2016 Texas Relays Quotes Friday

2016Quotes
Friday,April1
DiscusSectionAWinnerStevenMozia(Unattached)
OnhisperformanceatTexasRelays:Ifeelgood.I’mmoreofashot-putterthanadistance
thrower.Ihaven’treallygottenoutsidemuchyet,onlytworealpractices.Tocomeoutand
throwclosetomyPR,it’sgoingtobeagoodyear.
Women’sJavelinWinnerMaggieMalone(TexasA&M)
OnthevictoryatTexasRelays:Iwasprettysurprisedmyonlythrowheldupforthewintoday.
ItwasnicetogetoneinsinceItweakedmygroinbeforethatthrow.SoIwashopingIcouldget
atleastonethrowinandmoveonfromthere.
Onyourwinningthrow:Ikindoftreatedmyopeningthrowasmylastthrow,solet’smakeit
countwasmymindset.Itwasdefinitelynicetogetonethrowinandhaveitstandupforthe
victory.
OndealingwiththedelaysatTheRelays:IwasverysurprisedwhenIsawlightning,Ithought
thatIwasgoingtobeabletogetmysecondthrowin.Thenwhenwehadtheweatherdelay
thenIwasn’tabletotakemysecondthrow.
Women’sTripleJumpSectionAChampion,AsaGarcia(Texas)
Onhermindsetcomingintotheweekend:Ihadadifferentmindsetcomingin.Idefinitely
wantedtodowellbecauseIdidn’thavethebestindoorseason.Andalso,we’reathomesoI
haveclassmates,I’vegotfamily,peoplewhoarealumni,peoplewholiveinthearea,
everybody’swatching.Itwasdefinitelypressurebecausetheyexpectyoutodogoodwhen
you’reathome.
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Onhersprintingcorrectlyinordertojump13.29meters:That’sbeenaproblemofmine
forever.Irunsobad,butmymechanicsaregettingbettersoIwasveryfastattheboardand
everythingjustwenttogether.That’sallIneeded.
Onwhatshemeansbybadmechanics:Welltheywerebad,they’regettingbetter.Ijustrun
withmylegs,basically,behindme.Mychestismoreforwardthanitshouldbeandmylegsare
intheback.
Onhowthatcanaffectherjump:Itmakesyouslowerforsure,andyou’reinaterribleposition
comingofftheboard.Soonceyoufixthat,you’recomingofftheboardinagoodpositionand
everythinggoesjustasplanned,andyoujustgofurther.
Men’sJavelinSectionAChampion,AIoannisKyriazis(TexasA&M)
Onifheaccomplishedhisgoalsfortheday:Thismightbeharsh,I’mprettyexcited,andI’m
kindofsatisfiedtoo.Ifeellikemythrowcouldhavebeenbetter.
Onthrowinginthistypeofweather:Ipreferwarmerweatherbutit’sfine,Icanjustputsome
moreclothesonandit’llbefine.
OnhowmanytimeshehasparticipatedintheTexasRelays:Ithrewlastyear,butIdidn’t
throwverywellbecauseImadesometechnicalmistakes.SoIdidn’tthrowrealwell,Ithrew69.
Ongettingtonumbereightcollegiatelywiththepersonalrecordhesettoday:I’mpretty
excitedandsatisfiedbecauseI’vebeenworkinghardwithmycoachandtherestofthecoaches
andthetrainersthewholeyear.Soyeah,I’mjustexcited.
GirlsLongJumpChampion,TaraDavis(Agoura)
Onhowthisyear’sRelaysweredifferentfromlastyear’sforher:Thisyearit’smuchcolder.It
wasalittlerainythismorning,IranhurdlesandItrippedoverthehurdle.SoIkindof‘ateit’got
alittlebruisedup,cameback,didmybesthereatlongjump,whichIcouldhavedonebetter
butdifferentclimatefromCalifornia.Itwasagoodmeet.
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Onifsheaccomplishedhergoalsforthelongjump:TherearestilllittlethingsI’mstillworking
onthatIdidn’treallyaccomplishtoday.
Onwhatshefeelsshestillneedstoworkon:Tryingtolandcorrectly.I’mnotreallylandingthe
waythatIshouldbe.OnmylastjumpIdidbutitwasafoulsoyoucan’treallycountit.Butit’s
agoodstart.
BoysLongJumpChampion,MichaelMitchell(Tesoro)
Onhisperformanceandifhemetallofhisgoals:Ireallydidn’tmeetallofmygoals.Theonly
goalImetwasIwantedmyfirstjumptobeaprettybigjumpwhichactuallyendedupbeingmy
farthestjumpwas23-8.00.SothatwastheonlygoalIprettymuchmet.Iwaslookingforhigh
24sbecauseI’mamid-24srangerightnow,butifIcomeoutwiththewinthat’skindofwhatI
camehereforsoI’llbegood.
Onifhe’sbeentotheTexasRelayspreviously:No,I’mactuallyfromCaliforniasoI’mherefor
TesoroHighSchool.Sothisiskindofavoyageouthereforme,soIreallydidn’twanttocome
outhere,andflythreehourstolose.IdefinitelywantedtoshowpeoplefromTexaswhat
CaliforniaisallaboutsoIfeelIdidthat.
OnAustinandtheoverallatmosphereoftheRelays:Iloveit.Honestlywedon’treallyhave
thatmanybigmeetsinCalifornia.SoIlovedit,otherthanthebigwindyraindelay,becauseI
wassupposedtorunthe100[meter]butthenallthewindandraindelaykindofmesseditup
soIjuststucktothelongjumpwhichIthinkwasaprettysmartdecision.But,otherthanthat,I
loveit.
Ontheweatherhehadtojumpintodayandifitmakesadifferencetohim:Honestly,tome,
itdoesn’tmatter.Aslongasthere’sarunwayandsomesandattheendI’llprettymuchjumpin
anything.
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Men’sSprintMedleyChampion,TexasA&M(HectorHernandez)
Onhisperformanceandhowhefeltrunning:Ifeltgood.Itwasalright,justalittlebitcold.
OnhowitfeelstobebackatRelays:Itfeelsgood.I’mfromTexas,sothisishome.Butit’s
definitelygoodtogetthewintoday.Itfeelsgood.
Girls1600SprintMedleyChampion,ChristinaOllison(McKinneyBoyd)
OnthewintonightatTexasRelays:Itwasamazing.Wedon’treallyrunthisracesoitwas
reallyinteresting.Weworkhardforthiseverydayatpracticeandputourallintothis.We
didn’treallyknowwhereweweregoingtoplace,butwekindofhopedourhardworkwould
payoff.
Boys1600SprintMedleyChampion,EvanChambers(DeSoto)
Onthewin:Ifeellikeitcouldbebetter.Overall,itwasgood.Forlanetwo,wethoughtthe
staggeringwasthebest.
Women1600SprintMedleyChampion,Arkansas(BrookeIreland)
Ontheperformance:Thisisjustincredible.Weknewwewantedtocomeouthereandbe
back-to-backchamps.Weknewwehadtogooutthereandgiveitourallandthat’swhatwe
did.Forourteam,wehadTaylor[Ellis]staywiththe800girl,andsheknewshehadtopushit.
I’mprettysureshePR’edinher800.Wejustwentoutthereanddidwhatwehadtodo.
Boys1600MetersChampion,ParkerScott(CorpusChristiKing)
OnhiswinatTexasRelays:It’sdefinitelythebiggestaccomplishment.Beingasenior,it’sa
littlesoberingbeinghereunderthelightsforthelasttime.I’mdefinitelyexcitedtogetherefor
state,andTexasRelayshastreatedmewell.
Women’s400MeterHurdlesChampion,ArielJones(Texas)
Onherwin:Itwastoughbecauseweendeduprunningtwohourslate.Iwasreadytorunat
seven,soitmessedmeupmentally.Ijustkeptwarmingupandstayedwarmandraceready.I
hadmyfamilyoutyesterday,Ihavemoreofmyfamilyouttoday,andevenmoreofmyfamily
outtomorrow.They’rejustallcomingouttoseemerun,soIthinkthat’sabigmotivator.
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Men’s400MeterHurdlesInvitationalChampion,ByronRobinson(Texas)
OnhisperformanceatTexasRelays:Itfeltgood.Iwashappyeventhoughthemeetalmostgot
pushedbacktomidnight.It’skindofcold.Ilikedtheperformancegiventheconditions.
Women’sDistanceMedleyChampion,Clemson(KaleyCiluffo)
Onthewin:It’sreallycool.Thisismyfirsttimebeingatthismeet.Theaudienceisreallycool,
andthetrackfeltreallyfast.Thepushattheendreallyhelped.Iwasreallyintune.
Women’s400MeterHurdlesInvitationalChampion,AshleySpencer(Nike)
Onhervictory:Itwasprettygood.Ikindofgotdistractedwithallthedelaysandtheweather,
butI’mnottiredandIknowIcanrunfaster.I’mreallylookingforwardtowhatoutdoorseason
canbringforhurdles.I’mreallyexcited.I’vebeenworkingonhurdlesforawhilenow.IknowI
canrunalotfasterandthegoodthingismyracestrategywasperfect.Lookingforward,it’s
goingtobefun.Ican’twait.
GirlsHighJumpChampion,SaanaBarnes(NWNelson)
Onherperformance:IfeltlikeIcouldhavedonebetterbutI’mhappywiththeresults.All
week,I’vehadaprettybadweeksoIwaskindofworriedcomingouttoseehowIwasgoingto
do.Itfeelsreallygood.Itgivesusaprettygoodstartcomingouthere.
BoysPoleVaultSectionAChampion,ArmandDuplantis(Lafayette)
Onhiswin:Ifeltgood.Everythingfeltlikeitwasgoingwell.It’sagreatplacetojump.It’sa
hardsport.Youcan’tPReveryday,evenifthingsaregoingasgoodasyouthink.
