In one of the last events of the season, sophomore Kaymin Philips and seniors Will Frohling, Nathan Cumberbatch, and Delea Martins competed in the rare coed 4x400 meter relay at the Myrhum Invitational meet hosted by Arrowhead. 

“It was the last event of a very long meet,” Martins said. “It was under the lights, Saturday night and the energy was high.”

For all the runners, it was their first time competing in a coed team.

“I would say this experience was one of a kind,” Martins said. “This [was] the first time I’d been in a relay with two boys, so I would say it was one of the most exciting relays I’ve ever done.”

The team won first place with a time of 3:35:08, putting the team among the best coed 4x400 teams ever recorded in the U.S.

“We ranked third in the country for the [coed 4x400], first outdoors,” said head coach Dominic Newman. “We are ranked 14th in the national honor roll over the years.”

Philips, the second runner in the event, managed to put the team in the lead.

“Initially, I was second,” Philips said. “I had gotten past the first straight, but eventually I came back on the last straight. I had passed [my competitor] up to give it to Nathan so that was really exciting, and I was happy I could help get that little bit of a lead.”

Martins, the final runner for the team, brought home the gold after a head-to-head race with her competitor.

“I was the anchor, so one of the most significant parts was probably when Nathan was coming in to hand off the baton to me,” Martins said. “Nathan and his opponent were right next to each other, so me and my opponent were getting the baton at practically the same time and I realized it was just a race between her and me.”

The team was happy to represent Shorewood in this unique event, and to be able to set a benchmark time. 

“It was very exciting to be a part of this team, and I hope to see another Shorewood team run a faster time sometime in the future,” Cumberbatch said.

“It was another way to bring the boys and girls programs together, that’s pretty neat to do,” Newman said. 

Newman credits Martins for the idea to run the relay. 

“It was honestly Delea who asked me if I was interested in trying to do that with the team,” Newman said. 

Building off of the excitement of the event, Newman hopes to host a mixed relays meet in the upcoming years. 

“I’m looking at trying to start a mixed gender relay [meet]…maybe do a meet at our track with other teams, and see what ourselves and other teams can put together,” Newman said. 

Reflecting on the team’s community, Cumberbatch is optimistic about Shorewood’s future.

“The people on this team are some of the leaders of this program,” Cumberbatch said. “ It is our job to continue to put marks down that should be beaten at some time in the future.”

For future runners, Martins advises them to trust themselves, their peers, and give it their all.

“Trust your teammates and really go after it,” Martins said. “You can’t really hold anything back, you just have to give it your all and run a hard race.”