Freedom’s 4x4 relay team of Kyree Marshburn, Nick King, Cyrus Thompson, and Dashaun Peterson came through in the clutch to clinch the Patriot boys’ 75-74 victory over Becahi’s boys in track and field last Monday at Freedom.

It was the Patriots’ first victory on their new home track, and as luck or fate would have it, the meet came down to the 4x4.

“From the jump, I knew I had to start off strong and hold my stride in the first 200,” said Marshburn. “Once I was out of the turn, I had to power up. Every leg was as strong as the first.”

The handoff from Marshburn to Peterson was described by Marshburn as awful, but Peterson recovered.

“I came out a little too strong and kind of died in the next turn,” Peterson said. “It gave us drive with our coach telling us [it would come down to the 4x4]. That really helped, honestly, and there was a lot of adrenaline from people yelling. It felt like a football game.”

The team from Becahi was on the Patriots’ heels the whole race.

“Our handoff was really good,” said Thompson. “My first 100 meters, I had to push hard and hold form. On the corner, coming around the bend, I knew I had to hold strong.”

Earlier in the meet, Becahi’s 4x1 relay team of Joe Kurtz, Daizhun Rhodes, Zaheer Seabrooks, and Brandon Kelly took first place by .2 seconds.

“Losing the 4x1 put us behind, but we picked up some points in throws and scored some jumping points to keep it close,” said Freedom coach Ben Reph.

In addition, Freedom won in distance events with Isaac Gross taking first place in the 1600 in 4:58, and the Patriots scoring a 1-2-3 finish in the 3200 with Gross first in 10:59, Josh Noel second in 11:47, and Will Neusidl third in 11:48.

“I was just able to stretch and hydrate properly [this week],” said Neusidl. “As soon as I crossed, I knew I got a new p.r. I didn’t fall behind once, and I was able to keep up with Josh the entire time.”

Noel, Adam Boyer, Kevin Pollock, and Gross also won the 4x8 relay in 9:27.

Becahi’s Brandon Kelly won three events: the triple jump with a 38-07, the shot put with a 41-09, and the javelin with a 143-09.

Nate Andrew, also from Becahi, staged a comeback in the discus and clinched first place on a throw of 111-10.

“I was walking halfway out, but I knew I threw far. Then I jumped and yelled, yes,” Andrew said. “I’d never broken 105.”

Andrew threw a 97-5 on his first try and faulted on his second. Then his teammates overheard the Freedom side say they had first, second, and third places locked up.

“I really got the spin under control, the push-off, and a better release,” said Andrew.

In other events, Becahi’s William Tucker won the 800 meter run in 2:08, and Shamus Williams won the 100 hurdles in 16.3 and the 300 hurdles in 43.6.