The heat and humidity that hovered over the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium was nothing compared to the scorching performance delivered by Shoemaker’s 4x200-meter relay Saturday night in the UIL Class 6A State Track and Field Championships.
Focused and fearless, Jamal Polite Jr., Michael Bickham Jr., Brandon Brown Jr. and Jayden Ford seamlessly exchanged the baton around the oval twice in a school-record time of 1:23.19 to capture a most sought-after gold medal and state championship.
“Shoe Speed” not only showed up in Austin, it left its mark and gave everyone something to talk about on their car ride home.
“It feels good. We really worked for this. Everything paid off. I’m really happy for us,” Bickham said. “We did everything we had to do. We proved what we do. I’m glad we were able to be out here and show our talent.”
ed by head coach Eule Ford and assistant coach Alijawon White, it was the third consecutive season a Shoemaker 4x200 relay made the podium at the state meet. The Grey Wolves grabbed bronze in 2024 and silver by the slightest of margins (.03 seconds) in 2025. Brown ran a leg on both of those teams. The senior, who said last year’s close call motivated the Grey Wolves more than ever, now has the complete collection of state hardware.
So serious most of the time, Brown couldn’t hold back a smile –– and that was after wiping away a few tears in the immediate aftermath of accomplishing the ultimate goal.
“My first year was like a welcome to what state was like. My junior year, we were supposed to win but we faced adversity at the end. We came back this year, bigger, better, faster and stronger, and we knew that we had to come back and get the gold,” Brown said. “I feel like we ended off good, and this was my last race with them so it was definitely a moment to appreciate and remember.”
With district and area titles already to their credit, the Grey Wolves posted 1:23.48 at the 6A Region II meet two weeks ago to grab gold, and they entered Saturday’s race against the state’s best as the top seed.
From Polite’s surging start, to the middle legs executed by Brown and Bickham, to Ford’s fleet-footed finish at the line, they fulfilled the role of favorites with ease, winning by almost a full second. Katy Tompkins (1:24.07) was second and Round Rock Stony Point (1:24.38) was third.
“I just want to say thank you to God. Thank you to everybody who believed in us," Polite said. "I came out of the blocks strong. The dude in front of me ran a great race, and I knew he would, and it pushed me to run faster.Gave the stick off to Brandon, who ran a great leg and (Bickham) ran another great leg to give us the lead. And Jay Ford, you know he’s going to finish it off every time.”
Ford, who is back to full strength after a knee injury held him out for two years, certainly held up his end down the homestretch.
“When I saw (Bickham) on the straightaway and saw him break the stagger on the last 50 meters, I was like ‘I’m about to take off on them,’” Ford said.
That he did, and no one can take away the gold that now belongs to the Grey Wolves.