April 4, 2009
High School Girls Distance Medley Relay Champions
Jasmine Joseph, Long Beach Poly
On capturing their third relay event: It feels good. We expected to win all of the relays when we came here, so we're excited about that. We still have a couple more relays after this one too.
On what it means to return to the Relays after a 12-year absence: It's a great accomplishment for us, because we haven't been here in such a long time, and we came back out here to show people that Poly High School still lives. We wanted to show that we could still compete and be successful.
High Schools Boys Distance Medley Relay Champions
Drew Butler, The Woodlands
On winning their second relay event: It's just awesome. We've been trying really hard and this weekend has been great. We've all really bonded and I think that is what pulled us through today.
On competing at a big event like the Texas Relays: Big races mean big times and big competition, and that's what you look for as an athlete. It's something you definitely want to do well on, and we've come in and won two relays and we feel great about it.
High School Girls Discus Champion
Taylor Rosser, Converse Judson
On her performance today: I was really happy with my performance today. I started off the year really rough, but to come out here and throw like I did last year felt really good. The distance I threw actually set a new personal record, so that is definitely great.
College Men's 400-Meter Hurdles Champion
Bryce Brown, South Plains
On winning at the Texas Relays: It feels pretty good. I'm kind of upset because I ran faster here last year, but it was windy today, so my time was slower. I'm still proud to take the win.
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles Invitational Champion Justin Boyd, G.G. Elite TC On how it feels to win at the Texas Relays: It feels good. It's always a great feeling to win an event, especially here in front of this big crowd. Being from Texas, I had to represent for Texas. It was a bit windy, but it's still a great feeling.
High School Boys Shot Put Champion
Hayden Baillio, Whitesboro
On winning at his event today: It's amazing. I feel great. I'm on cloud nine right now, even though I'm exhausted. It feels good to win here as a senior, and I'm excited for what lies ahead for me.
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles Invitational Champion
Miriam Barnes, Nike
On her performance and capturing the invitational: I felt great. I wasn't feeling too confident coming in, but I got in rhythm as the race started and it turned out great. My time wasn't too good due to the wind, but I'm still happy to come out on top today.
University Men's 400-Meter Hurdles Champion
Jeshua Anderson, Washington State
On the transition to running track and winning today: I feel really good. I'm still trying to get in shape, because I feel as though I'm still in my football shape. I have to keep on training and push myself to secure more victories in the future. I had a few things I wanted to work on, and I feel like I accomplished those goals today.
University Men's 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Justin Oliver, Texas A&M
On how it feels to win at his Texas Relays: This was my first time running in the 4x200 relays here at the Texas Relays. This is probably the biggest meet of my season. Being a senior, this is my last year to run, so it definitely feels great to be able to come out here and take this title. I have a couple more races left today, so it feels good to be able to go into the next race feeling confident.
University/College Women's Pole Vault Champion
Rachel Laurent, LSU
On competing at the Texas Relays as a freshman: It was very exciting. This is my third year competing here, but my first year to compete in the college section. I competed here twice in high school. I really love this meet, because of the great atmosphere and a great runway. I'm really excited to win, but I'm even more excited to be here. It was a great day overall. The wind was a factor, but it was a really good factor. It helped out a lot and it got my confidence and speed up.
High School Girls Triple Jump Champion
Whitney Rose, Pearland
On how it feels to be a Texas Relays champion: It feels amazing. This is my first time here, and I'm just really glad to be able to come out and get the win. I'm a senior, but I've never been here before. I'm really excited to be able to come out on my first try and do my best.
High School Boys Division II 4x200 Relay Champions
Kyle Clemons, Garland Rowlett
On capturing the event against stiff competition: It feels really good. We came out here with the crowd behind our backs and did our thing today. We had smooth handoffs and it worked out for us. All of these teams we ran against are extremely talented, so we're glad all of our hard work paid off for us.
High School Girls Division I 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Asia Wilson, Giddings
On capturing the relay event: It felt really good to win here today in front of this crowd. We've been practicing over and over, so we were ready for today. Our handoffs weren't great, but I'm proud that we still got the win. The feeling is amazing right now.
