Photo by Brandon Miles
It is almost a universally accepted fact within the track and field world that the 4x400 is the most exciting event at a track meet. The 4x400 usually rounds out the meet, requires athletes to give it their all - sometimes in their third or fourth event of the day - and can even decide the team score competition.
That said, in terms of pure adrenaline rush, the 4x100 certainly gives it a run for its money. Less than a minute long, four athletes at maximum speed; a single slight misstep on one of the three exchanges can easily be the difference between a win and a second- or even third-place finish.
Few races will illustrate the pure excitement and thrill of the 4x100 relay than the girls race at the 2019 SMAC Championships. Without looking at the results, could you tell who came out on top of this battle between Lackey, North Point and Westlake?
At 48.88, it was the North Point girls who won their second relay event of the meet, edging out Lackey (48.90) and Westlake (48.94). Northern wasn't far behind either at 49.27. The performances by both North Point and Lackey were the teams' best of the year, while Westlake clocked the conference's best time of the year (48.36) at the 2A South regional meet.
The North Point girls went on to finish third place in the event at the 4A state meet; the Northern girls were the 3A state runners-up, clocking the second-fastest mark by any SMAC team at the state meet (49.17). The best performance? The Westlake girls, who captured the 2A state title by beating out Harford Tech by three hundredths of a second - an equally thrilling race you can watch here.
