OT: Ridiculous comeback anchor leg to win TX state 4x400 relay

Submitted by Don on June 27th, 2019 at 2:41 PM

You won't see many anchor legs like this: Matt Boling was at least 3 seconds and what looks like 30 yards behind the leader when he took the baton, and he won going away in the Texas state championship final. His leg was 44.75.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0NPo8ZyF_o

This wasn't some flash in the pan, either: Boling also blew away the field in the 100m with a 9.98 in a regional meet, which is the fastest all-conditions 100m time in US high school history. It won't be an official record, though, because it was wind-aided:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejoAhVDhA5w

Boling did later set the national 100m record at the TX state meet with a 10.13, which broke the record of 10.15 set almost 30 years ago in 1990. Here's more from ESPN:

https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/26725883/viral-track-star-sets-high-school-record-100m

It would have been great to see him wearing a block M, but he's headed for Georgia. I don't know whether he's likely to make the 2020 Olympic team, but if he stays healthy and continues to progress, seems like he'd be a near-lock for the 2024 squad.

drjaws

June 27th, 2019 at 6:15 PM ^

Well .... eh .... white lightning is straight moonshine.  Copper still.  Corn mash.  130 to 170 proof.  Sold in the “hollers” of the Southern states.  Add fruit to the finished product and you get pies.  Apple pie, peach pie etc.

 

source?  Whites Holler in Tennessee where the shine was good and the cockfights went on for days.

bronxblue

June 27th, 2019 at 5:10 PM ^

It's a bananas comeback; the kid he caught ran around a 50s 400 meter (I'll admit my math may be off slightly based on when the handoff occurred), which is pretty fast as well.  Bolling is just a machine out there, and it's hard to remember he's still in HS and should, in theory, get even better with better training.

potomacduc

June 27th, 2019 at 5:31 PM ^

Catching someone from 3 seconds back isn't the impressive part. It's doing it to a kid who is running <48s. 

His time of 44.74 would have wont he B1G this year by almost almost a second and would have placed him 5th at the NCAA Championships.

Does that mean he is destined for Olympic gold and world records? Maybe. Guys peak early, get hurt etc. Nothing is guaranteed, but it will certainly be fun to watch his career unfold.

potomacduc

July 1st, 2019 at 5:46 PM ^

Well, he did run anchor and took the hand-off well before the line, so his distance ran was longer than 400m. That mitigates some of the advantage of a running start. He doesn't run the open 400m very often (too many events), so there isn't a good pb out there for him, but I'd guess a realistic open 400m time for him would be in the low 45s, which would still win the B1G and place him at NCAAs.