High School Boys Division I 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Tracy Carter, Dallas Madison
On his first time at the Texas Relays: We practice hard as a team every day. We go out and try to compete against the best and get the best times that we can. We try hard to run to the best of our abilities. Coming in, we were confident against this field, because we've ran against some of these schools before. This was my first year at the Texas Relays, so it felt really good. It was an amazing experience.
University/College Women's Division 400-Meter Hurdles Champion
Queen Quedith Harrison, Virginia Tech
On the race: I thought it was a good race. This was the meet that started my season out; I hadn't run outdoors yet. It felt good to get out there and open it up and it feels good to race again.
On winning at the Texas Relays: It feels really good. We don't come here every year, so it always feels good to come and show out at such a big meet like this, especially with my teammate coming in second also.
University Men Distance Medley Relay Champions
Chris Gowell, Baylor
On the win: It's just amazing to put Baylor on the distance map. I think we showed that we're improving in middle distance. I'm so proud of the guys. It's amazing, it really is.
On how the team performed today: Awesome. It was really good tactically. I was probably lucky to be blocked by the wind on the back straights with the other guys in front. I just made the right move at the right time. I'm really pleased.
High School Girls Division II 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Tiffany Hines, Dallas Skyline
On the win: It feels great. This is my first year. I missed it my freshman year and my sophomore year. It's awesome.
On the competition in the 4x200 meter relay: The competition was great. We got a lot of top ranked teams. That's what we needed. We needed some competition.
University/College Women 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Jessica Beard, Texas A&M
On the race: I think we ran pretty well. We have a lot of good 200 runners. Last week, a lot of people came out and ran some really good times at Arizona State. We just put a couple people out on the track to see how it would work out, and it worked out really well.
University/College Women 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Teona Rodgers, Florida State
On her team's performance: The other three girls did a great job of holding the stick and getting around the track as fast as they could. Running the second leg, it's like putting the knot on a present. They wrap it up, and then it's my job to put a knot on it, and that's what I did.
On what it means to have Florida State capture both the men and women's 4x100 meter relays: We have come a long way. In the previous years, I feel like the girls were never the team to talk about. But I feel like we changed that today. Florida State's men and women are teams to look out for. Today, we really showed that the boys aren't the only team that can bring a national championship to the school.
Women's 4x100 Meter Relay Invitational Champions
Marshevet Hooker, USA Elite
On the close race: I had a hard week of training, and I was nervous that my legs wouldn't be ready by today. But my coach said that my legs would be fine by Friday. He was right. I felt really good and it was fun. Texas A&M has a tough team, but it was really fun out there racing.
On having the opportunity to run at her home track again: Yes, it's always good to come back here. I just love the feeling. It's the same feeling I had back in college. It's just a great experience.
On what the future holds for her: Right now, it's to get back and train and to get ready for the world trials. So yes, I plan on running at Berlin later this year. I'm working hard and I'm looking to do my best there.
University Men's Clyde Littlefield 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Charles Clark, Florida State
On the race: The race was exciting. We're happy. We came out here and performed in front of all these people. It's great. We thank the Lord that we passed the baton well. We just had a great time out here.
On running the fifth fastest time in the nation: It lets us know that we can run even faster. We came out here just having fun, and we've just got a couple of things we need to work on. We need to make our handoffs a little bit smoother and we can run even faster.
High School Girls Division I 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Asia Wilson, Giddings
On the race: I thought it was going to be hard at first. Our coach told us it was going to be a lot of competition. We came out there with our head on straight and we just did what we had to do. It was fun.
On getting the win at such a large event such as the Texas Relays: It's really exciting to me, because I'm just a junior, so I'll be back next year.
High School Boys Division I 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Marcus Smith, Dallas Madison
On the win: It went good. It went about how we expected. Everybody raced hard and we're thankful for the win.
Men's Invitational 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Ivory Williams, Nike986
On the race: You can't ask for a better finish than that. My heat was full of all-stars, that's all I can say. We were having fun. This is probably one of my favorite meets. I love the Texas Relays. The crowd is always good, the weather is good and so I love it.
