RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
A few words summed up how the Randolph High School girls track coach felt after the Lady Ro-Hawks won their third consecutive Class 2A state title Saturday in Austin.
With emotion in her voice Randolph coach Misty Kinsey hugged members of the Lady Ro-Hawks track team near the awards stand at Mike Meyers Stadium moments after they had won the 1,600-meter relay and simply said, "I am so proud of you."
After overcoming adversity during the season and at state, Kinsey and the Randolph girls had a lot to be proud of at the end, winning the state title with 58 points, beating out runner-up Childress by 24 points, and becoming the first track team in San Antonio city history to win three consecutive state titles.
One of the reasons Randolph dominated the state meet was the performance of senior Jayla McArthur, who totaled 11 medals, eight of them gold, during her three appearances at state. McArthur won the 400-meter run for the second straight year and helped and anchored the gold-medal winning 1,600-meter relay team.
McArthur said she was determined to run her very best in the last high school meet of her career.
"This is really heartfelt because it is the last time I will run at state," she said. "I left it all out there on the track."
McArthur said winning the state title this year came with less stress because the Lady Ro-Hawks had the title won before competing in the last event of the meet, the 1,600-meter relay. In the last two previous state meets, the Lady Ro-Hawks' championship hopes came down to winning the 1,600-meter relay, and Randolph won those first two titles by five and two points, respectively.
"It was good going for state this year because we didn't feel as much pressure," McArthur said. "It was very enjoyable."
Kinsey said McArthur left a remarkable athletic legacy at Randolph.
"She won 11 medals and three state titles, that speaks for itself," Kinsey said. "It's been an honor to have coached someone like that."
Junior Jasmine Kent started the Lady Ro-Hawks run to a third state title by winning the long jump with a personal best of 18 feet, 11 1/4 inches on the meet's first day, May 9.
Kent, who broke her personal best three times during the competition, said she did not think she did well enough on her last jump to go over 18-11 until she looked at the board near the jump pit.
"I was so surprised when I found out that I had jumped 18-11 1/4," she said. "I didn't feel like that I jumped that far. I felt comfortable out there. I was nervous at first, but once I started to warm-up I got the nervous energy out and started to feel better, and each jump felt like a progression."
Kent was the second Randolph girls athlete to win the long jump at state. Last year, McArthur won the event.
The Lady Ro-Hawks' state title chances looked to be in serious jeopardy Saturday when the 400-meter relay, who were the defending state champions in the event, finished sixth, which was partly due to a bad handoff during the race.
Since one of the Lady Ro-Hawk runners, who had been a part of both the 400 and 800-meter relays, was declared academically ineligible after the regional meet two weeks ago, Kinsey had to reshuffle both relay teams with new runners.
Even after the disappointing finish in the 400-meter relay, Kinsey said she felt her girls still had a chance for another state title if they did well in the 800-meter relay.
"I knew we had enough firepower," Kinsey said. "I told the girls before the 800-meter relay to run a safe race and let your speed take you were you wanted to go."
The 800-meter relay team of Kent, Kenya Alexander, Sydney Solomon and Tamoya Morrison finished in second place in 1:44.51, one-hundreth of a second behind first place Childress.
Later on, McArthur clinched the state title for Randolph by winning the 400-meter run with a time of 56.95.
When it got to the 1,600-meter relay, the team of Kent, Tamoya Morrison, Solomon and McArthur, feeling no pressure, put the final touches on their state title with a winning time of 3:58.94.
At the end of the meet, Kinsey, clutching the state title trophy, said she is fortunate to coach a group of girls who never give up when the going gets tough.
"They are incredible, gifted athletes," she said. "They are incredible competitors and I am tremendously blessed to be their coach."