SuperDogs

SHS relay team keeps it light, take two state titles

sports@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- Describing his role as Sikeston's relay anchor, senior Nick Nichols began to quote Spiderman.

"With great power, comes great..." he tried to get out before cracking up.

He's teammates barreled over too.

Having fun and cracking jokes for Sikeston's three-time state championship relay team almost takes precedent over actually winning a race.

Almost.

"They like to goof around a little bit," Sikeston track coach Terry Flannigan said. "We laugh and cut up, but when I tell them it's time to go to work and get serious they know what they have to do. When it's time to run, they run."

While they keep things loose between the self-proclaimed family, Nichols, Kyland Gross, Spenser Clark and Steven Baker use their brother-like camaraderie to excel in an event that demands precision and dedication. It recently led to two state championships during this year's Class 3 state track and field meet on the campus of Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

"It just shows that we're a family and we know each other very well the last two years," Clark said. "We did good."

It doesn't take long to realize their group is a tight one. Rarely holding a straight face, the four act more like brothers than track teammates. Clark, Gross and Nichols are all seniors. Baker is a junior and gets treated as such by his older counterparts.

"They act like brothers and family and that's our environment," Flannigan said. "We always talk about working hard and working our guts out to try and get better. But at the same time, we want to have a little bit of fun. This group is just the prime example that they have a good time and know when they have to lock it in and get after it."

They constantly bust jokes on everything, including each other, whether it's about whose shoes are worse or whose going to hold the trophies for a picture. They also don't hesitate to make fun of track uniforms that may be a bit too big for a specific teammate.

"We feel like brothers, so knowing that we're all 100 percent connected to each other helps a lot," said Gross, who also said Nichols was the biggest jokester.

The team of Baker, Clark, Gross and Nichols claimed a state title in both the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. The 4x200 title was a repeat performance after winning Sikeston's first-ever relay state championship a year ago. The 4x100 was won by one of the closest margins in state history -- two-tenths of a second.

"We put all hard work and dedication into it," Gross said. "We gave everything 100 percent and it worked out."

Sikeston took the 4x200 championship by another slim margin. They edged nearby Kennett by just .15 seconds -- 1:29.11 to 1:29.26. They entered the finals as the second ranked team according to their preliminary run. Rival Grandview posted a better prelim time of 1:28.73.

"The pressure was on us," Flannigan said. "We talked about repeating. Not a lot of schools do that. I can only think of one or two that's done that in the last few years. They performed. They did what they had to do and that was run it to win it."

Pre-race chatter between Grandview and Sikeston (more Grandview than anyone, according to Gross) ensued as the two rivals have met on numerous occasions.

Just last year Grandview defeated Sikeston for the 4x100 title by nearly a full second. A close race was expected between them in the 4x200 event as well, but Grandview was disqualified in the preliminary round for straying out of their respective running zones.

"They were always talking down there," Baker said about Grandview. "They were saying stuff like they were supposed to beat us last year and that this year they were going to get us."

"We just kept our focus on the race and didn't worry about anything they said," Gross added.

A steady pace and passable handoffs, according to Flannigan, led to Sikeston's second-straight 4x200 championship. Grandview finished with a time of 1:30.02.

"Our handoffs weren't the greatest or what we wanted, but it was good enough to win the 4x200," Flannigan said. "The 4x100 is where we've been hurting all year. We were missing handoffs and just doing little things wrong. We had two really good handoffs and two average ones. It was good enough to bring the plaque home."

As Nichols ran the final stretch of the 4x100 relay, he knew the finish was going to be close. So did Gross, who serves as the third leg and hands off to Nichols. After his teammate crossed the finish line, somehow, he knew Nichols won the race.

"I knew it was close and I saw Nick put his chest out. I was like, 'he got it' and I took off down the finish line," Gross said. "It was exciting. I liked how it came out because it was a challenge. We had to really work for it."

"I can just watch him and just say to myself, 'he's got it'," Gross added about handing off to Nichols. "In some pictures you can see me back there yelling at him. It's fun watching him run."

As Nichols ran side by side with Grandview's Ivan Lofton, he admitted he didn't know which runner came out on top. As he approached the finish line, the prototypical, powerful anchor stuck out his chest like all 4-men are taught and simply hoped for the best.

"In my head I was thinking, 'gotta win, gotta win, gotta win'," Nichols said. "I had to keep pushing. Being anchor is a lot of pressure. If they're ahead of you, (the team) counts on you to catch up. If you're ahead, they count on you to keep the lead. It's something I enjoy doing."

Nearly five minutes went by before Sikeston knew if they were two-time state champions or not. The top three teams were waiting to take their place on the winner's podium.

"I was off at one angle and I thought we didn't make it," Flannigan said as Nichols crossed the finish line. "I talk to Nick as he takes the handoff and I couldn't tell."

As the results flashed across the scoreboard, Sikeston began it's celebration.

"At the end I was scared," Nichols said. "Then they lined us up and said that Sikeston was first. I was ecstatic. Words cannot express how happy I was. I knew we had the 4x200, but the 4x100 was a little different. I just knew we had to win it."

The need to win weighs heavy on Nichols, as it does the rest of the squad.

All four members are accomplished as individuals in track and nearly every other sport Sikeston has to offer as well. All but Nichols, who narrowly missed qualifying in the 400-meter dash, qualified for an individual event on their own at state.

Gross finished third in the long jump giving him an all-state finish with a jump of 21-feet, 1 inch. Clark qualified for state in the 300-meter hurdles, but failed to make the finals after prelims. Same with Baker in the 100-meter dash.

Nichols has been an all-state football player and an accomplished wrestler. The three seniors were key in Sikeston's last two football seasons and Baker was a second team selection on the SEMO All-Conference team in soccer this past season. Both Gross and Baker also played basketball. Gross became a starter towards the end of the season as the Bulldogs finished with a third place plaque. Baker played on the junior varsity squad.

Together, however, they make a dynamic, powerful relay team. One that Nichols is extremely proud of.

"My whole point was to let the school remember my name," he said. "I wanted to make them remember us as a team."

"We accomplished a lot of goals that we set," added Gross. "We did something people probably thought we couldn't do."

Baker, being the youngest of the group, has the most to lose. He'll be the only remaining member of their championship team left next year.

"I told them now they've laid the foundation," Flannigan said. "Now we're expected to do well and we have to keep building."

Sikeston will try to do it with another batch of runners -- a promising young group consisting of Zach Harrison and Deterio Newman -- who, along with Baker and Nichols finished with all-state honors in the 4x400 relay with a fifth place finish.

"It means a lot to me because I'm only a junior and they're all leaving," Baker said.

Baker also said he learned a lot from his experience with his senior teammates. Something he hopes to carry on after helping himself and three accomplished seniors leave their mark in Sikeston's track history.

"I'm going to miss them, but I'm still going to try and go to state next year," he said. "It was just a lot of hard work and the same fun that we always have."