Staff photo / Joel Whetzel Valley Christian's VeShun Gurley receives the baton from Phillip Spradley during the middle portion of the 4x100 relay. The Eagles won the state championship in the event with a time of 43.13.

COLUMBUS — For the third consecutive year, Valley Christian’s 4×100 team found itself on top of the podium.

The Eagles team of Jhordan Peete, Phillip Spradley, VeShun Gurley and Marquez Gibbs secured a three-peat for their program Saturday at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, posting a time of 43.13 to edge Anna’s time of 43.50 to secure the Division III crown.

“This is awesome,” said Spradley, a senior and one of the team’s two returners from last year’s winning squad. “We just want to put Valley Christian on the map. We’re a small school, we just want to be recognized for something good. Doing this three straight times, it just shows that we can change something and do something good.”

The Eagles entered the race as the top seed, posting a time of 42.88 in the preliminaries. The end goal, in addition to capturing the state title, was to set a new OHSAA record. Dayton Jefferson Township still holds the D3 mark at 42.31, but the Eagles left satisfied with keeping the championship in Youngstown.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Valley Christian’s Marquez Gibbs comes down the home stretch during the 4×100 relay. Gibbs and the Eagles captured their third consecutive relay crown Saturday.

“You’re not really supposed to think about the time and the clock and the numbers, but today I was aiming for the record,” said Gibbs, a junior and the other returner from last year. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it, but we get to stay on top.”

It capped a season of adversity for the unit, which had various injuries and was replacing two standouts from a season ago. But the group pulled through, staying with the front of the pack the entire race and allowing Gibbs to lead for most, if not all, of the final leg to secure the title.

“We’re just a resilient team,” Spradley said. “We just know how badly we wanted it, and how badly we wanted to get here.”

jwhetzel@tribtoday.com

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Valley Christian’s Jhordan Peete settles into the starting blocks ahead of the Eagles’ 4×100 championship win.