MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — While she was preparing for her first of two races of the night, Howard hurdler Tosha Austin scanned the crowd for her mother, then called to check on her.

Once she found out her mom couldn’t make it in time to watch, Austin became determined to have good news when she called back.

The Lady Hustlin’ Tigers junior then won the state championships in the Class A/AA 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

“I’ve run track for years and she usually gets to see me run,” Austin said. “I’m just so excited I think I’ll scream.”

Austin then stepped back and let out a loud yelp before continuing.

“The 300 felt easy for me,” she said. “I guess the excitement and all the fans yelling pushed me.”

Howard’s 4x400 relay team also won a title, finishing nearly three seconds faster than second-place Martin Luther King.

Notre Dame freshman Alex Mullin, who had won the 3200 run Wednesday, finished a strong two-day performance by also winning the 800, finishing second in the 1600 and anchoring the Lady Irish state champion 4x800 relay.

“I’m tired,” Mullin said after setting a personal best 2:17.40 the 800. “It’s been a great two days, but it was also pretty tiring.”

Brainerd’s Kelli Smith finished third in the high jump and helped the 4x100 relay team finish first and the 4x200 place second. Arts & Sciences’ Rhea Woods won the discus with a throw of 110 feet.

Chattanooga Christian’s Jessica Duble darted to an outside lane to pass a pack of runners and won the 1600 just ahead of Mullin and McMinn Central’s Diana Eddington, who was third. Duble was fourth in the 800.

“I don’t mind running in lane three sometimes if it means getting me out front so I can run my pace,” said Duble, who set a school record with a time of 5:14.30. “I didn’t want to get boxed in, so that’s what I had to do to get ahead.

“I was just very determined to run hard in that race, because I knew there were a lot of good runners.”

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