Wind gushes past their ears as sprinters race past each other, their legs gliding on the track as they rush to the finish line.
Friday and Saturday were tense for Coppell track and field as they competed against the top teams in Texas at the UIL Class 6A state meet at the University of Texas at Austin.
The Cowboys sent senior Aidan McFarlane, who placed third in the 110-meter hurdles, junior Matthew Maldima, who placed sixth in the 100-meter dash and also placed ninth in the 4×100 relay with senior Ayrion Sneed, senior Rodney Ates and junior Harry Hassman.
The Cowgirls sent sophomore Sophia Williams, junior Angelina Raicu, senior Sedem Buatsi and senior Emma Williams, finishing No. 6 in the 4×200 relay with a 1:36.16 time that broke the school record.
The Cowboys faced several setbacks which limited their performance. Maldima was injured during his 200-meter dash and unable to finish, while Sneed re-injured himself during the 4×100 relay, setting Coppell back.
Although the Cowboys side left more to be desired, the team kept its focus.
“The tone at practice Saturday morning was very businesslike, we had a job to do down here and we were there to go do that job, and I felt like they were very zoned in,” coach Eric Hill said.
The girls side saw the full result of its efforts as they broke the school record for the 4×200 for the fifth time this season, pushing harder than ever before.
McFarlane felt that the effort he put into this season paid off completely as he found himself on the podium.
“I believe that all of my efforts came into fruition there and it was just a great culmination of hard work and dedication that just was able to show itself on a big stage,” McFarlane said.
McFarlane also hopes that his experience at state will help him start off on the right foot as he races at Stanford.
“There were many people that are committed to division one schools, so it’s already like a little sneak peek in the racing against that level of competition,” McFarlane said.
With others that still have seasons left like Maldima, Coppell hopes that it can come back stronger from its setbacks next season.
“I think he will be back at state next year and I think he’s gonna put in the work, doing what’s necessary to get himself back there,” Hill said, “I don’t have any doubts about that.”
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