Will Relay History Really Happen at 6A States This Year?


It has been 29 years and not once has a program swept the relays at states. That is 0 occurrences in 522 tries.  Only once has a team swept the relays at states since the introduction of the 4x800m relay back in 1989 and that was in 2015. In that year Western Branch's girls team swept the relays indoors thanks in part to the versatile Faith Ross and Amanda Thomas. 

This year though some serious history is on the line with Western Branch favored in five of the six relays for the 6A State Championships. The only one they are not favored in is the girls 4x800 where they are seeded at third. 

Their girls' team has been a well-known powerhouse recently and tallied up every 6A track team title since the reclassification back in 2014. They will likely win the team title again this season and the boys will be favored as well this weekend but both teams will be focused on history as well. 

One thing is for sure, Western Branch coach Claude Toukene enjoys making history just as much as winning team titles. He will certainly load the relays at states to attempt this feat. 

In the 4x200 both teams are currently US #1 having run 1:37 and 1:27 respectively. In the 4x400 Branch sits at US #4 (3:49) and US #6 (3:20) but likely will go faster come indoor nationals and in the 4x800 they rank 6A #1 for the boys by six seconds and #3 for the girls. 

Branch has some talented runners and undoubtable depth but achieving this level of history might even be unattainable for them. After all, in 522 tries not a single program has won all six titles in a season at any level in our state. That being said, if any program is going to do it, Western Branch may be the closest thing to a favorite to achieve this in our state's history.