Quarren "Q" Boyd had quite a hectic hour Friday.
The Monterey junior got his sprints in, running the 100 meters in between the 400 relay and the 800 relay, all within 60 minutes at the Districts 3/4-5A area track and field meet at Lowrey Field.
It's a tiring load, to be certain. And he'll get to do it again next week.
Boyd finished third in the 100 and helped the Plainsmen nab the final regional-qualifying spot in the relays — with assistance from two unlikely sources.
Each group included a JV call-up filling in for teammate Elijah Turner, who injured his hamstring earlier in the week. Sophomore Terrance King ran on the 400 relay, and freshman Don McKenzie stepped in on the 800 relay.
"It was just a coincidence for it to happen right before area," Boyd said, "But the ones we put up, they moved up from JV, they put in the work and were able to push themselves in a varsity track meet, their first one. So, it was good."
Monterey boys track coach Donte Irving had complete confidence in the newcomers. That's because King and McKenzie didn't show any nerves leading up to the competition.
"Those guys are real cool, calm and collected, honestly," Irving said. "They're always real mellow. They're confident in how they get out there. With their block starts and their top-end speed, they're very confident."
Irving said the results showed the Plainsmen's "next man up" philosophy in action.
"Ready men don't have to get ready," Irving said, "and those guys are ready."
Usual members Dezmond Williams and Taemon Fitch rounded out the teams, which ran 42.60 seconds in the sprint relay and 1 minute, 30.16 seconds, in the 800 relay to place fourth in each to advance to the Region I-5A meet.
Boyd said Turner should be good to go by regionals, which begin with prelims Friday. With the relays at full strength, Boyd feels Monterey could extend its season.
"I'd love to see him come back, see us finish it out with our normal team," Boyd said. "Everybody around here knows with our normal team we can go get it. … You need top two (to advance to state), and I'd love to go get top two next week with our starting group."
Coronado's Zanashia Harris empties tank for 800, 1,600 silvers
After qualifying in the 800, Harris was in a tough spot trying to add another event to her regional schedule.
Midway through the 1,600, the Coronado senior's legs "just died" as she fell to seventh place. She managed to work herself into fifth entering the final lap and found just enough energy to earn a second silver medal.
Harris closed down the home stretch and went from fourth place to runner-up over the final few meters. Now she'll have two chances at state next week.
"I was like, 'I can't get fifth because I need a backup race for regionals,'" Harris said. "Yeah, I qualified in the 800, but if that doesn't go as planned, God forbid, then I'll have the 1,600. I just slowly started closing the gap. Then the like the last 200 I was like, 'I got more in me,' so I just kept going. They were right there and then I just passed them."
A three-time state-qualifier in cross country, Harris' only trip to state track came in the 1,600 as a sophomore. She also has renewed ...
