They’re In Fast Lane University’s 400-Meter Relay Team Has Been Turning Heads - Rapidly

It was early, way too early, in the track season for a 42.4.

But that’s exactly how fast University’s 400-meter relay team was in the first meet of the season.

Just that quick, the area known for its distance stars was bursting with speed.

“It really surprised me,” senior anchor Jason Berger said. “For three years we improved a little. I didn’t know if we would be faster or not. It was a nice surprise. Everyone’s speed came down.”

Deep down, though, the Titans weren’t surprised by the time, just the timing.

They ran with Mead last year and the Panthers won the state title. The Titans were on the sidelines, though, derailed by a dropped baton at the district meet.

For comparison, Mead’s best time was 42.54 seconds in the state prelims, before winning with a 42.77.

Still, the early 42.4 opened eyes. Electronic times are a little slower than hand-held, and Cascade beat U-Hi in meets at Pasco and Shoreline.

“That helped a lot,” senior lead leg Mike Turner said. “We had to regroup, get our steps down and push it up another notch.”

So, the Titans erased any doubts last Friday, when they went 42.18 electronic, good enough to put them among the 25 fastest teams in the history of the state.

“I’d say if we have a couple good handoffs, we might make it in the mid-41s, at least 41.5,” Berger said. “Who knows if we had perfect handoffs?”

The Titans have enjoyed being the team to beat.

“I like being put on pedestal, being the team everybody talks about. I like the pressure of being the team to beat, the team everyone is looking at,” Berger said. “I like it better than coming out and shocking everyone.”

Why wait until the last race to strut your stuff?

“I like it when people come up before the 4x1 and say they want to try to keep up with us, that we set the standard,” senior second-leg Tim Buchanan said. “If they step up, we’ve got to take another step.”

It took most of the season for the Titans to take the next step because they were tinkering.

Turner and Tim Buchanan have run the first two legs, but freshman Anthony Buchanan replaced senior Mike Pugh in the lineup and last week went to the third leg with Berger as anchor.

“I just came up and ran,” Anthony Buchanan, Tim’s nephew and a student at Bowdish Junior High, said. “No pressure, they just tell me to race.”

Last spring, Anthony Buchanan was playing eighth-grade baseball.

“We knew he was fast but the first meet he was 10.9 (in the 100). There was a little wind,” U-Hi coach Keven Frandsen. “At the next meet he went 10.9, then we were smiling.”

Berger noticed.

“He trained with the freshmen and (assistant) Vic Wallace said he had a smooth stride. In the jamboree in the second heat he had a 10.9. I said we have to get him on the relay. I knew he could help bring us to another level.”

“I just ran,” Anthony Buchanan said. “When they told me my time, I was surprised.”

The freshman has made his uncle proud - “big time, he’s a freshman at state. I was in the JV all-league when I was a freshman.

“Anthony’s like (Ellensburg’s Ja’Warren) Hooker was as a freshman,” Tim Buchanan said. “Now Hooker is No. 1 in the nation. Anthony is right there with Berger when he gets focused.”

By late in the season, every Titan had broken 11 seconds in the 100, even though Berger was the only one to make it out of the tough Eastern AAA regional meet last weekend.

“Since the 42.4 they’ve all came down collectively 1 second in the 100, so with the same handoffs, that’s 41.4,” Frandsen said. “This team has gotten up for every single meet. Practices are hard work and low key. They’ve been relaxed. The interesting thing is, they’re so worried about beating each other, they don’t worry about the other teams.”

So how fast can they go?

“I don’t think we really know,” Turner said. “I know we can go faster than we’ve went. We still have handoffs.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo