Girls track and field: Swearengin brings home state title in the 800 for Permian

AUSTIN Shartanae Swearengin has spent four long years competing for Permian High School's girls track and field team, but somehow delivered a first Saturday as she closed out her career.

It was the first time she ever competed in just one event at a meet, which just may have helped her earn what is believed to be another first - a gold medal for an ECISD girl at the UIL State Track and Field Championships.

Swearengin took the Class 5A girls 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 16.25 seconds, lunging past Fort Bend Marshall's Briyanni Thomas at the finish line for a victory of seven-hundredths of a second.

"It was always at every meet, do your best and make history," Swearengin said of what her goals have been while competing for the Lady Panthers. "I told myself this is your last opportunity in high school to do that."

Swearengin's last opportunity looked tenuous at best as she ran inside of a pack for much of the race - never in the back but never with a clear shot at the front.

Her freshman teammate Jamia Graham also competed and finished seventh in 2:21.62.

Opportunity appeared to Swearengin heading into the last 200 meters of the race when she found enough daylight to break loose.

"I went around everything and they were kind of slowing down," Swearengin said. "I just stayed behind the first-place girl. Then she started kicking in and I started kicking in and it was tight. I guess I leaned my head forward first."

Swearengin has been a five-event athlete at virtually every meet for Permian throughout her career, with one of the lone exceptions being her junior season at the state meet.

She qualified last year in both the 800 and 300 hurdles, finishing seventh in the 800 while rallying for a silver medal in the 300 hurdles.

But she was nosed out for a trip to state in the 300 hurdles two weeks ago at the Region I-5A Championships, which may have turned out to be a blessing for the 800.

"She's so talented and I was so proud of her because it's been a super long season for her," Permian girls head coach Carl Chancellor said. "This is the first time she's ever gotten to concentrate on one race and she makes it pay off with the biggest prize of all."

Chancellor and Odessa High head coach Tracey Borchardt, both Permian graduates, said they could not recall any other ECISD female athlete who had won a gold medal in the Class 5A meet.

Whether or not that's officially true, Swearengin at the very least capped her career with a fitting finish.

She helped lead the program along with fellow senior Porshia Fobbs to dominating team performances at the last two District 2-5A meets, and the only thing missing was gold from the state meet.

Ironically, her seventh-place time from last season was faster, but this year's race was run at a different pace and Swearengin pulled it off.

"The time was way slow - I noticed that - but I pulled it through and got first," Swearengin said. "You just have to do your best and perform your best. It doesn't really matter about the time. It's who comes out on top."

When it counted at the finish line, Swearengin made sure she was the one with the most heart in her final race for Permian.