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Leander record-setters ready for their last mile

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Doug Kelley has his sights set on a dream date Saturday night in Austin. Well, maybe two of them.

While many of his Leander High School classmates will be attending prom in downtown Austin on Saturday, Kelley will anchor the Lions' mile relay team in the final event of the Class 5A State Track and Field Championships.

He already has it all planned out.

“I want to walk into the prom later that night with a gold medal around my neck,” the senior said.

Kelley isn't cocky. He's confident. And the other runners on the relay - sophomore Nick Page, senior Bryce Elarms and junior Jon Kelley - have that same confidence. They have a right to.

Earlier this year, Leander's time was the fastest in the nation among high school track teams. The Lions ran the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 14.95 seconds on April 5, which also shattered the previous school record (3:20.6) by more than five seconds, at the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas - the site of this weekend's state meet.

“I think it's a big advantage that we'll be at the same place,” Leander track coach Kelly Broussard said. “They won't be intimidated by the setting. They know where to go and they already know where to check in.”

And they're already used to the environment as the high school championship crowd is typically a packed-house affair comparable to the Texas Relays.

“I think the crowd helps us,” said Elarms, who has signed to run next year at Texas Southern University.

Leander will start in lane six between Fort Bend Hightower (lane 5) and Duncanville (lane 7). The team with the best seed (Fort Bend Marshall) will start in lane eight. Marshall ran a 3:14.19 at the Class 5A Region III meet.

The boys from Leander know it'll take their best race of the year - and of their lives up to this point - to have a shot at being on the medal stand.

So what do these guys think they can do?

“We think we have a shot at 3:10,” said Doug Kelley, who has signed to run next year at the University of Houston. “If Nick runs a 48 (seconds), Bryce a low 48, Jon a 48 flat and me a 46, then that's a 3:10.”

The Class 5A state and meet record is 3:09.14 run by Dallas Roosevelt in 1984. The national record is 3:07.40 set in 1985 by Hawthorne (Calif.) High.

This team, which will also have Daniel Ruiz on standby as an alternate, has been challenged each of its last two races. Georgetown made a strong push at the District 14-5A meet and Spring Westfield finished strong for second at the Region II meet in Waco two weeks ago.

Leander began the year as a team with potential, and one that could possibly threaten the school record. Now that it's been passed, the relay team hopes for perfect baton changes, personal best times and continued success.

“We've run against the best teams in the state and our region is one of the best in the state,” Doug Kelley said. “We've got to be perfect and we know we can do it.”

And if they do it, they'll be dancing on the medal stand at the end of the night. Then they can waltz on over to prom. For Doug Kelley, who already has his date for prom, it would be a dream come true.

E-mail editor@hillcountrynews.com

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