Girls1600MeterChampion,MadieBoreman(LeanRouse)
Onthoughtsthroughtherace:WetookoutandIkindofjustsatthewholetime.Anna[Elkin]
andRafaella[Gibbons]leditthefirstcoupleoflaps.ThenRylee[Bowen]tookoverwithalapto
goandIjustranwithher.Shepickeditupalittleinthe300metermark,butwiththelast100I
justkindofmademymove.
Onyourperformance:Iamhappywithit.Iwantedtogoalittlefaster,butIamhappywitha
winbecauseIhaveneverwonhere.Iamexcited.
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Girls300HurdlesChampion,BrandeeJohnson(Nansemomd)
Onthefeelingaftertherace:Great!Thehundredhurdlesisnotnewtome,butIamstartingto
getalotmoreconfidencethisyear.The300hurdlesand400hurdles,IlovesinceIhavestarted
hurdling.Tocomeouthereinanewenvironment,withanhourdifferencefromwhereIamat,
itwasjustgreattobeabletostillperformandgetaPersonalRecord.
Onthoughtsthroughtherace:Iwasatthestartinglineandwaslikeokthewindisnotblowing
asmuchasitwasinthe100hurdles,butIamgoingtoplayitsafeandtakeoffmytights.Atfirst
Iwasgoingtoruninlongtights,butIthoughtthatwewilljustgoshorttoday.Thefirsthurdle,I
justwantedtoattackitbutIdidnotwanttogotoofast.EachhurdleIwantedtoattackandin
betweenIwantedtostaypoise,staytall.Ididn’twanttobreakmyform,andthatwasthe
executionIneededtocompletetheraceandruna40point.Idid,andIamsoexcited.
Men’s400MeterHurdlesChampion,LarryDonald(Arkansas)
Onthefeelingaftertherace:Ifeelprettygood.Theyhadusjustsittingforthirtytoforty-five
minutessoIdidn’twanttogooutasfastaspossible.Ijusttrustedmycoaching.
Ontheperformance:IjustchilledandwaitedforpeopletopassmesoIcouldseewhereIwas.
Then,IrealizedthatIhadalotofenergyleftsothenIjustspeditup.
Men’sDistanceMedleyChampions,AlexRiba(TexasA&M)
Ontheperformancetonight:AtthebreakatthefinalexchangewhereIgotthebaton,The
TexasTechteamhadahalfstepleadonme,buthesloweddownintentionallytogetbehind
me.IfiguredIamnotgoingtoburnmyselfsohecanjustlatchontome,soIjustletthepace
goeasy.Iwasjustasfreshashewaswhenitcametotheend,whichwasthegoal,tostayfresh
andtorunitmoretactfully.
BoysHighJumpChampion,BrandonBowen(NWNelson)
Onhisperformance:Personally,horrible.Itwasalittleundermymark.Justmentally,Iwasn’t
thinkingstraight.
OnwinningattheTexasRelays:Itfeelsgreat.Thisismyfirsttimeheresoitreallyboostedmy
adrenalineup.Soitwasgood.
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GirlsPoleVaultSectionAChampion,RachelBaxter(Canyon(Anaheim))
Onherperformance:Ifeelawesome.LastweekIdidn’tdotoowell,soIwashopingforsome
bigbarstodayandIgotsome.ButI’msuperhappy.
OnwinningattheTexasRelays:It’ssuchanhonor.ThisisthefirsttimeI’vebeenheresoitwas
socoolhavingtheexperienceinfrontofallofthosepeople.
GirlsDiscusThrowChampion,ElenaBruckner(ValleyChristian)
Onherperformance:ThiswasmyfirstTexasRelays.ItwasreallywindyandIwassuper
nervouscompetingatmyfuturehometrack,soIjusttriedtofocusonthelittlethings.Ididn’t
haveacoachsoIjustwrotedownacouplecuestoremember,andIthinkIgota170soI’mjust
buildingtheconsistency.
OnwinningattheTexasRelays:Itmeansalot,especiallyitbeingatTexasandcominghere
nextyear.JustbeingabletocomefromCaliforniaandrepresentingthestateofCalifornia,my
schoolValleyChristian,andjustbeingabletoshowcasethetalentsI’vebeengivenfromGod
meansalot.
BoysDiscusChampion,AdrianPiperi(TheWoodlands)
OnTexasRelays:ThisismysecondyearattheTexasRelays.Icameinsecondlastyearinthis
event.Winningthisyearfeelsprettynice.It’sgreat.
Onhisperformance:WellIwasn’texpectingit,that’sforsure.IwasjusttryingtoPRanditwas
definitelyaPR!I’mveryproudofmyself.
BoysJavelinChampion,WilliamPetersson(FriscoCentennial)
Onhisperformance:IfeellikeIcouldhavedonealotbetter.Thecoldreallygottometoday.
OnwinningattheTexasRelays:Itfeelsgoodtowin,butIknowIcould’vedonesomuchbetter
thanIdid.IwonjavelinlastyearandIactuallythrewalotbetterinthatone.
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