One year after setting state and national records in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays, Port Arthur Memorial did not win either race in the April 28 5A Region III meet in Humble.

But coach Darrell Granger has remained positive.

“I told them to stay focused on what we’re doing,” he said during Tuesday’s practice. “We understand what we had to go through this season. … I’m happy for my kids. I’m not disappointed in my kids. They’ve given me all they can give me.”

Memorial still has a shot at scoring 50 points — 20 for winning each relay and 10 if sophomore Ireon Brown wins the 200 meters, which teammate Kary Vincent Jr. won last year.

Asked if that will be enough to bring home a team title, Granger said: “I don’t think 50 points will be enough, but I do believe 50 points will get us a trophy. This year will be the first year they actually give a third-place trophy.

“… The most important thing for us as a team is just to put our best foot forward.”

Injuries have beset the 2017 5A state runner-up Titans for the past two months, and Granger had to make some lineup adjustments in his relay squads.

Junior JaVontae Hopkins ran the first leg of the 4×100 in the April 19 Area 11-5A meet at Barbers Hill, and sophomore Ireon Brown ran the 4×200 as usual after Granger had considered penciling him down for the 4×400 while senior Xavier Hull continued to nurse a hamstring injury. The Titans swept the relays and even posted a season-best 1:25.39, getting closer to the national-record of 1:23.52 they set in last season’s state meet.

In Humble, they weren’t as fortunate.

Memorial got second place in the 4×200 at 1:25.1 but needed a wild card — awarded to a team or individual who has the fastest time among all UIL regional third-place finishers — to make Friday’s state meet in the 4×100. The 4×400 team finished fourth.

Memorial, which ran a state-record 39.80 in last year’s 5A 4×100 finals, ran 41.39 in Humble, nine days after turning in 40.40 in areas.

“I used Hopkins in the 4×1 and the following week, he strained his leg, so that’s why he didn’t run the 4×1 in regionals,” Granger said. “Now, we’re back to Michael Odoms because we were hoping X [Xavier Hull] would be ready, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be ready. So, we’ll do what we have to do to be successful. I’ll put the best four on the track and see where that gets us.”

Odoms will run in his first state meet after serving as alternate last year. He ran in the 2017 5A Region III meet as well to help Memorial return to Austin.

“I know my teammates are depending on me, and I know my city is depending on me,” he said. “I’ve got to go up there and do what I got to do.”

Memorial has been assigned to lane 1 for preliminaries at the University of Texas’ Mike A. Myers Stadium, and Granger knows the challenge that awaits in that position.

“At Texas, they have those wide turns,” Granger said. “When you try to manipulate the turn plus the rails plus get a stick off, it’s kind of difficult. But I’ve seen other teams run fast out of lane 1, and I think we can do it because we did it a couple of years ago in lane 1 in 40.59. We just have to be flawless in our execution.”

Senior Elijah Hines, Brown, senior Greg Laday and Odoms is the planned lineup for the 4×100. Granger hasn’t settled whether to go with Brown-Odoms-Hines-Laday or Laday-Odoms-Hines-Brown in the 4×200.

“We’ve got to come back with the same mindset, same attitude and same hard-work ethic,” Laday said, adding that executing with different lineups hasn’t been easy.

“It’s pretty hard but we’re prepared and we’ve had other people filling spots in case someone falls down.”

Granger knows one thing — a team trophy, which Memorial has won two of the last three years — is at stake.

“I still believe we are going to run fast,” he said. “That place is tremendous. That surface is tremendous. With the first three guys we have, we’re going to be in contention to get on the awards stand.”

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews