AUSTIN Ƶ RefugioƵs Carlie McClain experienced a number of emotions as she crossed the finish line in the 800-meter relay. The Lady Cats had not only won the race, but set a Class 2A state and school record in a time of 1-minute, 41.28-seconds.

ƵI was really excited,Ƶ McClain said. ƵI didnƵt know whether to cry or jump up. I was looking for my team right after because it wasnƵt just me. We all held our legs down. IƵm super proud of our team. We did come in seeded first, but we expect the unexpected some times. I think we all ran really well today.Ƶ

McClain also won a gold medal in the 200 (25.04) and a silver medal in the 100 (11.90) to go along with the relay gold captured by her, Jazmyn Howard, Caytlin Brown and JaƵzae-lynne Lewis.

But the seven medals and 70 points scored by Refugio werenƵt enough to bring home a third straight team championship Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Panhandle, which had shared the title with the Lady Cats the past two years, won the team championship with 72 points.

ƵJust a couple more inches here and a little bit of time there,Ƶ Refugio head coach Katie Green said. ƵThatƵs how it usually goes with state championships. IƵm super happy for Panhandle, theyƵre a really good team. We kind of knew it would be one of us.Ƶ

The team title came down to the final event, the 1,600 relay. Panhandle won the event as expected, picking up 20 points.

Refugio needed to finish fifth to win the meet or sixth to tie for the title, but came in seventh by a margin of .20 seconds.

ƵI think we hoped for a little bit more out of the mile relay,Ƶ Green said. ƵBut that mile relay is really new for us. We had kind of a baby mile relay. They outdid themselves. They PRed by four seconds (4:07.19). TheyƵve done tremendous things and IƵm really proud of them.Ƶ

McClain, a junior, had a breakout performance in her third trip to the state meet.

ƵThis is my third year here, but I come back in more events each year and improve each year,Ƶ she said. ƵThis year was unreal. IƵve never been a 100 girl. IƵve been 200. This year was all about me coming back from my performance at state last year.Ƶ

Howard added a bronze medal in the 100 (12.02) for Refugio, which finished in a three-way tie for the team title with 32 points in 2023, and a two-way tie for the championship with 64 points last season.

ƵIƵm proud of them,Ƶ Green said. ƵTo score 70 points at the state meet against another really, really good team and only lose by two, we came home with a lot of medals. I think you feel like you accomplished a lot.Ƶ

Catching a medal

Austen Pena caught the winning two-point conversion pass in the third overtime of GanadoƵs Class 2A, Division I football state championship game win over Muenster.

Pena added another medal to his collection, after finishing third in the Class 2A 400-meter dash in a time of 49.53 seconds.

ƵThat was my best time,Ƶ Pena said. ƵI knew I could do way better. I just tried my hardest and I got it.Ƶ

Pena secured the bronze medal with a strong finish.

ƵI saw that I was sitting in fourth,Ƶ Pena said. ƵI wanted to get in the top three, so I came on in the end.Ƶ

Keeping track

The Falls City girls claimed bronze medals in the 400- and 800-meter relays.

The team of Claire Leskowski, Kenley Wiatrek, Kailer Crawford and Keandra Johnson had a time of 48.14 in the 400 relay, and a time of 1:42.89 in the 800 relay.

Isaiah Whitfield became the first athlete from Waelder to qualify for the state meet in eight years. Whitfield made the trip pay off by capturing a bronze medal in the Class 1A high jump by clearing 6-2.