The Tioga Bulldogs finished their run to Austin and made program history, winning the 2A UIL State Track & Field Championship on Saturday.
The Bulldogs reached another gear, coming from behind to beat the Hawley Bearcats and bring home Tioga’s first championship in the sport and second in the school’s history.
“It’s one of the most special things I’ve gotten to be a part of in my 16 years [of coaching],” Tioga head track coach Beau Burruss said. “This is something that this community, these kids and coaches are going to get to carry with them for a lifetime. … Every event we were in scored points toward the team title, and everybody ran out of their minds. It was a fantastic performance.”
The Bulldogs felt like they had a shot to take the crown as a team but unexpectedly found themselves behind after the first day of competition when Hawley’s Camden Ables finished second in the discus with a throw of 159-feet-3-inches, giving the Bearcats an eight-point lead.
“All of a sudden, Hawley had more points than what we thought they were capable of before we even hit the track,” Burruss said. “Now we're trying to redo all the math, and our margin of error became very slim, and we knew we were going to have to run at an elite level.”
The Bulldogs 4x100-meter relay team of junior Greeley McAden, sophomore Jake David, freshman Quesyn Arrington and senior Austin Norwood put Tioga’s first points on the board, winning silver with a time of 41.94 seconds.
The Bulldogs finished less than half a second behind the Reagan County Owls, who set the new 2A state record in the event with a time of 41.64 seconds.
“We ran the third fastest time ever in Austin for a 2A 4x100, so we couldn't hang our heads,” Burruss said. “It was the first time I’ve gotten anyone on the podium, and I’ve been to state plenty of times. … It was special, but we knew at that point we were on pace, and we could do this.”
Senior sprinter Sam Mott was next up and moved his team even further up the leaderboard by winning gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.696 seconds, finishing first by four thousandths of a second.
Mott, who compete at the state meet last season, said having his teammates made his return to Austin much more enjoyable the second time around.
“Going to state the first time was probably the scariest thing I've done in my life,” he said. '… My teammates made things a lot less intimidating and a lot more fun, so for me and everyone else to walk away with a gold medal made things a lot better this year.”
The Bulldogs’ 4x200-meter relay team of sophomore Justin Arrington, Norwood, Quesyn and McAden rode the wave Mott created with his gold medal finish into securing a gold medal of their own, setting a new 2A state record in the event with a time of 1:27.63.
“It was such a surreal moment,” McAden, who was the anchor leg of the race, said. “I didn't see this at the beginning of the season, but as things started falling into place, it started to add up. We got there, did our thing and broke the record. It was amazing.”
Norwood also competed individually, finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.82 seconds and putting his team into the lead by four points.
“He came out and ran a fantastic race out of lane nine,” Burruss said. “Lane nine is a hard draw in the 200 because you never see anybody, and if you do see them, it’s too late, but he came out and ran an outstanding race and did for the team exactly what they needed.”
The title came down to the 4x400-meter relay, which was the final event, and the Bulldogs stepped up yet again when the quartet of Quesyn, David, McAden and Justin won gold with a time of 3:18.57.
The Bulldogs were in second place behind Hawley going into the home stretch, but Justin found another gear, pulling past the Bearcats’ runner at the finish line.
Justin, who served as the anchor, said the Bulldogs refused to lose to the Bearcats again after finishing second to them in the same event at the regional meet.
“The same kid beat me at regionals by 0.2 seconds, so I knew I had to go get my lick back on him,” he said. “I had to win it for my team. I couldn't let them down again, so this time I went out there and took it all.”
“For the brand” has been the Bulldogs motto for the past two years, and Norwood said the championship was the culmination of everything Tioga’s new coaching regime has been instilling in the program since they arrived.
“We helped put Tioga on the map and showed everyone what ‘The Brand’ is all about and what we’re here to do,” he said. “… Now that we've set the stage, with this many kids going to state in track this year, I feel like it’s’ going to become the standard for years to come.”
Burruss emphasized none of this would’ve been possible without the trust of the Tioga parents and support from the school’s administration, coaching staff and community.
“I've coached in a lot of places and been a lot of things, and these administrators and our community are special,” he said. “… Our cheering session section at state was as loud as anyone’s, and they were there when we got back. We appreciate the town and the way they back these boys.”
Kyndall Whitley, who qualified for state, was unable to compete because of an injury.
