CHARLESTON — Edwardsville’s 4x800-meter relay team secured a spot in the state finals after posting a time of 7:58.53 during the preliminaries Friday, May 30, 2025, at Charleston. The Tigers edged out Downers Grove South, which finished with a time of 7:58.87, and Oswego East at 7:59.25 to advance.
The relay squad members are Spencer Homes Male Athletes of the Month for Edwardsville.
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The team’s four members shared their thoughts on the race and qualifying for the finals.
Colin Thomas said, “I felt good out of the start in 200 and kept calm the last lap, I was giving it my all.”
Cooper Wittek added, “I got the baton and I was pretty nervous, there was a big group in front of me. But I ended up getting around a lot of guys in the first 200, and I got out pretty fast. I was focused on positioning, and I felt like I handed off in a pretty good time.”
Declan Hoeferlin explained his role: “I think the main goal for my third leg is I wanted to maintain what Cooper did on the second leg. Normal was in front of me and my whole goal was to just stay with them. The other main goal was just to stay in a good position for the fourth leg.”
Jackson Amick described his final leg, saying, “By the time I got the stick, the first lap was smooth and I saw Chatham and said to myself, I will not lose again. I pulled around and went after Oak Park and that got us in the top 12.”
Reflecting the team’s collective sentiment, Jackson said, “We were so happy and pointing out to our families in the stands, we were so happy we got in the finals.”
