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Shallowater's Emie Lusk leads relay to state 2 months after family crash
TL;DR
Emie Lusk from Shallowater leads her relay team to the state championship just two months after a tragic family crash. Her performance highlights resilience and determination in the face of adversity.
Key points
- Emie Lusk leads her relay team to state championship
- Family crash occurred two months prior
- Highlights resilience and determination
- Significant achievement in athletics
Talkington's Iakah Burgess competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater's Piper Noble competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Muleshoe's Gia Hernandez competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Slaton's Z'Qedrian Whaley competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater's Easton Foster competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Slaton's Ashton Garcia competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Slaton's Josiah Glass competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Trinton Gonzales competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Talkington's Charley Iaulualo competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Slaton's Brocoiya Harris competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Chess Thompson competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Megan Hall competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Friona's Aaliyah James competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Muleshoe's Tralee Turnbow competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Brylee Heflin, right, and Shallowater's Alexa Welch compete in the 400-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Taylor Dennis, right, and Tess Givens compete in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Reese Dubois competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Roosevelt's Billy Bond competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Littlefield's Angel Pacheco competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater's Alyvia Holcomb competes in the 100-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Jackie Alvidrez competes in the 100-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Friona's John Villegas, left, and Idalou's Cooper Hammock-Wilson compete in the 110-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Brylee Heflin competes in the 100 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater's Alexa Welch competes in the 200 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Adrian Salas competes in the 200 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Slaton's Gabriel Maldonado-Chavez competes in the 300-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Muleshoe competes in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Kassidy Bozeman hands the baton to Mylee Estrada in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater's Emie Lusk competes in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Idalou's Kinley Bozeman reacts after winning the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Roosevelt's Kobe Mireles celebrates after placing third in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Talkington's Iakah Burgess competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Talkington's Iakah Burgess competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Shallowater's Piper Noble competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Muleshoe's Gia Hernandez competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Slaton's Z'Qedrian Whaley competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Shallowater's Easton Foster competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Slaton's Ashton Garcia competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Slaton's Josiah Glass competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Trinton Gonzales competes in the triple jump during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Talkington's Charley Iaulualo competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Slaton's Brocoiya Harris competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Chess Thompson competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Megan Hall competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Friona's Aaliyah James competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Muleshoe's Tralee Turnbow competes in the discus during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Brylee Heflin, right, and Shallowater's Alexa Welch compete in the 400-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Taylor Dennis, right, and Tess Givens compete in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
17 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Reese Dubois competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
18 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Roosevelt's Billy Bond competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
19 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Littlefield's Angel Pacheco competes in the 800 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
20 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Shallowater's Alyvia Holcomb competes in the 100-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Jackie Alvidrez competes in the 100-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Friona's John Villegas, left, and Idalou's Cooper Hammock-Wilson compete in the 110-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
23 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Brylee Heflin competes in the 100 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
24 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Shallowater's Alexa Welch competes in the 200 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
25 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Adrian Salas competes in the 200 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
26 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Slaton's Gabriel Maldonado-Chavez competes in the 300-meter hurdles during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
27 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Muleshoe competes in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
28 / 31
District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Kassidy Bozeman hands the baton to Mylee Estrada in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Shallowater's Emie Lusk competes in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Idalou's Kinley Bozeman reacts after winning the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
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District 2-3A track competes at Lowrey Field - See the photos
Roosevelt's Kobe Mireles celebrates after placing third in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
SHALLOWATER â Emie Lusk didn't know what to think when she got the news.
Her parents and brother were involved in a head-on collision on the rural West Texas roads heading home from watching Lusk and Shallowater girls basketball play in the state championship.
"I got the call, and it's just like my world flipped upside down," Lusk said, "because I didn't know what (their conditions) were like. Because they didn't really give me any details."
The details proved to be a laundry list of injuries, particularly for Emie's dad. Jay Lusk underwent emergency surgery to repair a baseball-sized tear in his diaphragm, collapsed lung and placement of his liver and gallbladder. He also fractured a vertebrae and had a brain bleed.
Jay Lusk spent about a week at a San Angelo hospital after the March 6 crash north of Eden. His wife, L.J., broke her sternum, wrist and multiple ribs. Cooper, Emie's older brother, is seeking evaluation for a knee injury.
