Marble Falls runner Bailey Goggans sets meet record in 1,600
LEFT: Marble Falls High School junior Bailey Goggans set a new Texas A&M University Indoor Meet record by winning the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes 53.73 seconds. RIGHT: Goggans stands atop the medals podium at the Texas A&M University Indoor Meet. Courtesy photos
Marble Falls High School junior runner Bailey Goggans began the 2020 track-and-field season with a statement win followed by an exclamation point January 11.
Goggans, representing Winners Edge track club, won the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes 53.73 seconds at the Texas A&M University Indoor meet, setting a new meet record.
“They had some really good runners, and she clobbered them,” said Chris Schrader, Winners Edge and Marble Falls High School distance coach.
The two talked strategy before Goggans walked to the starting line for the final. Goggans was “to sit behind and relax” until the final 500, 300, or 200 meters, Schrader said.
“Whenever she felt comfortable” to make her move to the front of the pack, he added.
“They started to drop off after the first five hundred meters,” he said of the competition. “At six hundred meters, Bailey took the lead.”
And never looked back as she powered her way to gold.
“She met my expectations of 4:50-4:55,” he said about her time.
After the cross country season ended in November, Goggans has balanced an incredible practice schedule with enough rest to be healthy for the spring.
He said Goggans’ goal is to qualify for the 800-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 19-28 in Eugene, Oregon.
Goggans is the two-time Class 5A state champion in the event. Last year, she set the state meet record with a 2:7.39 first-place finish, successfully defending her state title from 2018.
To qualify for the trials, Goggans must run 2:02.50 at a sanctioned meet with fully automatic timing. That means a computer timing device and not handheld stopwatches.
Her first opportunity is at the Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus, 707 Clyde Littlefield Drive in Austin. She’ll be running in the women’s 800-meter invitational race at 7:05 p.m. March 26.
Her other chances will be at high school regional and state meets. The Class 5A state meet is May 8 at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
“She has a high goal,” Schrader said.
The Marble Falls High School track-and-field team started after-school practices January 13. The squad’s first meet is Saturday, February 22, at Liberty Hill High School, 16500 Texas 29 West.