Thrilling Relay Ride Continues

La Grange 4x400 Girls Persevered to Earn State Berth

Three years later, Aysia Grant and Hailey Bass are getting one final chance at state track meet glory.

Back in 2019, Grant and Bass were part of a state La Grange 4x400 relay as freshmen.

They qualified ninth (and last) among the state teams that year but ran the race of their young lives, shaved six seconds off their regional time and were fourth, just one place away from getting on the podium at state.

“This time, I want to leave state with something,” Grant said.

“There is no better way to bookend your high school career than to start it at state and end it at state,” La Grange girls head track coach Leslie Coltrain said.

This time those two seniors head back to Austin with a new team.

Sophia Gardiner, who runs the first leg, is a senior as well, but new to the 4x400 relay.

“I always did hurdles but at the first track meet they needed somebody and they put me on the relay,” Gardiner said. “I wasn’t very confident in my abilities but the team taught me how to run it. By the time we got to regionals I felt like I was supposed to be there.”

Except it wasn’t quite that easy.

Gardiner hurt her leg before the regional meet and was wearing a protective boot right up until her regional hurdle races. When relay time came at the regional prelims, she was still hurting.

“I told her, kid, it’s your call. You are a senior and I trust you,” Coltrain said. “She said coach ‘I don’t think I can push off. Ellee (Sodolak) came in and ran a great race, qualified with fourth best time going into the finals (at regionals).”

“I had an idea I might have to run,” Sodolak said. “So I was trying to get in the right mindset because Sophie had been hurt but I didn’t know for sure until about 10 minutes before hand. I had just enough time to warmup.”

By the next day, Gardiner was feeling well enough to run in the finals.

So Gardiner, Grant, freshmen Landri Hernandez and Bass teamed to run 4:05.58 to place second at regionals and punch their ticket to state.

In those regional finals, the Lady Leps were a distant third after half the race, Hernandez cut into that deficit some with her third leg, and then Bass made up about 20 yards on the runner from Waco La Vega to clinch second place and the state berth.

Just about a hour before, Bass had finished third in the individual 400, barely missing out on a state berth in that event.

“It was a heartbreaking experience losing by two-tenths of a second and knowing that was my last individual race of my high school career ... but I do believe we can go far with the team,” Bass said.

“They are the very definition of grit and heart,” Coltrain said. “Three of our four runners are battling nagging injuries but they said nothing was going to keep them from running.”

For Hernandez (the only one of the regional final four not battling a injury) the success at regional track helped take any some of the sting of losing in the first round of the softball playoffs just two days before.

Hernandez was the starting shortstop of the Lady Leps and the district’s newcomer of the year.

“I was so upset still (at regional track) but Coach Coltrain gave me a pep talk and I left it all out there and it ended up good for us,” Hernandez said.

The team’s other alternate Alyssa Liccioni knows that she too might be called upon at any moment.

“You never know when someone might get hurt and you have to step in and give it your all,” Liccioni said.

These six have run through adversity all season – and in some cases all four years of high school.

They are more than ready for state.

“It’s like putting an ending chapter to the book – starting at state and ending at state and such a great experience in between,” Bass said.