Texas Relays Recap

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. Manvel 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 3^rd 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. 

Leo Manzano Interview @ Texas Relays

Olympic medalist Leo Manzano talks about racing strategy, 2016 Olympics.

Interview with Sanya Richards-Ross @ Texas Relays

Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross speaks about recovery and 2016 Olympics.

Track Recap 3/22

Hi, it’s Oceane back to give you your weekly recap. Texas Relays is coming up next week and times are getting faster and faster to qualify for the meet.

Starting with the sprints, some standout performances were Lexie Lewis’s 24.25 200m at the Abilene Warhawk Relays, which ranks her 3^rd in the state. Taylor Bennett also ran 24.25 at the Klein Relays.

We have 3 new leaders in the girls 400 from the Texas Southern Relays. Jarra Owens ran 54.64, Olamide Olowe ran 55.01 and Takyera Roberson was 55.13. The boys also have 3 new leaders: Michael Bailey with 47.37, Obi Igbokwe with 47.77 and Alex Wesley with 47.87.

Moving onto the hurdles, Tivi Kaminski ran 42.45 for the 300m hurdles, ranking her 2^nd but she is still over one second off of Brooke Merrick’s 41.38. We have a new leader in the boys 300m hurdles; Amere Lattin ran 37.69 at the Texas Southern Relays.

Cedar Hill surpassed Converse Judson in the girls 4x1 relay, running 46.23. There are a lot of new fast times in the boys 4x2, and the leading team is Texas High with a time of 1:25.88.

Lancaster took a big lead in the girls 4x4 relay as they ran 3:48.35 at the Texas Southern Relays. They are just under 3 seconds ahead of the second ranked team, Cypress Springs. Summer Creek took the lead for the boys 4x4 relay with a time of 3:17.02. At Texas Relays we will get to watch a 4x8 relay and a distance medley relay which will be pretty exciting!

There are a ton of new 800 times for the girls, but Raevyn Rogers continues to lead as she ran a new season best of 2:08.43. Aaliyah Miller ran 2:10.88, and Madi McLellan, who will be running the 4x8 for The Woodlands at Texas Relays, ran 2:14.51. Jeffrey Moore took the lead once again in the boys 800 with a time of 1:51.97. Brandon Fielder won the AISD Invitational 800 and I was able to interview him after his race.

In the 1600, Devin Clark ran a new leading time of 4:54. Teammates Paige Hofstad and Morgan Szekely continue running well with times of 4:56.22 and 4:56.30. Marissa Flournoy won the AISD Invitational 3200, and I interviewed her after her race. Austen Dalquist is having an amazing season; he ran 4:11.97, a new leading time in the boys 1600. He also ran 9 flat in the 3200, but right on his toes is Carter Blunt with a 9:03.

And now for the girls top performance of the week….Lancaster’s 4x4 relay team wins for running 3:48 and setting a huge lead between the other teams. In the boys, Austen Dalquist wins once again for his amazing performances in the 1600 and 3200.

That’s it for today, be sure to tune in next week for some coverage from Texas Relays and interviews with the top runners in the state. I’m especially excited for the girls 3200; Madie Boreman, Annie Dunlap, Paige Hofstad, Devin Clark, Kellee McCann and Julia Heymach are all racing. This should be an amazing race-who do you think will come out on top? I’m betting times will be low 10:20s if not under.

So be sure to tune in next week and thank you for watching Stride by Stride!

Track Recap 3/1-3/15

Hi this is Oceane, here to give you a recap of the past 3 weeks of track. Unfortunately I was unable to recap each week individually because I was busy with the SAT and out of town, so I’ve merged them all into one. Now that spring break has come to an end, the season is already about halfway over and times are getting faster and faster.

Starting with the 100, Talajah Murrell continues to hold the leading time of 11.64, though there are now 11 girls under 12 seconds. For the boys, Malik Wilson now has the fastest time of 10.41, and there are 12 boys earning the gold standard by running under 10.61.

Murrell’s 24.14 in the 200 is still the fastest time of the season, and Leon Powell took the leading spot for the boys with a time of 21.09.

For the girl’s 400, we had 2 girls meet the gold standard-Danyel White ran 55.16 and Aaliyah Miller ran 55.58. For the boys, Davente Lacy still has the fastest 400 time of 48.17 and Branden Sanders is second with 48.26. Sanders is from Converse Judson, a team currently dominating short distance events.

Moving onto the hurdles, Kiana Hawn now has the fastest 100m hurdles time of 13.64, followed by Alexis Duncan. In the 300m hurdles, Brooke Merrick has a big lead running 41.38, over one second faster than 2^nd place.

In the boys 110m hurdles, Jalen Hunter still has the leading time of 13.81, and in the 300m hurdles, only one by has gone under 38 seconds to meet the gold standard; Anthony Robinson, with a time of 37.97.

Raevyn Rogers ran a 2:11 800-and if you think that’s fast, listen to this: Rogers ran 2:03 at the World Youth Championships last year, placing 3^rd. We also got to see The Woodland’s Madi McLellan run the 800 in a time of 2:15.

Robert Ford leads the boys 800 with a time of 1:52.80, and ran a time of 1:52.04 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Moving onto the longer distances, Julia Heymach still leads the girls 1600 with a time of 4:56.52, but only by a fraction. Right on her toes is Morgan Szekely, who beat out her teammate Paige Hofstad, also the 5A XC state champion. Hofstad still ran a very fast time of 4:57.28.

Zach Kirkland currently leads the boys 1600 with a time of 4:16.34, the only boy to meet the gold standard.

And finally, in the 3200, Madi McLellan still has the fastest time of 10:27, and following her is Madeleine Reed with a time of 10:35. She came out of nowhere-last year, her fastest mile time was 5:17, just about her mile split of her 3200. I was able to interview Gema Sanchez, the winner of the Lockhart Lions Invitational 1600 and 3200.

Austen Dalquist has a huge lead in the boys 3200 with an amazing time of 9:09, 10 seconds ahead of the 4A XC champion Carter Blunt.

Other notable runs-Julia Heymach and Evelyn Chavez placed 1^st and 2^nd in the 2 mile at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, running times of 10:39.4 and 10:39.7.

That was an eventful 3 weeks, I’m excited to see how Texas Relays plays out! The girl’s performance of the weeks goes to Raevyn Rogers for her 2:11 800, and the boys performance goes to Austen Dalquist for his 9:09 3200. That’s it for this week, thank you for watching Stride by Stride and be sure to tune in next week for some interviews from the South Austin Invitational.