High School Girls Division I 100-Meter Hurdles Champion
Lauren Garrott, San Antonio Cole
On the race: I felt pretty good. I started off unsure because I knew some of the girls came in with faster times. I knew I could run what they were running because I've run it before.
High School Girls Division II 100-Meter Hurdles Champion
Christina Holland, Converse Judson
On how it feels to win at the Texas Relays: It feels good. I've been working hard and it's paying off. I really kind of zoned the crowd out. I was praying half the time I was running so I thank God.
University/College Men's Triple Jump Champion
Julian Reid, Texas A&M
On how it feels to win at the Texas Relays: It feels nice. This is my second time at the Texas Relays and my first time triple jumping at this meet. It was nice. The crowd is wonderful. I love it. I love the competition out here. I love Texas Relays.
University/College Women's Triple Jump Champion
Yasmine Regis, Texas A&M
On her performance on Saturday: It basically felt really good. It's my final year and I've never won at Texas Relays, so this is what I came here to do. I came here to win in my last Texas Relays, so I'm real happy about that. Once I found my footing everything came into place. We trained real hard back at Texas A&M and I thank my coach for training me real hard. That's what carried me through the jumps today, so I'm really happy.
On the crowd support she received: Basically, everyone likes to clap. I was a bit shaky at first so I needed the crowd support. They were real good. They were right behind me clapping. That always helps you down the runway. They were great.
University Women's 100-Meter Hurdle Champion
Tiffany Ofili, Michigan
On her performance on Saturday: It felt good. I was definitely happy with the win. It was just a matter of getting the kinks out. This is my first competition of the season, so I'm happy with it.
College Men's 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Horatio Williams, Hinds CC
On their first time at the Texas Relays: It meant a lot to us. We went to LSU last weekend, but we ran out of the zone and got disqualified. We just tried to get the stick around cleanly, because we knew if we could do that, we would win. Running here is a whole lot of fun. I love the environment and we just wanted to win.
High School Girls Division II 4x200 Meter Relay Champions
Kearra Haynes, Dallas Skyline
On their experience at the Texas Relays: It meant so much to our relay team and me. We work so hard in practice, so it was great to see all of that hard work pay off for us today. We had a lot of fans in the crowd here today as well as family and friends. It was a really nice motivator to have so many people rooting for us today.
High School Boys Division II 4x100 Meter Relay Champions
Adam Watson, Spring Westfield
On the relay event: That last event was crazy, because four or five of the teams in that heat were from our region. So, we knew we had to come out and battle with our rivals. It was a big chance for us to come out here and win the race. It builds a lot of momentum and enthusiasm for us.
On what it means to be a senior and win this event: It means a lot, because this was actually our first time coming out here to participate in this race. Our coach was kind enough to give us entry into this event, so we knew we had to come out here and do something for him.
High School Boys Division II 110-Meter Hurdles Champion
Cameron Lacour, Dayton
On his performance: I've been working really hard and I've been practicing non-stop. I wanted to get my speed and flexibility up during my training, and it showed today. I wanted to give it my all here at the Texas Relays.
College Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Champion
Ryan Brathwaite, Barton County CC
On what he thought about his running today: It was fun. I came here with a couple injuries, so I'm happy to make it out clean. I'm happy with my performance today. After this, I'll go back home and train hard for the future.
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Invitational Champion
Nickiesha Wilson, Adidas
On her first outdoor event of the year: I think I'm better at this time of year. I'm looking forward to training harder and getting better this year. I'm going to keep training until the next outdoor event, and hopefully I'll have improved by then.
High School Boys Division II 110-Meter Hurdles Champion
Demetrion Cooper, WF Hirschi
On capturing the event title: It feels good. Last year, I lost to someone that I had beaten earlier in the year. He outworked me last year, so I figured I would work harder this year and come out and win the event. That's basically what I've done so far this year. I'm more dedicated to track this year than I was last year, and you can see that.
University Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Champion
Omo Osaghae, Texas Tech
On the warm weather and winning the event: It felt good. This is my second time at the Texas Relays, so I'm glad to be able to come in here and get the victory. The weather was nice and warm, so that helped me get loose and get ready for the race today.
