GILMER, Texas — The city of Gilmer held a celebration for the 4A Track & Field state champion Buckeyes Wednesday at the Upshur County Courthouse.
Gilmer High School sent three relays and two individuals to the UIL State Track & Field Meet last Thursday, and when the points were tallied, the Buckeyes won the Class 4A team title by a slim margin of three points over Aubrey.
Rohan Fluellen, Tyson Wilson, Ta'Erik Tate and Will Henderson took home gold in the 400M and 800M relays.
"Last year when we went to state, we got disqualified," Fluellen said. "So we had a vengeance on our mind. Each and every practice, we came in with the mindset to win and go to Austin to get that chance that we did."
Head track coach Octavius Parker says he couldn't be prouder of his guys.
"They always came through each and every day just putting in the work" Coach Parker said. "They just never complain. You know, you hear so many stories about other track programs just saying how hard it is to get their kids to come and compete. I didn't have that problem. These guys, I had great seniors. This was the most things we've ever had, we had 10 seniors to come out and each and every day. They were there on time and they just came to work hard and the younger guys saw it and that's what elevated our track program this year."
Will Henderson won the 100M dash meters with a time of 10.28, which was the second fastest time recorded in Texas this year.
"I was nervous," Will Henderson said. "My stomach was hurting when I was in the blocks, and then when I saw the time I was shocked."
Lucas Cano also placed at state, winning third in discus with a toss of 167.6".
