In The News: Hergert & Co. win national championship

Written by: Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic 

The NHS senior runs a PR split as the Albina Roadrunners win the 4 x 400 Junior Olympics title

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Things really came together quickly for the Albina Roadrunners’ girls 4 x 400 relay team this summer.

Newberg High School senior Maddie Hergert joined up with Vancouver Union’s twins Dai’lyn and Jai’lyn Merriweather and Central Catholic’s Malika Washington in the hopes of becoming All-Americans.

As of Sunday, the quartet can instead call themselves national champions, having won the final with a new PR of 3:42.16 at the U.S. Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships at California State Sacramento.

“It was amazing that we got to hit our PR at the race that counted,” Hergert said. “We feel like next year we can go even stronger.”

To reach their original goal of earning All-American status, the foursome simply had to qualify for the final, which it did with relative ease, winning its qualifying heat with a 3:48.14.

That was officially a new PR for the group and a slightly faster than their winning time of 3:48.43 at regionals, but the group had posted times as low as 3:43 when practicing against boys teams in training, so they knew they had a much faster time in them.

Their qualifying time turned out to be the fastest in the field, but Hergert said the team was more excited about the possibility of winning a national title than they were worried about the pressure of being the top seed in the final.

“We were nervous but confident at the same time,” Hergert said. “We knew we had a chance to actually win it, so we were just getting pumped. We knew what we had in the tank and that we could run fast, but at the same time, other teams were holding back a little bit and not showing everything in the prelims. Going to finals and showing there what we could do is what counted.”

Coach Dominique Merriweather, father of the twins, switched up the lineup for the finals, moving Hergert from the second leg to the third and the race seemed to unfold according to plan.

The overall race was pretty tight after Washington’s opening lap, with Dai’lyn Merriweather making it a two-team race along with the group from Glenarden Track.

Things were still tight for most of Hergert’s lap, but as they rounded the final corner, Hergert pulled into the lead and held it before handing off to Dai’lyn Merriweather, posting a new PR time of 56.1 for her split.

Merriweather held that lead for pretty much the entire final lap, as Albina improved their PR by nearly six seconds and edged Glenarden by 2.27 seconds to win the race.

“It was just amazing,” Hergert said. “The rest of us were just jumping up and down and cheering her on. When she passed the finish line that was what we had worked for. We’re still in awe of it and replaying it over and over.”

Hergert, the newest member of the group, credited the team’s chemistry for its success, noting that the handoffs in the final were very smooth and that the foursome responded well when the pressure was on.

“At the first practice, everybody was just so inviting and we all just really clicked really fast,” Hergert said. “Roadtripping up here together was great, too. It brought us closer. I don’t think I’ll fall out of touch with these girls. I’ll keep communicating with them. This bond and relationship that we created, that helped us win this and will help us keep on winning because we hope to do this next year, too.”