Gatin Bair, Aniyah Bigam Fastest In The 100 At Texas Relays

By David Woods for DyeStat

Jamison Michael photo

AUSTIN, Texas – Gainesville is 1,000 miles closer to Bradenton, Fla., than Austin. So why would IMG Academy’s team take a flight to the Texas Relays instead of driving to the Florida Relays?

“Competition, honestly,” said IMG sprinter Davonte Howell.

Veni, vedi, vici.

They came. They saw. They conquered.

The IMG foursome – Avian Edwards-Pla, Deland, Fla.; Howell, Cayman Islands; Dylan Woodruffe, Trinidad and Tobago; Jerrae Hawkins, Wheeling, W.Va. – turned in a US#1 time of 40.11 in winning the 4x100-meter relay Saturday at the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

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After a 40.69 morning prelim, they needed to run that fast. There were 23 teams under 42 seconds in prelims, and 41.43 was required to make the cut to nine finalists.

Duncanville TX was second in 40.61 and Fort Bend Ridge Point TX third in 40.65. At the Florida Relays, Miami Northwestern won in 40.79.

“We saw the times Texas was putting on, and we said, ‘Since they putting on the 40.2s and 40.5s, we need to be here so we could go against that,” Howell said.

Collectively, the boys said they are aiming toward 39.8, challenging the long-standing national prep record of 39.76 by Wyatt of Fort Worth TX from 1998. Duncanville clocked 39.98 last year. IMG climbed to 16th on the all-time list.

Show of speed continued in the 100 meters and sprint hurdles, and from Cedar Lake TX girls in the relays.

Gatlin Bair traveled from Burley, Idaho, to win the 100 in 10.25, an emphatic follow-up to his 10.18w in Friday’s prelims. His wind-legal time (+2.0) has been bettered this year only by Issam Asinga of Montverde FL and Christian Miller of Creekside FL, both at the Florida Relays.

At Texas, Howell was second in 10.29 and Nyckoles Harbor II of Archbishop Carroll DC third in 10.31. Bair, a junior receiver, and South Carolina signee Harbor are two of the nation’s top football prospects.

Bair conceded he had “to fight” to get into the race after a poor start, and he was mindful of Harbor behind him.

“He’s got great top-end speed. I’ve seen video of him chasing kids down,” Bair said. “So I was a little worried. I saw him out of the corner of my eye at the finish. I was able to hold him off.”

Aniyah Bigam of Carrollton Smith TX won the girls 100 in a US#3 of 11.35 (+1.4).

In the boys 110 hurdles, Alex Chukwukelu of North Forney TX climbed to No. 8 on all-time prep list with a US#1 of 13.32 (+2.0). That followed his 13.16w from prelims.

Donovan Bradley of Summer Creek TX was second in 13.53 and Mason Dossett of Fort Bend Ridge Point TX third in 13.66.

“I’m going to be honest. After my warm-up, coming up to the seeding tent, I kind of lost it a bit,” Chukwukelu said. “I was getting a little too much in my head.”

He is a senior, but this is his first Texas Relays. He has never qualified for a state meet.

Chukwukelu said he felt Bradley and Dossett “breathing down my neck” but resolved to trust God and “not to lean on my own understanding.”

In the girls 100 hurdles, juniors Rylee Hampton of Houston Cypress Ridge TX and Makeriah Harris of Scottlandville LA ran to a virtual tie in a US#1 of 13.18 (+1.7). Auto-timing showed Hampton in first by .004. For Harris, it was an all-time Louisiana best. The pair move into a tie for No. 14 all-time.

Shadow Creek swept the girls 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays in 45.67, 1:35.64 and 3:41.08. The 4x200 time is a US#2 behind the 1:35.16 by Bullis MD at the Florida Relays.

Quarterback is a triple threat

Elsewhere:

>> Football quarterback Karson Gordon, a junior from Episcopal TX, triple jumped 51-5.75/15.69m for a US#1. That is two feet farther than his best from last year. He said it was all a matter of mastering his run-up. “Once I got that down,” he said, “I knew I was going to pop something off crazy today.”

>> Girls triple jump also produced a US#1, a 42-3.25/12.88m by India Alix of Klein TX. She was New Balance nationals indoor runner-up.

>> San Juanita Leal of Edinburgh North TX won the girls 3,200 in 10:16.12, featuring a second 1,600 of 4:55.77 – or nearly as fast as her 1,600 PB of 4:50.55. Nicole Humphries of Flower Mound TX was second in 10:18.82, running the second 1,600 in 4:58.53. Humphries came back to run a leg on Flower Mound’s 4x800 relay that clocked 8:55.80 for US#2.

>> Carlie Weiser of Giddings TX won the girls shot at 51-3.25, or about two feet off her US#1.

>> Mansfield Lake Ridge TX won a close boys 4x400 relay in 3:14.72. Long Beach Wilson CA was second in 3:15.01 and Allen TX third in 3:15.18.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.