AUSTIN – Hirschi’s track athletes left Mike A. Myers Stadium empty-handed Saturday.
On the surface, that might seem disappointing coming off a regional title and looking to make a statement Saturday afternoon at the 4A UIL State Meet.
But that was far from the case as season-best times were posted in three of the school’s four events.
Gerrick McKinney came closest to a trip to the medal stand, placing fourth in the 200, a personal-best 21.46 occurring after he’d ran two anchor legs in the sweltering heat. It was a gutsy performance from one of those kids whose work ethic can never be questioned.
“I take pride in my senior year. We did some pretty amazing things, me as an individual and also Hirschi athletics in general,” McKinney said. “I don’t have any regrets about my senior year. I enjoyed it.”
The Midwestern State football signee left it all out on the track, coming up .13 of a second shy of Kilgore’s Jonathan Shepherd for bronze. Silsbee’s Kalon Barnes – who was the only sprinter to beat Roman Turner last year – won with a sizzling 20.55.
That marked the end of Hirschi’s state performance. The beginning also had drama as the Huskies rolled the dice in the 4x100 with Nate Downing, who’d injured his hamstring at regionals and gave a thumbs up to his coaches right before Saturday’s race signaling he was good to run.
Downing, Javen Banks, Daimarqua Foster and McKinney posted a time of 41.97 seconds that came in sixth. Dallas Carter was the champion with a 41.31.
“This group has been with me for three years and I’m proud of them for sticking with it,” Hirschi coach Shane Adair said. “Track is tough, it’s not an easy sport. So for those kids to buy in and stick with the program, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Next up was Breonna Campbell, Hirschi’s freshman girl who came in against a stacked 100 field. All she did was run her fastest time of the year, a 12.08 that placed her in fifth. Not much more could be done when Carter’s Sha’Carri Richardson posted an 11.12 that would have been the national record if it hadn’t been wind-aided.
The Huskies’ best chance to end a 50-year state medal drought in the relays was always going to be in the 4x200. Expectations were high for that race after Hirschi set a WFISD record in the regional prelims.
Downing was ruled out after meeting with Hirschi trainer Steven Offield. David Brown had stepped in during the regional finals, but he didn’t join the team in Austin this week, meaning the Huskies were down to their second alternate.
In stepped Xavier Wilson, who started off the relay that posted a seventh-place time of 1:28.92. Not too shabby, but also not fast enough to land on the podium as Dallas Carter won with a 1:26.21. It had to sting knowing the Huskies’ two relay times in Lubbock would have medaled.
“With Nate going down, we knew we were going to have to put someone in who hadn’t ran it,” said Adair, who declined comment when asked about Brown’s absence. “Proud of Wilson for stepping in there and giving it the best he had. We all believed in Wilson that we could get it done, we just didn’t get it done today, but hats off to them for getting out there and fighting.”
It wasn’t a lack of effort that kept Hirschi off the medal stand. Adair liked what he saw from the Huskies in the two weeks leading up to state.
McKinney was gunning for Dominique Bobo’s school record in the 200, coming up .07 shy of tying it. You couldn’t help but wonder how would a rested McKinney have fared in his final high school competition.
But McKinney wasn’t having any of that. He left proud of what Huskies had accomplished, even if it didn’t translate to some hardware.
“It happens. It’s life. You have to face adversity or run from it – we faced it,” said McKinney, wise beyond his years. “We did what we could do.”