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Flaunting a core of four athletes with the right dynamics of breakaway speed mixed with at least a half-mile worth of sprinting endurance, a Flowing Wells quartet entered the 4A-I state track and field championships at Mesa Community College looking to pull off a rare pair of victories.

The feat: the Caballeros were seeking championships in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter relays — with an identical crew of runners.

And if not for a dropped baton in the 1,600 relay, the Flowing Wells foursome — Lindon and Levi Claridge, Humberto Bravo and Jonathan Lopez — likely would've swept the events.

But an unfortunate turn of events changed all that.

"(Bravo) definitely got bumped, accidentally or because the guy meant to, and he had to chase down the baton, and that cost us this race," said freshman Lindon Claridge. "It's disappointing because we had the lead when that happened."

Bravo, running the third leg of the 1,600 relay, was sideswiped entering his final 200, and lost the baton, pushing the Cabs from first to eighth.

In 4A-II action, the Catalina boys were able to grab state gold in both the 3,200 relay and 1,600 relay, using three of the same four runners — Alex Morris, Joe Matz and Wais Khairandesh — in both events.

James Eichberger ended his high school career with six state championships, defending his gold in the 400 on Saturday, as well as running the final leg in the 1,600 relay.

"People think the 4A-I is stronger than the 4A-II, but after winning both, I think the competition, at least in the 400, was stronger," said Eichberger, a UA commit. "It was a tougher race this time."

Marana's Mike Ness doesn't like anything to mess with the mind zone he settles into before all of his mad dashes. So when he heard the second gunshot before the start of the 100, signaling a false start, he figured it just wasn't his night for a title.

"I'm in my zone, and then all of a sudden I'm not," said Ness. "It's no excuse. If I would've run faster, I wouldn't be thinking about that at all."

Ness finished third in the 100 and 200 meters, and grabbed silver in the 300 hurdles in 4A-I.

Other state champs included Palo Verde's Caleb Hall in the long jump, and Bisbee's Matt Metli.

Sabino was the highest Southern Arizona boys finisher in the 4A-I, coming in second, while Catalina finished highest in the 4A-II, also as runner-up.

On the girls side of the track, Southern Arizona's small schools highlighted the area's night.

Benson's Sylvia Gomez couldn't have planned a more perfect finale in her premier event, the 400, where she snared 2A gold in 58.26 seconds, easily defending her crown.

"I could feel everyone going after me this time, and that got me going even more," said Gomez. "I started out strong, going for the record. But I didn't quite get there."

She also took second in the 200 (26.36) — narrowly missing out on dual golds despite an aggressive final kick — and the Bobcats' senior also brought a bronze back down Interstate 10, in the 100 (13.31).

Frustrated by underwhelming performances in her two main events — the high jump and 100 hurdles — Morenci's Kresta Rogers wasn't about to crumble in her final high school meet.

Rogers shocked the state's 2A field by shaving over six seconds off her personal record en route to taking home the state championship in the 800 (2:24.79), an event she picked up this year just on a hunch.

"The one I was expecting to win the least is the one I end up winning a championship in," said Rogers.

Other area state champs included Willcox's Ashley Klump, who grabbed golds in both the shot put and discus.

Sahuaro's girls placed third in the 4A-I team standings, while Rio Rico was fourth in the 4A-II event.