By: Brandon Green

McAlester track and field was chasing gold at the OSSAA Class 5A State Track and Field
Championships in Ardmore, and for the boys 4×200 relay, the Buffalo stampede tracked it down.

McAlester’s fantastic four consisted of Grant Owens, Erik McCarty, Caleb Taylor and Gavin Johnson. Head Coach Brady May said that the team looked at the day as an opportunity to not only bring home a championship, but do something no McAlester boys 4×200 team had done in its history.

“Each week we would add our season bests to the board and they said they wanted to replace a school record.” May said. “People can see the times they are running, but the unseen work to get to that point is what I love.”

After all of the early mornings, the weight training and the days of running in every kind of weather, it was time for one last race where it mattered most. Naturally, those pre-race jitters started kicking in.

“I’m not sure if Coach (Michelle) Williams and I were more nervous than the kids or not,” said May. “As nerve-wrecking as every event was, these kids and our coaches had complete trust and confidence in each other.”

“Winning a state championship has been our goal since we started running track,” added Owens. “But once we crossed the finish line, I knew we completed our goal.”

Johnson crossed the finish line with his team clocking in at 1:28.77. That was a gold-medal time and the school record.

“It feels crazy that our names go in the record books,“ said McCarty. “It hasn’t set completely in yet.”

“When Gavin crossed the finish line, it was the greatest feeling ever knowing we just earned some rings on our fingers,” said Taylor. “I’m proud to have an amazing team and proud to be a Buffalo.”

“It’s definitely quite the sensation to know that we made our mark on the program and left it better than we found it,” said Johnson. “I hope the younger kids are inspired by us and take it as a challenge to do better and write their own time on the board.”

McAlester finished third overall at the state meet while medaling in seven of the eight events they participated in, including taking silver in the boys 4×100 and the 100-meter dash for Johnson. Coach May said such a high finish is an indication to his team’s confidence and hard work.

“I think one of the best compliments we received is the other coaches telling us our kids walk around with a competitive edge that you can just feel and you know you better run a perfect race to beat us,” said May. “That’s a testament to every kid on the team.”