AUSTIN — All year, Duncanville has been pointing toward a legendary national record, the magical time of 39.76 seconds that was run in the boys 4×100-meter relay by Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt all the way back in 1998 at the UIL state track meet.
That record has been tested over the years, and with a packed house watching on a hot night at Mike A. Myers Stadium, it was in danger of finally being broken Saturday.
“If we were going to break a record, this was going to be the team and the year that we did it,” Duncanville junior Jaylen Washington said.
O.D. Wyatt’s record survived a serious scare from Duncanville, but Duncanville did join some exclusive company. The team of Caden Durham, SMU football signee Pierre Goree, Houston track signee Donte’ Hamilton and Washington won the Class 6A state title in 39.98, becoming just the sixth school in United States history to run under 40 seconds.
“I feel really good about it,” Goree said. “We’ve been talking about [breaking 40] since Day 1 … really since my freshman year. We’ve always had the ability to do it, but this year we actually did it.”
Duncanville joined O.D. Wyatt, Port Arthur Memorial (39.80 in 2017), Katy Seven Lakes (39.80 in 2018), Houston Forest Brook (39.95 in 2001) and The Woodlands (39.98 in 2018) as the only schools to ever break 40 seconds. Texas is the only state that has ever had a 4×100 team accomplish that feat.
Duncanville’s time is actually tied for eighth-fastest in U.S. history, because O.D. Wyatt ran four of the top six times in national history in 1998 — 39.76, 39.80, 39.82 and 39.92, according to Track & Field News. Duncanville’s time is the fastest in the nation this season, surpassing the 40.05 run by Buford (Ga.) and also breaking Duncanville’s school record of 40.08 that it ran at regionals.
And Duncanville thought it could have run faster.
“We felt we could have had better handoffs,” Durham said. “But we’re still amazed.”
Goree didn’t get a national record, but he did become the fastest individual in the state of Texas.
Goree won the state title in the 100 meters, running 10.22, which is the second-fastest wind-legal time in the country this year. He ran a nation-leading 10.08 in the preliminaries at regionals, but that was wind-aided, so it didn’t break the state record of 10.11 that was run in 2019 by Houston Strake Jesuit’s Matthew Boling.
“It feels great,” Goree said. “I was training hard, because I was like, this will never happen again.”
Duncanville’s team of Sam Houston State football signee Chris Hicks Jr., Goree, Durham and Washington became the 11th school in U.S. history to break 1:24 in the 4×200 relay, but had to settle for a state silver medal. That’s because Klein Forest won the state title in 1:23.37, the third-fastest time in national history and just off of The Woodlands’ national record of 1:23.25 in 2018.
How was Goree feeling after having to run those three races in a span of five events?
“I had to help myself up every race,” he said. “I was tired and tight after the 100, but I just had to finish my last race (the 4×200). I just pushed through and gave it all I got.”
Duncanville was leading the team standings by two points heading into the final event, the 4×400 relay, but Humble Summer Creek won that race in 3:10.36 to win the team title. Lake Ridge rallied to finish second in the 4×400 in 3:12.71, and Duncanville was fourth 3:13.49.
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