Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt track’s legendary 4 x 100 record has been broken. The legacy lives on.

For over 25 years, Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt high school’s 4 x 100 relay time of 39.76 seconds was the national record.

On March 24, it was broken by not one, but two schools: Duncanville and Humble Atascocita. The Chaparrals, for over two decades, were the only high school track team to post a time below 40 seconds.

Wyatt’s 1998 national and state record setting team consisted of Milton Wesley, DeMario Wesley, Monte Clopton and Michael Franklin. The Fort Worth ISD team’s accomplishments were unprecedented, and it took a quarter of a century for another school to match the speed.

Duncanville posted a time of 39.65, breaking Wyatt’s record by just over one-tenth of a second. Atascocita, however, absolutely obliterated it, recording an absurdly fast time of 38.92 seconds.

“I wasn’t surprised by the record being broken,” Clopton said recently when the Wyatt track teams reunited at their school to reminisce about the record, their life-long friendships and their coach. “I was surprised by the time that was ran.”

The Eagles’ run was eight-tenths of a second faster than Wyatt’s, which showcases the absurd advances in Texas high school track in recent months.

“Forty used to be the norm,” Franklin said of elite 4 x 100 track teams. “Now, I think 39 will be the norm. Getting down to a 38 is going to take some special young men. Someone, eventually, will reach that. Hopefully I live to see it.”

Like any sport, the formula for success evolves over time. Training plans, dieting regimens and racing techniques are widely available and rapidly improving. Every day that goes by, the standard of greatness is raised.

Still, Wyatt managed to hold the record for 25 years without the same resources many track athletes have access to today. The differences between track in the late 90s and the modern era make Wyatt’s record unfathomable.

Wyatt didn’t need the technology filled, high performing shoes, advanced training regimens or high quality supplements to break the 40-second mark. The founders of what some called “speed city” thrived on a desire to destroy their competition; the national record was an added bonus.

“The record wasn’t even on our mind,” Franklin said. “It just came with it. We had to have that victory.”

The year before Wyatt broke the record, the team didn’t make it to state and struggled with injuries. The Chaparrals didn’t recruit under the table, and there wasn’t a season altering addition to the squad.

The stars aligned for Wyatt at the right time, and four elite athletes from Fort Worth put their all into being the best. Milton Wesley “set the tone” according to Clopton, who added the team fed off each other’s energy.

“We didn’t have a weak link,” Clopton said. “When one of us messed up, another would pick up the slack.”

The lasting Legacy, influence of Lee Williams

Wyatt may not have had the resources or facilities of modern track programs, but they did have something more valuable: Lee Williams, who makes a strong argument to be the greatest coach in Texas high school track history.

The entire team Wyatt 4 x 100 record-breaking track squad attributed their success to Williams, who was selected as the 1998 Texas Track and Field Coach of the Year for the State of Texas by the National Federation of Coaches Association.

On May 17, 2023, Williams died at the age of 71, leaving behind a legacy that “you can’t put into words.” Williams coached 52 All-Americans and won two UIL state championships in 42 years with Fort Worth ISD Athletics.

“He was the greatest coach ever,” Clopton said.

Williams was a TCU All-American that qualified for the NCAA Championships and set a school record in the 4 x 400 run and mile relay. In 2022, Williams was inducted into the 54th class of the Athletics Hall of Fame at TCU.

“He was a great individual as a human being,” Franklin said. “You knew, coming out O.D. Wyatt that coach Williams was a good coach. It you have been in his program – if you survive his program, you will have success.”

Wyatt’s historic success was largely due to Williams’ coaching, according to Franklin. He said Williams was special because he was unmatched in terms of the “things he knew and the knowledge he had.”

“One thing coach always said: If you quit on the track, you’ll quit in life,” Clopton said.

Williams pushed the entire squad toward greatness, which created a lifetime bond. More than 25 years after the record, the group actively participate in a group chat, sharing Texas high school track news and more.

The team keeps track of which teams are fast or have the potential to be fast. They’ve discussed the shocking recent developments, which includes their own record being broken.

“I just really wish coach Williams was here to see this,” Clopton said.

The dominance of Texas high school track

How dominant is Texas high school track? The times speak for themselves. Texas high schools have the top 16 times in the 4 x 100 relay in the history of United States’ high school track.

“There’s just something in the water down here in Texas,” Clopton said.

In Texas, there’s hardly anything more important to Friday nights under the lights. High school football recruits get bigger, faster and stronger every year, and the improvements are blending into the track realm.

Duncanville’s elite team consists of Ayson Theus, Brayden Williams and two high profile LSU football commits: Caden Durham and Dakorien Moore.

Durham, arguably the best running back in Texas high school football, is one of the fastest athletes in the country. He’s also incredibly strong with an abundance of muscle, which is something Wyatt lacked.

“We were skinny. Super skinny,” Franklin said. “Kids nowadays, they have a lot more size. And they are toned.”

Those “skinny” high school athletes from Wyatt set a record that many believed would never be broken, and it was the golden standard in high school track. All records, however, are meant to be topped eventually.

During the 25 years spent with the record, the Wyatt team saw the greater Fort Worth community support the tremendous accomplishment.

“The record was pretty big. We’re a small knit community,” Franklin said. “The community is so tight. When we set that record, everyone came together and supported us no matter what. Even people we competed against at other schools, like Dunbar.”

Although their names won’t appear as national record holders, Clopton said the legacy and accomplishments of the 1998 Fort Worth Wyatt track team will live on forever.

“It felt good to hold it for so long,” Clopton said. “To be honest, I didn’t think it would ever get broken. Not anytime soon. But we’re still the legends. We’re still the first high school to go under 40.”