LAKEWOOD – The Classical Academy entered the girls’ 4×200 seeded fourth.

The Titans demonstrated to eight other teams those seed times held no importance. The quartet of Whitney Meister, Autumn Ferguson, Lauren Pantusa and Reese Blackwood placed first Friday at Jeffco Stadium with a time of 1 minute, 43.19 seconds to claim the 3A girls’ 4×200 relay title.

“We felt really good in this one,” Blackwood said. “We wanted to do this for our team and our senior since this is one of her last races.”

The Titans also sought redemption after their 4×100 relay, which the Titans were favored earn first, placed 17^th. Vanessa Tate injured her quad in race and managed to get the baton to Pantusa, but not at their usual pace. TCA used the 4×200 as pay back and punished their competition in the process.  

“I wanted to get out fast and win the first 100,” Pantusa said. “I wanted to stay tall in that final 100 and hand it off to Reese (Blackwood) with a lead.”

Pantusa executed that plan flawlessly and Blackwood bolted down the final turn and straight away unopposed as the Titans cruised to their second relay victory of the week.

The Titans are first in 3A girls with 59 points ahead of Saturday’s events and lead Eaton, which is second with 53.5 points.