Boys track and field: Dreams still alive for Crane relay despite Region I-2A disaster

CRANE Despair can only last so long.

Three weeks ago, four Crane runners left the Region I-2A Track and Field Championships at Ratliff Stadium in disappointment.

Ranked first in the state in the 1,600-meter relay, the Golden Cranes never got a chance to prove themselves in their signature event.

Waiting to lead off the race, Cody Black came out of the blocks too early. A false start disqualified the relay, ended the team's state title hopes and ensured that the defending state champion in the 400 - senior Isidro Garcia - wouldn't run his signature race in Austin.

Heartbreak barely begins to describe the pain the Golden Cranes felt.

"You never expect a letdown like that," Crane boys coach Henry Anderson said. "But after I thought about it, I realized they'd probably get through it better than I would."

Those four runners - Black, Garcia and the brother tandem of Justin and Jordan Mendoza- had no choice.

That team has lost its shot at a state title in the mile relay.

But the Golden Cranes still have a race to run in Austin. Those same four runners combined to win the 800-meter relay at the regional meet.

 "The first couple days were pretty hard," said Garcia, who gave up the 400 this year to compete in both relays. "It finally sunk in that the relay was gone. We couldn't do anything about it."

Garcia also has to train for a run at a state title in the 200 - he finished second at the regional meet to Floydada's Aarrhon Flores - but the Golden Cranes' priority was obvious.

Get the relay fixed.

To get back on track, the Golden Cranes first had to rebuild Black's confidence.

Between a team meeting Anderson held the day after the false start, an impromptu meeting the members of the relay held on their own time and a constant stream of reinforcement, the Golden Cranes let Black know he was still an important part of the relay.

"They really supported me," Black said. "Told me we have to move on and get ready for the 800 relay, because that's all we can do now."

Coming off of a major disappointment, some teams would have struggled to get motivated.

Trying to stay focused in practice for three weeks - without competition - is hard enough.

"You can feel people getting tired of running," Justin Mendoza said. "You have to keep going. You have to make it fun for everybody."

Making practice fun has never been a problem for this group.

Crane's Fearsome Foursome has been together for two years now. Last year the same four runners finished second at state in the 1,600-mile relay.

And this group has their roles clearly defined.

Garcia, a senior, is not a vocal leader. Garcia simply leads by speed. Trying to chase down the state's fastest quarter-miler at the Class 2A level can only make the other three go faster.

"Every day in practice Isidro is the fastest guy, the strongest guy," Jordan Mendoza said. "He's our rabbit, the guy we have to chase down in practice."

Somebody has to be the team's vocal leader.

That task has always fallen to Mendoza, the diminutive senior who has always kept this relay together.

Garcia is the rabbit. Mendoza is the glue.

"If Jordan wasn't on this team, we wouldn't be near as close as we are," Garcia said. "Jordan keeps our heads up. He's the dreamer for this team, the one that's pushing us, setting goals."

Black and Justin Mendoza, both juniors, are still pretty quiet.

Their time to be leaders is right around the corner. For the moment, though, both runners are learning from the examples set by Garcia and Mendoza.

Despite the disaster that ended their mile relay hopes, none of the four runners have lost heart.

"We still dream," Jordan Mendoza said. "Our dreams still aren't gone. Anything can happen in Austin."

The Golden Cranes won the Region I-2A final in convincing fashion. Barring the unexpected, they should be in the mix to win a state title this weekend.

Replacing the mile relay - Crane's signature event - isn't possible. For these four runners, that relay will always be the race that got away.

But these four runners can still get a gold medal.

"These are my brothers," Jordan Mendoza said. "They will always be my brothers, because of what we've been through, both good and bad. A state title would be the icing on the cake."

Four runners have already suffered heartbreak.

Redemption would definitely be sweet.