executed race.
Houston St. Thomas won the 4x2 and won the 4x4 by 4 seconds, running an incredible time of 3:38.26. Lancaster was 3rd for the girls and won the boys 4x4 in a time of 3:14.12.
Four time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross made an appearance, and I was able to weave through a mob of adoring fans to interview her.
Thank you so much to everyone who interviewed with me, and to my brother Everest for filming some interviews and my friend Gema Sanchez for helping me out when Everest had to leave. Full interviews of Leo Manzano and Sanya Richards-Ross can be viewed on my blog stridebystriderecaps.blogspot.com. Thank you for watching Stride by Stride.