The Guyer High School boys district championships in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays this year were impressive for a couple of reasons.
First, it is the third time in three years that the teams have accomplished this feat.
Second, the Wildcat runners won a district championship in 5A in their first year of competition in that UIL class, and third, based on their times, both teams, and especially the 4×200 squad, have legitimate shots of advancing all the way to the state meet.
Coach Oschlor Flemming said his relay teams have steadily improved throughout the year, and said that was the plan all along.
“We have a group of guys that run together all year long, and I always tell the guys that each week, our mission is to get better,” Flemming said. “At our first meet in February, we set a bar, and I told them that by the time that district hits, I want to be firing on all cylinders, and we were.
“For the most part, all of the hand offs were smooth, they all looked well, and they came out well.”
With the three consecutive district championships in the two events, it appears that Guyer is emerging as a powerhouse in yet another sport, and Flemming is quick to give credit to his runners.
“Our kids just work hard,” Flemming said. “There isn’t much to it. They just bust their butt day in and day out. It’s nothing really I did. I try to motivate them, but in the end, it’s up to the kids to come out there after school gets out, and just wanting to get it done and doing it.”
Flemming, who also serves as the running backs and special teams coach on the football team, said having the opportunity to work with the football players helps him out, as well.
“The biggest thing it does for me is give me a broader range of kids that I can evaluate on a day to day basis,” Flemming said. “Being in football, I kind of get a first hand look at who can really help me on the track team.”
The expectations Flemming has for his teams the rest of the way are pretty much in keeping with the rest of the Guyer coaching staff when it comes to their sports programs.
“We’re in the mix with everybody,” Flemming said. “There is no team that is way out there ahead of everybody. I tell the guys, if we execute and run the way we are capable of running, there is the possibility that we will be running in Austin. It’s just matter of executing our plan.”
The Guyer 4×100 team is comprised of Ashar Butt, Matt Bean, Kamrhan Jones and Sebastian Williams, and the 4×200 team consists of Butt, Bean, Jones and Kristian Dillard.
Dillard, who hopes to run at the University of Arkansas next year, said he is very satisfied with the season his team has had.
“I think that the team did a lot better than anybody thought we would,” Dillard said. “Coming from 4A, we did awesome. We went to state every year and dominated. Going into 5A, with a bunch of new people, a lot of people needed to step up, and they did.”
The Guyer boys team finished second in district this season, five points behind Southlake Carroll.
Jones, who anchors the 4×200 team and is headed to Emporia State in the fall on a football scholarship, said he thinks it is the right attitude the relay teams have that helps them attain the level of success they have enjoyed.
“I think we just have great runners as a whole unit,” Jones said. “We have some hard-working people and we strive for greatness.”
The Guyer boys 4×200 team finished third at region last year, and Flemming said he is feeling pretty good about his squad’s chances again in 2011.
“I feel as confident as I have in the past,” Flemming said. “Our time in district in the 4×200 was a 1:28.5, and there is one team that reported a 1:27, but everybody else in the region has been a mid to low 1:28. I feel like we are right in the mix with everybody. It’s just a matter of who’s going to execute on game day come early May.”
The state meet will be held on May 13 & 14.
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