Paradise 4×200 relay runner Jacob Chism races down the track at the 3A state championships Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. Along with Chism, Chase Harmon, Elijah Jennings and Luke Brown clocked 1:28.68 to finish seventh. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Earning the program’s first relay state berth in 25 years, the Paradise Panthers battled against a fast field of teams in the 3A 4×200 Thursday at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Paradise’s Jacob Chism, Chase Harmon, Elijah Jennings and Luke Brown teamed up to run 1:28.68 for a seventh-place finish.
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“I’m just really proud of this group for making it to Austin,” Paradise coach Tommy Koch said. “It’s hard to get an individual berth, but I think it’s even more challenging have an entire relay team qualify. This group is really competitive — if they don’t win the race, they’re typically not happy. Most of them weren’t happy afterwards because they always want to do their best.”
Wall’s Evan Boehle, Ruben Marin, Hagynn Barbee and Briggs Jones claimed the state title in 1:26.84 — outrunning Hitchcock’s Jamarion Cooper, Taurian Fontentte, Jared Dotson and Brian Harris (1:27.03) by about two tenths of a second. Little River Academy’s Jayvion White, Isaac Davenport, Josh Mann and Tyler Hoffman garnered bronze in 1:27.14.
“The competition is always very impressive — it feels like each year, these athletes kind of take it up a notch,” Koch said. “You know you have to do your best. Our guys broke the school record (1:28) during prelims at regionals, but we knew we had to run even better than that. This experience provided an opportunity for our kids to realize this is another elvel of greatness. Hopefully, we’ll have more chances to try to reach that level.”
With Chism as the lone senior on the team this year, Koch is optimistic about the Panthers’ chances of returning to state in 2026.
“Three of the four guys are coming back next year, and they’re already talking about wanting to get better and get faster,” Koch said. “They’re hoping for an opportunity to get back, and to finish better than seventh place.”
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