Photo by Undre/ossports
Mia and her twin sister, Mariah Maxwell, beamed with joy after completing the 100-meters, achieving two of the fastest times in the nation this season.
The soft-spoken twins participated in the Invite Men’s 100-meters / Mixed Gender 100-meters, which featured four men in the six-tandem event. As expected, the men finished ahead of the twins, but improving as the season progresses is the goal for the twins.
Although the conclusion did not reach Mia’s top time of 11.04, Mariah recorded the second-best time in Texas history, 11.16. Her previous best was 11.28. Mia achieved a time of 11.18.
“It means a lot. It’s my season opener”, said Mariah of APXP. A big PR from 11.2 to 11.1. It’s crazy. It makes me excited for the season. It’s really fun coming out here competing against these boys, giving everyone a show (speaking of the four guys who competed in the 100 Meter dash)
Despite not matching Mia’s top time of 11.04 seconds, Mariah ran 11.16 seconds, the second-fastest in Texas history. Her previous personal best was 11.28 seconds, while Mia finished with a time of 11.18 seconds.
The annual event saw participation from 40 colleges, high schools, middle schools, and unattached athletes, showcasing a diverse range of talent and competition.
The Maxwell twins were not the only highlights, as Texas Southern men’s and women’s teams showcased its strength, securing multiple top-three finishes.
Competing away from home proved advantageous for the Tigers, who began its outdoor season at Turner Stadium during the 74th TSU Relays, necessitated by the resurfacing of Dudley Stadium at Texas Southern University.
Texas Southern took matters into its own hands, keeping itself in contention in most events.
Texas Southern’s Alyvia Brown had an impressive evening, securing victories in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.56 and the 1,500-meter run, 4:45.68. She achieved a commendable second-place finish in the triple jump, recording a distance of 36-11. The Tigers followed up with two other finishers, including Katherine Canchola, who also performed well, finishing second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:05.82 and second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:34.19. Stacy Guerrero trailed closely behind, taking third in the 5,000-meter with a time of 19:39.29.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Desirae Roberts and Tyler Moore finished first and second, clocking 1:05.04 and 1:10.71, respectively. Its convincing performance contributed significantly to the team’s overall success during the event.
Kennedy Haynes excelled in the discus throw, winning with a distance of 126-8, while also earning a bronze medal in the shot put with a throw of 36-9. Bria Lawson and Mikayla Ball followed closely behind in the discus, finishing second and third with throws of 118-6 and 118-3, respectively. Ball later added to her achievements by winning gold in the hammer throw with a mark of 134-8.
Other victors comprised Calle Fisher, who achieved victory in the Long Jump with a distance of 17-1.5 feet. Destinee Payne secured the second position with a jump of 16-11.5. Ryann Richards also attained a second-place finish in the pole vault, clearing a height of 6-6.25.
The Tiger men’s track and field team demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving nine first-place finishes. Jalen Walker excelled in both the Hammer Throw and Shot Put, recording distances of 187-5. Ahmad Muhammad triumphed in the Triple Jump with a leap of 47-8.
Additional winners included Joshua Brown in the 100-meter with a time of 10.43, Michael Strange Jr. in the 400-meters with a time of 48.09, Manual Garza, who was a double winner in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4:14.87 and the 5,000-meters with a time of 16:09.10, Te’Drick Robinson took the 110-meter Hurdles with a time of 14.66, Tyler Johnson in the High Jump with a height of 6-6, and Xavier Bellard won the long jump with a distance of 22-2.5.
“It feels good to knock the rust off”, Tigers 110-meter Hurdler Te’Drick Robbinson elaborated. “We had a pretty long break. We had a little wind out here today. But it was good to go one, two, speaking of teammate, Donyea Jarmon, who finished second in a time of 14.73.
“It was hard getting loose after the long break”, Jarmon said. “We’ve been working hard at practice.”
Harvard University’s men’s and women’s track teams excelled in the 4×100-meter relays, finishing first with impressive times of 39.72 and 44.42 seconds, respectively.
“Going into this meet, we know we have some strong guys in the run. Our angle leg, he’s been running good. He did well indoors. Timmy just ran a school record, and Jonus has run the same time. We have high expectations for ourselves, and we are constantly pushing for something more.
“I’m new to the mix”, Amari Turner Crimson’s 4th leg on the 4×100-meter Relay spoke. “We are working on continuity, getting timing, handoffs, and rhythm down. We change up the lineup to stay consistent and try to get a national or regional qualifying mark. We came out and did pretty good.”
“Spring break brings us here, and many alumni are willing to host us”, Crimson’s first leg of the 4×100-meter Relay, LeRoy Horton explained. We are thankful for that and the warm weather; we are stuck in the cold weather up in Boston. This is nice warm weather to practice in. We’ve been working here for a week. We leave here tonight
“It means great, it’s just the beginning”, says Saige Forbes. I’m a senior on this team, these are our younger members, and they really pushed us every day to come out and do the best we can, and we pushed each other.” Mfoniso Andrew, who grew up in Missouri City, where she attended Elkins High School.
“I’m from Texas, Mfoniso Andrew, Harvard’s 4×100-meter Relay first leg.” “I definitely know what this stadium means. A lot of fast times are run on this track.”
Several high school athletes celebrated outstanding finishes, particularly Worthing’s remarkable Avonte Earl, who won both the 110-meter Hurdles with a time of 13.52 seconds and the 300-meter Hurdles with a time of 37.67 seconds. Harold Clewis from Churchill Fulshear also excelled, winning the 400-meters in 48.51 seconds.
West Fork’s Jailen Jones won a head-to-head battle in the 100-meter Dash against Keaton Bookman of Churchill Fulshear with times of 10.33 and 10.34.
“I’m not satisfied with my time”, Jones explained. “I believe I can always do more and better. I felt loose when he said set (referring to the starter). I relaxed, took a deep breath, and ran.”
Summer Creek’s Brook Lloyd and Phoenix Phillips both claimed first place in their respective events. Lloyd excelled in the girls’ 400-meters with a time of 52.84 seconds, while Phillips finished first in his event with a time of 14.03 seconds.
In middle school competitions, West Lake from Atascocita, Texas, set a record in the Boys 4×200-meter Relay, posting a time of 1:35.69, which elevated the team to second nationally. The Irons Junior High Boys from Conroe, Texas, finished first in the 4×100-meter relay with a time of 44.80 seconds.
“We are trying to improve our time in every race, West Lake Middle School first leg of the 4×100-meter Relay team, Niles Stoneham explained. “Our best time is 44.24 in the 4×100-meter relay”, said Adaris Baldwin, who runs the third leg on the 4×100-meter relay. We’ve run better than this before. “I think we could have done better on the exchange of the last leg. The fourth leg took off too fast, which obviously took off a little time. I feel honored to be here. A lot of colleges and high schools are here. U of H is one of my favorite colleges.”
M.D. Jones Middle School girls took part in two 4×100 and two 4×200-meter relays, clinching first and second place in times of (54.04) and (54.42), along with (1:53.29) and (1:54.93), respectively.