All the while, track season was moving along in the background.
Shallowater's Emie Lusk competes in the 1,600-meter relay during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Emie Lusk faced an uphill climb as it was because of basketball's extended season. Tack on the emotional toll and the frustration was impossible to hide.
That's part of why Shallowater track coach Bubba Wallace views the 1,600-meter relay's latest feat as one of the greatest. The Fillies qualified for this week's UIL state meet for the sixth year in a row behind Lusk's anchor leg. The lone senior of the bunch, Lusk crossed the regional finish line in position to erase any early-season doubts.
"Emmy, early on, it was hard. I could see it on her, and it was stressful on her," Wallace said. "She just wanted to do so good because she wanted to be a fighter."
Shallowater's second-place finish at the Region I-3A meet was the continuation of growth for Lusk, Alyvia Holcomb, Kamryn Ledbetter and Alexa Welch. The group hasn't had long together. Ledbetter and Lusk came over from basketball in early March, about a month before the postseason.
"It's kind of scary at first," Ledbetter said, "because some other girls got more workouts than we did. But having somebody else that did basketball with me, we kind of pushed each other to get better."
Even then the final piece wasn't in place. Welch was inserted at first leg when the Fillies competed at the Texas Relays in early April. The group has been set ever since.
Welch said the competition has strengthened their sister-like bond.
"When it really came down to the point where meets started getting serious, we all just bonded," Welch said. "We've just gotten really close because of track."
Shallowater's Alexa Welch competes in the 200 meters during the District 2-3A track and field meet Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Lowrey Field.
Shallowater clocked in at 4 minutes, 2.35 seconds at regionals for the seventh seed entering Thursday's race. The Fillies have ended every season since 2021 at Mike A. Myers Stadium, and keeping up that streak was a motivating factor. Three of the girls were chasing their first trip as part of the relay.
"Oh, I was so nervous," Holcomb said. "Knowing that they've been to state five years in a row, I knew that there was so much I had to do to be able to help them go back. It was kind of stressful, but it's gotten a lot better, and I've gotten a lot more comfortable with them."
Holcomb carried the additional nerves of being a freshman. Ledbetter and Welch are sophomores, then there's the mother hen. Lusk ran on the previous two state relays and was an alternate as a freshman. She's played a vital role imparting wisdom of experience on the younger ones.
"Whatever (Lusk) says to do, we're like, OK, she knows what she's doing," Holcomb said. "She just helps us stay calm and knowing that it's all going to be OK and she's done it so many times."
Lusk said she learned how to lead from former relay mates, such as Maggie Grimes and Makki Hart. All Lusk wanted to do was continue the tradition and end things in Austin again.
When that was accomplished, it felt as good as ever.
"Every single time I've made it to state it's the exact same feeling," Lusk said. "It's not like it's any difference or anything, even though I've gone before. It's just like I'm doing it again for the first time. It's so cool, especially getting to do it with a whole new group."
This one will always stick out to Wallace, though.
"With the short season, with basketball playing as long as it did, then you had the stuff that went on in our community," Wallace said, "I just told my wife, man, if we can make it back, this might be the best coaching job that I've done. Because it's not been easy."
The Shallowater community rallied around the Lusks following the crash. Emie said the support was endless. Along with playoff runs in baseball and softball, the mile relay's success has been a source of positivity during the town's dark times.
It's certainly been fulfilling for Jay Lusk, who will watch his little girl finish her career on the grandest stage.
"We're so proud of her and the girls," Jay Lusk said. "I was standing down there by the finish line (at regionals) like, 'Please qualify.' That's what I kept saying. They did, and just made my day. It's just such a bright spot for us."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Shallowater's Emie Lusk leads relay to state months after family crash
Q&A
What happened to Emie Lusk's family?
Emie Lusk's family was involved in a tragic crash two months prior to her leading the relay team to the state championship.
How did Emie Lusk perform at the state championship?
Emie Lusk led her relay team to victory at the state championship, showcasing her athletic talent and resilience.
What is the significance of Emie Lusk's achievement?
Emie Lusk's achievement is significant as it demonstrates her strength and determination to succeed despite personal tragedy.
When did the crash involving Emie Lusk's family occur?
The crash involving Emie Lusk's family occurred two months before she competed in the state championship.
