Southridge girls’ track and field relay team chasing the state record

Southridge track star Jalisa “Jiggy” Marshall doesn’t mind when her relay team is trailing after three legs.

Marshall, the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay team that won a state title last year with a time of 45.9, said her unit is almost always ahead … or at least about 95 percent of the time.

But that other five percent?

“I get amped up because I get to show how fast I really am,” said Marshall, a senior. “Everybody’s watching, and I get to catch that person in front of me. Sometimes I’m nervous, but most of the time I’m just excited.”

So is Southridge coach Erin McCray, who returns all four of his 400 relay runners from last year. Senior Janeise Guevara runs the first leg; followed by junior Amari Vaughan; senior Tamiya McCoggle; and the aforementioned Marshall.

Those four girls are chasing the Florida record of 44.94, set by Southridge in 2023 at the Florida Relays. That 2023 Southridge team included: Somiyah Braggs (now at the University of Pittsburgh); Cynteria James (South Carolina); Tamia Benton (UCF on academic scholarship); and Meara Rasul (North Carolina A&T), and only Benton is no longer running.

Marshall said breaking their record is crucial.

“We talk about it every day,” Marshall said. “We’re chasing it every time we run. I think about it every day, every meet and every second.”

McCray, 53, is the architect of this obsession. Southridge is his alma mater – he ran track and played football for the Spartans before graduating in 1990.

After that, he played running back and wide receiver at Ball State, where he earned a degree in Industrial Technology.

McCray returned to Southridge in 2003 as a math teacher and assistant track coach. He became head coach in 2016, which means this year marks a full decade with McCray in charge of a girls’ track program that has won eight state titles, most recently in 2023.

Southridge’s relay unit is a big part of the Spartans’ bid to return to the top of the podium.

All four girls want badly to set the Florida record, and doing so could spark college-scholarship offers.

“I’ve never broken a record before,” said Vaughan, who wants to study Criminal Justice in college. “I think it would be good exposure for myself and the rest of the girls.”

Perhaps the biggest key to the relay team is Guevara because she was the newcomer to the unit last year. She is also crucial because she runs the first leg.

Guevara ran track for Braddock as a freshman, but she didn’t like the experience. She transferred to Southridge as a sophomore, but she missed the entire season due to an injury to her shins. She finally joined the team last year, and she was a difference-maker.

McCray said he noticed Guevara’s speed immediately.

“She jumped right in with her teammates,” he said. “She was right on their tails.”

But while the speed was evident, the chemistry took some time. In fact, Guevara said the girls “weren’t close” at first.

“Last year, I was a bit shy and to myself,” Guevara admitted. “But once we started racing together, we had chemistry.

“This year, we’ve gotten closer, and it’s way more exciting.”

Marshall, the most outgoing girl in the unit, has a different view.

“(Guevara) fit right in,” Marshall said. “It wasn’t hard to make her like us. We all became friends.

“We saw her speed, and we heard she was going to be our first leg. We were excited. Now she’s comfortable with the whole team.”

Guevara is also comfortable with her role. Born in Miami to a Cuban father and an Argentine mother, Guevara enjoys getting her relay team off to a fast start.

“I feel this excitement,” said Guevara, who wants to become a neonatal nurse. “I had never run a relay before, but it’s so fun.”

Another key to this relay team is Vaughan, who had a hamstring injury early last season. Once she got going in March, the team took off.

Vaughan and McCoggle, who run the second and third legs respectively, are the only girls on this unit who have to receive and pass the baton, so there’s a lot of pressure on them. Handoffs are what separate good relay teams from the great ones.

McCoggle started running track at age five, but she didn’t like it at first.

“I don’t like the sun,” she said.

However, McCoggle knew she had talent and stuck with the sport. Now she loves it and wants to join ex-Spartans star, Braggs, at Pitt.

McCoggle said the secret to breaking the record is to nail the baton exchanges.

“We have to be patient and not rush it,” said McCoggle, who wants to study Criminal Justice. “Most important, we have to focus.”

If everything goes right with the three exchanges, then it’s time for Marshall to shine.

When she runs, Marshall said everything goes quiet … except for the sound of her mother, Malisa, screaming, “Let’s go Jiggy!”

Marshall, who has been talking to the coaches at the University of South Florida, wants to study fashion design or sports medicine.

For now, though, she wants that record, and Braggs – one of the four ex-Southridge girls who actually owns the mark – is gracious about the whole thing.

After all, when she was a senior at Southridge, Marshall and McCoggle were freshmen teammates, and Braggs saw their potential.

“When we set the record, it felt like a big accomplishment, and we all had special handshakes with each other,” Braggs said. “But now I want (the 2026 Southridge girls) to break it, and I think they’re capable.

“They’re trying to get to college. If they break the record, that will get a lot of coaches’ attention.”