Track at its best: Smith leans in for win

Matt Unrau

Mineral Independent

The mile relay is arguably the most exciting event during a track meet. After two long days the very last event draws the most cheers from the crowd and the most passion from its competitors.

There are several reasons why the long relay is track at its best. First off, every school has a chance and therefore every spectator has a stake in the outcome. Not like other events where the top six can be loaded with one school, the relay’s final six will all be sporting different color uniforms.

It’s also a team event. And, as all the runners start from the same point on the track it brings 40 athletes per heat to one point. This focuses all the intensity that had been scattered throughout the track and field for the previous five hours.

It also takes the whole team to run a great race in order to win. Although, a team can be running behind any one leg has a chance to come back to score the victory. And, after the race when you see each member of the four-person relay gasping for breath as they all killed themselves on the track for each other is pretty special to watch.

The last reason is that it usually stays close. Unlike the regular mile where a competitor can outdistance himself from the pack each runner only sprints for a lap until fresh legs take over.

All of these reasons can explain why during the mile relay at the Divisional track meet in Missoula cheers erupted from the crowd as they watched a heroic comeback in the mile relay by the Superior boys team as they edged Ennis and West Yellowstone to capture first place.

The last two seconds of the race was the only time that Superior had the lead. They were running in second most of the race and were in that position when Bajin Smith got the baton with one lap to go. And, on the corner with less than 200 meters to go a runner from Ennis passed Smith to move Superior into third place.

However, Smith had ran the race leaving something in the tank. “When I got passed, I thought if I come around him (the runner from Ennis) and followed him I knew I had a chance,” said Smith. “I usually run to have a kick at the end. It paid off this time.”

All of this was enough for Superior’s victory as Smith leaned across the finish line first beating West Yellowstone by .32 seconds.

It was the second win in as many days for a Superior relay team. On Friday the girls 400 M relay team won their race at a blistering 52.9. The team consisted of three freshman and one junior, Shelby Cooper.

The time the girls set on Friday is only a few seconds off of the school record that Cooper helped set when she was a freshman.

In that year the team consisted of three Freshmen and one junior the exact same as this year. “History may be repeating itself,” says Coach Tori Lucier referencing the possibility of the team setting a new record.

The girls started off the race running in the 10th lane, signifying that they were expected to finish last. This gave them more motivation to outrun the field. “I told them (our team) to just run our race and push it as hard as we could,” says Cooper.

Other Bobcats who took home first place were Tyler Stenberg in the triple jump, Smith in the 800 and Brian Labbe in the shot put.

The boys team finished with 64 points to place third at the meet, while the girls amassed 42 points to come in fourth. The state meet is in Kalispell on Friday and Saturday.