Every spring, the Mike A. Myers Track Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin is the host site of The Texas Relays, one of the nation’s premier track and field events.

Elite high school, college, and professional athletes from across the country compete over the span of four days in front of thousands of fans at a world-class facility. The event serves as a rare opportunity for high school kids to compete on the same track, on the same day, with top college and professional athletes (including numerous Olympic medal winners). The area at the complex reserved for the athletes to rest and warmup between races is the same for all levels of competitors, allowing high school kids to get up close and personal with athletes they typically only see on television or on social media.

Nineteen Stratford students had the opportunity to compete in this year’s event over the weekend.

GIRLS

Stratford girls that competed in individual events (after meeting qualifying standards) were Sarah Akpan in the 100m, Paris Strange in the 100m, and Sophia Akpan in the 300m hurdles.

The Spartans also qualified for and competed in the 4 x 100m relay, the 4 x 400m relay, and the Distance Medley Relay.

Sarah Akpan was the star of the show on the girls’ side. After making the final with the fastest qualifying time in the preliminary round, the Virginia commit was the silver medalist in the girls 100m with a blistering time of 11.44 and another new school record. Her time currently ranks as #2 in Texas and #3 in the USA. Sarah was also the anchor on the 4 x 100m relay and the 4 x 400 relay, but she withdrew from the Long Jump competition.

Sophia Akpan, also a Virginia commit, had a very impressive showing in the 300m hurdles. She ran a time of 43.06, a new school record and strong enough for fifth place overall in an elite field of hurdlers.

The girls 4 x 400 team of Sophia Akpan (senior), Niamh Collins (sophomore), Mikayla Osborne (junior) and Sarah Akpan (senior) proved that they are among the state’s best. They set a new school record of 3:49.93 in the preliminary round, the fifth fastest qualifying time among the 63 teams in the competition. They were seventh place in the final with a time of 3:55.58.

Freshman Strange was 60th in the 100m qualifying rounds with a time of 12.95.

The 4 x100 team of Osborne, Sophia Akpan, Strange and Sarah Akpan were 21st in the preliminary round and did not make the final.

The girls Distance Medley Relay team of Allie Weinhardt, Avery Lucksinger, Collins and Maggie Pearce were 15th place in a time of 12:48.94.

BOYS

Emanuel Galdino and Parker Samuelson were the only two Stratford boys that competed in individual events at the Texas Relays this year.

It was already widely known that senior Galdino, an Iowa State commit, is one of the top distance runners in Texas and beyond. But his performance in the 1600m on Friday afternoon put him on another level. His time of 4:08.10 (new school record) was five seconds better than his previous personal best of 4:13, and only two seconds off the Texas Relays meet record of 4:06. His performance ranks as the #2 outdoor time in Texas so far this year, and #5 in the USA. The only downside is that Galdino earned the silver medal in the race, behind Christopher Riley from Austin McCallum who ran 4:05.78 and set the new Texas Relays meet record. On Saturday afternoon, Galdino also anchored the 4 x 800 relay team and posted a jaw dropping split of 1:50.56.

Senior Samuelson, a Tulane commit, is having an outstanding season and once again proved that he is among the state’s best pole vaulters. Parker achieved a new personal best of 15 ‘ 5” and finished in fourth place in the section B high school competition.

The boys 4 x 100 team of Recharde Pride, Blake Daniels, Nate Grant, and Day’vonne Singleton missed making the final after finishing 53rd in the preliminary round with a time of 43.29.

In the boys 4 x 800 relay, the Stratford team of Daylan Rushing, Jackson Potter, David Kalwahali, and Galdino were eighth place with a time of 8:07.10.

The Distance Medley relay team of Galdino, Pride, Rushing, and Potter finished in ninth place with a time of 10:36.16.

The final regular season meet of the season for the varsity will be at Tompkins High School on April 1st, starting at 2 pm.