Matt Wixon

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AUSTIN – The Lancaster girls were the talk of the UIL state track meet Friday. Unfortunately for the amazing, dominating, seemingly unbeatable Lady Tigers, there was only one way that could happen:

They finished second.

It's true. No recount needed. Lancaster, which had won eight straight 4A state titles, lost its crown to Mansfield Timberview in front of 13,942 fans at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Timberview scored 86 points, more than doubling the score of second-place Lancaster.

"It's hard to put it into words how I feel. It's overwhelming," said Timberview coach Cinda Baer. "We've respected Lancaster. Everyone respects their team. For us to come out and beat the champion, it's sweet."

ERICH SCHLEGEL/DMN

Lancaster's Jerneshia Mergeson speeds around the turn during the girls 200-meter race.

Sweet, and although Lancaster hadn't lost since finishing second in 2000, not surprising. Timberview had the depth in individual events that Lancaster had enjoyed in the past. Junior Richanda Hall won the 100 meters, and Kristyn Williams, who is just a freshman, won the 400 and 800. Timberview also won the final event of the night, the 4x400 relay, although it didn't even need to be on the track.

The title had been clinched nearly an hour earlier. That's how impressive the performance was by Timberview, which was clearly the team of the night. That's what it took to knock off the program of the decade.

After Lancaster won its first championship in 2001, coach Bev Humphrey was asked if her team could win back-to-back titles. She wasn't sure. A lot of athletes were graduating, she said. "There's going to be a drop off."

But there wasn't.

Lancaster kept rolling. Stars came and went, names changed, but tradition never graduated. The Lady Tigers were always the team to beat and the team that couldn't be beat. Four years ago, they scored more points than the combined total of the teams in second and third place.

But it was a different team Friday. Lancaster, with one of its youngest teams in years, qualified athletes in only three individual events. It was also shaky in two of the three relays, finishing third in the 4x400 and fifth in the 4x100. Winning the 4x200 wasn't nearly enough for Lancaster, which needed a near-perfect performance to knock off Timberview's starry lineup.

For the last eight years, it was the other way around. Teams hoped Lancaster would drop the baton or make other mistakes. Lancaster always set the pace, and everyone else tried to keep up.

This year, Timberview set the pace. And it was a fast one.

"We've been knocking on the door," Baer said of her program, which is in its fifth varsity season. "The girls worked hard, and we just came together."

And they looked a lot like the Lancaster teams of the past. Which I'm sure the Timberview girls will take as a huge compliment.

"For them to win so many in a row, it's just amazing," Hall said of the Lady Tigers. "For us to win by beating them, it makes it more amazing."