University/College Men's Pole Vault Champion
Jason Colwick, Rice
On his victory: It feels amazing; I never would have thought a month ago I'd be jumping that high. I was very pleased with my jumps; those were very easy attempts for me. It's a great day.
On pulling out on his final attempt: Sometimes when you're jumping so many times you run out of gas and that's what happened. The winds were acting up a little, but overall, it's a very good day.
High School Girls Division II 100-Meter Dash Champion
Chandrell Stephens, Forney
On what it feels like to be a Texas Relays champion: I don't even know what to say. I'm so happy right now. I'm going to keep working hard, and hopefully you guys will see me in the state meet again. I'm hoping to go off with a gold medal in state as well.
University Men's 100-Meter Dash Champion
Deangelo Cherry, Mississippi State
On winning the event as a freshman: I'm so excited. It just feels good to come out here my first time around and win the race. This is such a big meet and the weather and competition is great. It definitely is a good time and has been a great trip for me.
Men's 100-Meter Dash Invitational Champion
Rae Edwards, Hobson's Choice
On the race: I think it was a great race. It had a great field and great weather. I knew I was going to do something good or great to some, because of how my training has been going. I felt very relaxed and very, very comfortable in that race. I felt like I took control of it at the time.
On running at the Texas Relays: There is no comparison to the Texas Relays. If you can't come to the Texas Relays, I don't think your season is going to be good because you need this atmosphere to get the whole season started. I love coming here. I've been coming to the Texas Relays since 2002, never missed a year.
High School Girls 1,600-Meter Champion
Chelsey Sveinsson, Dallas Greenhill
On the win: I was pretty nervous about it going into it. Once it started off I was doing the best I can, pushing myself. Overall, it went pretty well.
On what has made her success possible at the Texas Relays, winning four individual events in four tries: It's all about just focusing on your race and just knowing what you want. During practice you have to think about who ever is out there that's running faster than me. In reality, there's always some competition.
On running the fastest time in the nation so far this season: It's great but I'm not going to be complacent with it because it's just the beginning of the track season. It goes all the way into the summer, so I know there's going to be some good times. I'm happy with it but I know I can do better.
University/College Women's 100-Meter Dash Champion
Gabby Mayo, Texas A&M
On the race: I just got out as fast as I could. I drove as hard as I could for as long as I could and I came out on top. I'm just happy that it happened. It feels pretty good.
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Invitational Champion
Jerome Miller, Unattached
On the win: It feels good. I just feel blessed. I kept working hard in practice and in the indoor season so it feels real good to get a 'W.'
On running at Texas Relays: This is probably my first victory at Texas Relays since high school, so it feels really good. There was a great crowd and a great atmosphere. It's a good meet.
High School Boys 1,600-Meter Run Champion
Alex de la Garza, Mercedes
On his thoughts on capturing the event: I was kind of disappointed from last night. Things didn't go as planned in the two mile run, so I had a plan to come back and do better in the mile. I wanted to win it. That was my main focus. I'm kind of out of shape because I had a stress fracture three weeks ago so I was ready to get back into it. It feels awesome to get the confidence back and to compete with these guys from up north that are impeccable runners.
High School Girls Division I 100-Meter Dash Champion
Deserea Davis, Giddings
On defending her title as 100-meter dash champion: I did my best, worked really hard at it. I shot out of my blocks and gave it my all.
High School Boys Division I 100-Meter Dash Champion
Corey Brite, Giddings
On winning his first event at Texas Relays: It feels good. I've never won here before. It was my first time running the 100 at Texas Relays. I just need to keep on working hard and try to do my best.
Women's 100-Meter Dash Invitational Champion
Laverne Jones, API
On the win: I just came out here to execute in my race and get a good start to work on the technical aspect of my race. I just went out there and tried to execute what my coach told me to do.
University/College Women's 1,500-Meter Run
Lauren Hagans, Unattached
On the race: What can I say? It feels good to win. I know I can run faster, that's all I have to say. I'm ready for the next one. I got out there and didn't really feel very good so I fell back to the push. It was enough today.
