Marble Falls runner Bailey Goggans breaks meet record
Marble Falls High School sophomore runner Bailey Goggans posed with her gold medal after winning the 800-meter race at the 55th annual Jesuit-Sheaner Relays on March 23 in a time of 2 minutes 8.80 seconds. She set a new meet record. Courtesy photo
STAFF WRITER JENNIFER FIERRO
Marble Falls High School sophomore runner Bailey Goggans did more than add another gold medal to her growing trophy case at the 55th annual Jesuit-Sheaner Relays in Dallas on March 23.
She also broke the meet record in the 800 meters by 2 seconds.
Goggans was first to the finish line in 2 minutes 8.80 seconds, besting the old record of 2:10.88 set by Aaliyah Miller of McKinney Boyd High School in 2014.
Goggans, who also set a new personal best in the outdoor 800 meters at the relays, ran another methodical race on a loaded track. She was one of 18 runners since there were no preliminaries leading to the final.
The sophomore stayed within striking distance then took the lead with 250 meters left in the race.
Keller High School senior Isabel Van Camp was second in 2:12.61 followed by Heritage Hall School (Oklahoma) sophomore Daphne Matthews, who clocked 2:13.90 to finish third.
Schrader was pleased with Goggans’s finish, particularly since she was up against talented runners.
Van Camp won this race in 2018 en route to capturing gold in the 800 meters at the Class 6A state meet.
He also noted areas where Goggans can improve.
“She needs to become more aggressive on protecting her position on the track,” he said.
Goggans now turns her attention to the Texas Relays on March 27-30 at the University of Texas at Austin, where she’ll be up against some of the top runners on the collegiate and professional levels in the 800 meters. That race begins at 7:05 p.m. Thursday at Mike A. Myers Stadium, 707 Clyde Littlefield Drive.
She also will run the high school 1,600 meters at 4 p.m. Friday with Llano sophomore Anna Casey, the reigning Class 4A state champion.
The Llano boys 4×100-meter relay team will run in a preliminary at 9 a.m. Saturday, while senior Courtney Reina will compete in the shot put at 11 a.m. that day.