Everybody wants to be a big dawg, but not everyone can be. In the Region 3-5A 200m final, we definitely saw two of the big dawgs go at it.
Big Dawg #1 - The 2016 6A 200m state champ, Port Arthur Memorial senior Kary Vincent Jr. was settled in his blocks at the 200m starting line, in lane five. Big Dawg #2 - The 2015 & 2016 5A 200m state champ, Ft Bend Marshall senior Shamon Ehiemua was one lane to the inside nestled in lane four. At the start, the crown was on their feet and even some had lined up along the rail anxiously anticipating the start of the race, which was more like a heavy weight title fight.
Vincent Jr., who was on the outside had a blind side to Ehiemua. When the gun went off, Vincent Jr. got out hard and well on the curve. That put the pressure on Ehiemua and you could see the big powerful figure barrel down and dig deep to find the speed and power to keep pace. Vincent Jr. began to distance himself coming off the curve and extended the distance some powering towards the finish line. During the race, you could see Ehiemua cautiously switching gears, and some hesitation could be sensed. Ehiemua who is still working himself back from a leg injury suffered over a month ago is now a couple of races into his comeback. Nevertheless, it only takes a split second for an athlete like Vincent Jr. to add meters to his lead and that he did.
In the end, it was Vincent Jr. crossing the line first and Ehiemua second and both with big time national times. In two weeks, we all will get to see a rematch in Austin at the UIL 5A State Championships. In what will no doubt be another exciting show of athleticism and speed, the only questions are, who will win and what kind of time will these big dawgs produce?