University/College Women's Shot Put Champion
Michelle Carter, Unattached
On the win: It was a great meet. This was pretty much my opening meet and I felt real good today. The weather was great. It was a good day for me.
Patience Knight, Texas Tech
On capturing the Relays title: I felt pretty good. It feels like everything's starting to come together. I feel like we're right on track for what I want to do this year. I'm not near my best yet but that's not important to be near my best right now, we want to be throwing our far throws in May, June and July before the important meets.
University/College Men's High Jump Champion
Andra Manson, Nike On the win: It was great, I feel great. I feel like I got to see [the U.S. record] for the first time today, so I feel like it has a chance of going down.
On coming back to Texas and the Texas Relays: I love it. It's great being here. I graduated from Texas so I just love being in front of home fans.
University/College Men's Javelin Champion
Corey White, USC
On winning the javelin: The 82' felt great. It was surprisingly smooth and it didn't hurt at all. I feel good. I love this meet.
University/College Women's Javelin Champion
Linda Brivule, Abilene Christian
On her performance today: I was excited because last year I came here and I didn't do so good but that was my first year here in America and maybe my confidence was down a little. Today I just came out with positive thoughts. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful stadium. I just smiled, I didn't stress out and I enjoy throwing javelin.
College Men's 100-Meter Dash Champion
Alonzo Edward, Barton County CC
On the win: It feels great. It goes back to the training we do every day. I just come out and do my best.
Men's Mile Run Invitational Champion
Jake Morse, Texas
On the win: It's probably my fifth best time. It was a good run. This is my first time to win at Texas Relays since my senior year of high school. It feels good.
High School Girls Division I 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
Louisville (CA), Monica Santos
On the win: It feels great. It's pretty big to win here as there are a lot of people here. There is a lot of competition here. We wanted to run a 4-minute flat, so we're happy now.
College Men 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
Renny Quow, South Plains CC
On winning at the Texas Relays: I'm just happy right now. I definitely wanted to come out and see what it's like at the Texas Relays. I'm from Trinidad and Tobago so I've never run here before. I love it here. I'm so glad we won.
Women's 4x400 Meter Relay Invitational Champions
Miriam Barnes, USA Elite
On the win: This was my first relay of the year. It felt pretty good. All I wanted to do was maintain and come out with a good split. I think I did it. I'm usually a third-leg runner but I had to do what I had to do.
Men's 4x400 Meter Relay Invitational Champions
Joey Hughes, USC
On the win: This race was real fun. The 4x400 is always the best race of the day. It was fun winning it. The competition is stiff but the fans help you get into it. My high school is here, Long Beach Poly, so they're an encouragement.
High School Girls Division II 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
Akawkaw Ndipagbor, Long Beach Poly
On the win: It was amazing. It's good to show that the Long Beach Poly girls can still keep it going since we haven't been here in a while. It feels great. It shows us where we are. It lets us know that we are on the right path.
High School Boys Division II 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
Marquise Sneed, Conroe
On what it feels like to be a Texas Relays champion: It feels good. We've been talking about this event since we were freshmen. We just wanted to come out here and prove it to ourselves and everybody else here.
University Men's 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
Michael Green, Northwestern State
On their approach for today: We tried to come in and qualify for regionals and just to put up a good time. My teammates came through and we did a great job overall as a team. Some of our guys were a little hurt, but we managed to work through the adversity. It was a huge rush to be here and be able to run here.
University/College Women's 4x400 Meter Relay Champions
LaTavia Thomas, LSU
On her team's come-from-behind finish: It was surprising, because we haven't been having the best season so far. But it went perfect today and we got the win. We just tried to stay close and not let the leader get too far ahead of us. This year, the weather was great and it was perfect for us.
University Men's C. Price Jr. 4x400 Meter Relay Invitational Champions
Quentin Summers, Baylor
On capturing the final event at the Texas Relays: It's always a great feeling to win at the Texas Relays. I'm happy that we won one. This is my favorite meet of the year. We're still here and we're trying to do big things with our school.
