On his last lap, senior Zach Munger glides through the track. He keeps pushing, only focusing on the sounds of his footsteps hitting the track. With the finish line in sight, he finishes strong, looking up to see the time of a new Bowie record for the 4×800 relay.

Senior Evan MacGregor, the first runner in the relay, has had big aspirations leading up to the relay race.

“We knew we had the record in the bag before the race even started,” MacGregor said. “I was confident in all four of our guys to do well and it worked out that way.”

MacGregor wasn’t new to this type of race, with his years of practice, he learned to start off strong and get the best start for his team.

“I’ve been racing this race since middle school,” MacGregor said. “I know my limits, and I know myself and when to push myself and when not to.”

MacGregor is one of the two seniors who run the 4×800, the others being junior Henry Janes and Munger, who is proud of how far the team has come.

“It takes many years to build up a program where you have a bunch of solid guys,” Munger said. “I’m pleased with where we are as a team.”

MacGregor, who isn’t lacking in confidence, had much trust in himself and Munger before the race.

“I went first leg, and Zach went last leg,” MacGregor said. “We’re the best Bowie has ever been in track. So leading off the first leg and running 1:55, I knew I was setting us up for success and knew Zach was going to finish with a good time in the end.”

Each spot in the 4×800 has a meaning; the first and last guy are usually the best two, with the second and third runners up for preference. The third runner, junior Kaiser Kothmann, was as shocked as anyone when he found out they broke the record.

“I was genuinely surprised because I didn’t think we had that good of a team, and we hadn’t been practicing that much for relays,” Kothmann said.

Kothmann wasn’t the only one who was surprised as Munger was also shocked by the result.

“When I look at the talent on the team this year compared to last year, you could say we were better last year,” Munger said. “So, the fact that we shattered our previous record by almost 15 seconds is crazy.”

 This wasn’t by accident however as Munger and the rest of the Bulldogs have been doing extensive work to try and break the record.

“We’ve been doing endurance work for about a year now,” Munger said. “And for the last four or five months, we’ve just been focusing on the speed aspect to hone our skills.”

While breaking the relay record is essential, it does more for the team than just putting them in a record book.

“I was super happy with the team, and I know that was a huge confidence booster going into the postseason for us because it’s all coming together,” Munger said. “When you start dropping times without even trying that hard, you know that big things are on the way and I’m really excited about what the postseason holds for us.”

With the postseason on the horizon, MacGregor thinks big things are coming but knows they won’t be easy.

“State is always the goal for us,” MacGregor said. “It’s a little harder, because only the top two runners make it for each event, and if you have some guy who’s very fast in your region, which we do, it makes it tougher because only one spot is open.”