Posted Monday, May 29, 2006, The OG, sports

The 3,200-meter relay team of seniors Cameron Cropek and Kangway Chuang, freshman Malcolm Taylor, and sophomore Austin Rundus missed winning a medal at Saturday's Class A state finals by a mere fraction of a second. These photos recreate the final two legs of the race as Taylor and Rundus made their all-out push for that final medal slot. Click here for our full coverage of the race, which was held before a near-capacity crowd at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium in Charleston.

Third leg: Taylor (947) gets ready for the baton exchange with Chuang. Notice how congested the lanes are when Taylor finally gets the baton and tries to take off. For much of his first lap Taylor stays near the back of the pack, but he hits his stride in the second lap, setting the stage nicely for Rundus in the anchor position.

Fourth leg: Rundus completes his first lap slightly behind Tremont's Jerad Koch. As the anchors begin their second lap, Rundus makes his move and pulls ahead. By the time the runners near the end of their second lap and head toward the finish line, Koch passes Rundus. Off to the left, Newton's Clay Britton comes into the picture. He and Rundus are competing for the ninth and final medal position. Britton finishes less than one-tenth of a second ahead of Rundus as Newton edges Uni 8:11.79 to 8:11.88 to claim the last medal.

photos by David Porreca