Atlanta, West Rusk, and Vernon Capture 3A Boys Relay Wins



UIL 3A Boys 4x100 Relay

Though they weren't coming into the state meet with the fastest regional time, Atlanta crowned themselves as the back-to-back champions of the 4x100-meter relay. Despite trailing at the halfway mark, Isaiah Chandler and JaBranden Wells finished strong to help their team cross first and edge out Bushland by half a second. 

Bushland entered the meet with the fastest time turned in at regionals. They surpassed that time by .06 seconds as they crossed the line in second with a time of 41.72 seconds. 

Their strong start and clean handoffs gave Whitney the bronze medal despite turning in one of the slower times s the regional meet.


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UIL 3A Boys 4x200 Relay

There's fast. Then there's the 3A Boys 4x200-meter relay's fast. Fans were given their money's worth in a race that saw all but one team run below a 1:29. Through the first handoff, Universal City Randolph was neck-and-neck with Gunter and Slaton. Through 600 meters, there was no clear favorite. Hitchcock also joined in on the party but was DQ'ed after being the fourth time across. The winner, New London West Rusk, was in the mix throughout the race but weren't in position to win until the final leg. They crossed the finish line with a winning time of 1:27.12. They edged out Slaton, who turned in the fastest time at regionals, by just under half a second. Gunter, who could be considered dark horse in the race, took the final podium spot in third.


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UIL 3A Boys 4x400 Relay

As the final event of the night, it was bound to be a good finish in the 3A Boys mile relay. The race lived up to all the hype as the crowd roared their respective teams through. Just before passing the baton to their third leg, Clifton made a bold move down the backstretch to take the lead. They were soon passed by the 400-meter dash silver medalist, Vernon's Jackson Aydelott, who closed the night out strong for his team to cross first with a time of 3:18.94. Crane, who kept themselves in the mix throughout the race, was just edged out by Clifton. Crane took third behind a strong final leg from the 400-meter dash champion Lucas Rizo