Paradise 4×200 anchor Luke Brown races toward the finish line at the 3A Region II championships April 18-19 at Whitehouse High School’s Wildcat Stadium. The Panthers won the regional title in 1:28.08 and claimed a berth to the 3A state meet. MIKE HALL | FOR THE MESSENGER
Running amidst a crowded field of teams at the 3A Region II championships, the Paradise Panthers grabbed a state berth and a new school record.
Paradise’s Jacob Chism, Chase Harmon, Layne Smith and Luke Brown secured a trip to the 3A state meet by clocking 1:28.08 to clinch the regional gold medal April 19 at Whitehouse High School’s Wildcat Stadium, claiming the Panthers’ first state relay berth in 25 years (4×100, 2000).
“For years, we’ve been working hard, and we’ve had a lot of good relay teams,” Paradise coach Tommy Koch said. “The competition in our region is so good, and that makes this an even more impressive accomplishment… There’s a level of balance between all four legs this year. Some schools have one or two great athletes that try to carry a relay team, but all four of our guys are really good — there are no weak links.”
The Panthers set their new program record during prelims April 18, turning in a time of 1:28 to claim the top spot and build momentum headed into finals the following day.
“It felt pretty good to get the school record because it’s been our goal this year,” Chism said. “We started to realize that we were getting closer to it around the time of the district meet, so we set it in our minds that we wanted to go beat it. When we broke it, we all huddled up as a team and celebrated together. Winning the race also made it feel pretty special.”
In finals, the Panthers edged out runner-up and state qualifier Troup (1:28.16) by less than a tenth of a second. Texarkana Liberty-Eylau also ran sub-1:29, taking the bronze in 1:28.90.
Chism opened the race by running 22.10 in the first leg of the final race.
Harmon grabbed the baton from Chism, and clocked 21.70 before handing off to Smith.
“There didn’t really feel like there would be that much competition for us after prelims,” Harmon said. “I felt that how we did in prelims essentially made it a lock for us to win finals. We had really good handoffs all around. Before the race, we prayed together, and ended up running good on all four legs.”
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Smith turned in a time of 22.20 on the third leg. At the state meet, Smith will be replaced by alternate Elijah Jennings.
Luke Brown ran a blistering 22.10, beating Troup’s DaCarryon Hollie in a footrace to the finish line to secure the top prize.
“Looking at how we ran at regionals, I feel like we’ve got a really good shot to perform well at state,” Brown said. “There was a lot of wind in Whitehouse, but I think there should be better conditions when we get down to Austin — everyone usually tries to set new PRs at the state meet. I even think we’ve got a shot of breaking the school record again before we’re done this season.”
The Panthers will step onto the track for the 3A boys 4×200 6:40 p.m. Thursday at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Koch said the team will be focused on bettering itself leading up to the state meet.
“I tell them every week that in track, it’s actually a disadvantage to focus on your competition,” Koch said. “There’s good teams and good competition, but it’s not wise to focus on someone in a different lane because that has nothing to do with your abilities — you’ve got to run in your lane. They’ll be eighth other great schools there, but these guys have earned that opportunity, as well. My goal is for them to run with confidence, and ultimately, do their best.”
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