HOUSTON -- It's been over two decades since the Fort Worth Wyatt (TX) boys 4x100m set the all-time standard in the boys 4x100m at the UIL Outdoor Championships, blazing to a U.S. high school national record of 39.76.
And for nearly 26 years, it had stood the test of time.
But after years of teams coming close -- which includes five sub-40-second performances from squads over the past seven years -- one of the longest-standing U.S. high school outdoor national records is no more.
On Saturday at the 41st Victor Lopez Classic on the campus of Rice University, the Humble Atascocita (TX) boys 4x100m relay team not only broke the 39.76 mark that teams have been chasing for quite some time, but they absolutely destroyed it.
A 38.92 winning mark at Victor Lopez earned Atascocita the national record and also made them the first U.S. high school boys 4x100m team to ever dip under 39 seconds.
But they weren't the only foursome to go under that previous national record. Duncanville (TX) sprinted to a U.S. No. 2 all-time 39.65 as the second-place team, which also was two-tenths below Fort Worth Wyatt's all-time best.
It was a tight race through three legs between Atascocita and Duncanville, but with LSU star recruit Jelani Watkins on the anchor leg, Atascocita pulled away on the homestretch to seal their history-making win.
And it seems only fitting that the record goes down in Texas during an outdoor season that has already seen a slew of fast performances. Leading into the Victor Lopez Classic, eight teams in the state of Texas had posted boys 4x100m marks under 41 seconds, including Atascocita with their 40.37 previous season best from the Sam Mosley Relays.
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