DeSoto boys 4x100 relay team sets nation's No. 2 time

After finishing second at the Class 5A state track and field meet last year, this figured to be a rebuilding year for the DeSoto (Texas) boys. But at the 47th annual Jesuit-Sheaner Relays on Saturday, the Eagles' new faces looked a lot like the old faces.

Just like last year, they were pretty much a blur. That's how much speed DeSoto has on this year's team, which dominated the competition that drew many of the state's top athletes to Jesuit's Stadium in Dallas.

Despite having completely revamped relay teams, DeSoto won the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 to help it pile up 101 team points. Mansfield Timberview was second with 68 and Southlake Carroll was third with 62.

DeSoto's time in the 4x100 was 41.45 seconds, the second-fastest in the nation this year. That started a dominant stretch that included only one DeSoto athlete who competed at the state meet last year, senior hurdler Kenneth Minkah.

Despite running into a stiff wind, Minkah won the 110 hurdles in 14.19 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 37.86.

"We have just as much talent this year as last year," Minkah told The Dallas Morning News, "and we seem like we want it more."

SMALL-SCHOOL SHOT PUTTER BEATS THE BEST
Celina (Texas) junior Jordan Roos, a star lineman in football and the defending 3A state champ in the shot put, competed in the 5A class at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays, and was in a class all by himself. Roos won with a toss of 63 feet, 2 inches, more than four feet better than any other competitor. Five of Roos' six throws went farther than 60 feet. He also finished second in the discus with a throw of 176-7.

NEWS AND VIEWS
Two years ago, Rowlett's Marquise Goodwin dominated the state in the long jump and triple jump. Goodwin is now a star at Texas and an Olympic hopeful, and the state's dominant jumper now resides in a southern suburb of Dallas. Despite jumping into the wind, Cedar Hill athlete Olabanji Asekun leaped 24 feet in the long jump and 47-5 in the triple jump to win both events easily Saturday at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays. Asekun's best triple-jump mark of 48-10 this year is fourth in the nation. ... Frisco Centennial senior Austin Bolling won the 4A 300 hurdles and the 200, despite having to run the two races only a few minutes apart at the Jesuit-Sheaner Relays. Bolling, a Baylor signee, won the 300 in 38.55 and, without any rest, won the 200 in 22.53.