UIL Track and Field State Championships
UIL 4A Boys 4x100m
Gilmer entered the meet as the defending champions and had the top time from Regionals. They were not about to be upset and the Buckeyes broke the UIL 4A Boys record in the 4x100m relay running a time of 40.56 as Will Henderson ran down Iowa Colony over the final 100m.
Gilmer got a great start from Trillyon Butler who had them leading at the first exchange zone but over the next two handoffs Iowa Colony was able to move into a small lead, but Henderson proved to be too much down the stretch.
Iowa Colony held on for the silver medal as they broke 41 seconds with an outstanding time of 40.97. The race for third was the one to watch and it was Aubrey clipping Boerne at the finish line. Aubrey posted a time of 41.10 while Boerne was credited with a time of 41.11.
UIL 4A Boys 4x200m Relay
If Will Henderson gets the baton in the lead, it is bad news
for the other teams. That is just what happened in the UIL 4A boys 4x200m
relay. Gilmer had a slight lead going into the final exchange and Henderson
turned it into a comfortable win in a time of 1:24.71. It gave the Buckeyes back-to-back
State titles in the event.
Palestine and Waxahachie Life were challenging Gilmer
through the first 400m when disaster struck Waxahachie at the second exchange. It
appeared that Damien Demas handed off cleanly to Kaleb Smith, but Smith's shoes
stuck and he went down in a heap effectively knocking them out of the race.
Palestine stayed close throughout the race and Dreylon
Spurlock was able to hold onto second place as they crossed the line in
1:26.13. Iowa Colony came through in third place with a time of 1:26.51.
4A Boys 4x400m Relay
Iowa Colony entered the race needing to pick up eight points
on Gilmer to tie them for the team title. They held a large lead after the
first lap, but Aubrey kept cutting into it over the second two legs. Meanwhile,
Gilmer was holding tight in third place.
On the final lap, Aubrey's Tyler Brown, the 200m champion,
took the lead on the back stretch and was able to hold it over the final 200m
over Jeremy Garner of Iowa Colony. Aubrey won in a meet record time of 3:13.10
while Iowa Colony was second in 3:14.03.
Now the entire meet came down to the battle for third place.
Gilmer was in third place heading into the final lap and if they held it, they
would be able to win the team title outright. Instead, Lindale's Colter Maya,
the 400m champion, took his team from fifth place to third place in a time of
3:17.27. The Buckeyes finished in 3:18.03 to take fourth place and finish in a
tie with Iowa Colony for the team title.
