Where are they now? What are they doing? These are questions frequently heard concerning Huntington boy’s track and field’s “Dream Team” that captured county, state and national relay titles.
It was just a couple of years ago that the Blue Devil greats dazzled fans. Affectionately known as the Fab Four, the group included lead leg runner Kyree Johnson, second leg Lawrence Leake, third leg Shane McGuire and anchor Infinite Tucker. The team won 4x400m relay indoor state championships in 2015 and 2016.
The spring of 2016 saw the Fab Four break a 50 year old 4x400m relay state record to claim a gold medal and then run the fastest time in the nation (and 11th fastest all-time by a high school relay team) to capture the national championship.
Where are these splendid athletes now? What are they doing? Well, let’s start with the lead leg runner, Kyree Johnson. He was the most highly recruited sprinter in the country in 2017, with offers from North Carolina A&T, Rutgers, UMass, Michigan, LSU, University of South Florida, Georgia, Ohio State, Syracuse, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas Christian and Texas A&M.
Johnson chose Texas A&M so he could reunite with former Blue Devil great, Infinite Tucker. In only his freshman year, Johnson was ahead of the curve and quickly made a name for himself.
Last winter, the Huntington alum was an alternate on Texas A&M’s returning national championship 4x400m relay team. In the spring season, he was the second leg on the college’s 4x400m relay team that placed second in NCAA Division I in an astonishing time of 2:59.91, earning All-American honors for Johnson and his teammates. Now a sophomore, Johnson is ready for true breakout indoor and outdoor season.
Leake, the second leg of the legendary Dream Team sifted through many college offers before choosing Georgetown University. His freshman year got off to a great start as he found himself one of the top intermediate hurdlers in the conference. Unfortunately, he took a bad step over a hurdle and had to pull up one day.
“Lawrence was sidelined for most of his season, but made a comeback toward the end,” Huntington head coach Ron Wilson said. “Over the summer he worked hard to strengthen his hamstring. He often worked out over the summer with the third leg of our championship relay team, Shane McGuire.”
McGuire earned a scholarship to the University at Buffalo, but an injury he sustained as a Huntington senior was devastating. “He was on his way to having a phenomenal senior year, but pulled up toward the end of his winter season,” Wilson said.
After rehabbing the injury he returned to the track at Buffalo and has been better than ever. In his first college race, McGuire placed seventh in the 800m run in a fine time of 1:59.38. “I would venture to say that he is back,” Wilson said.
Tucker, the anchor leg of the Dream Team and one of the greatest Huntington athletes ever, is a junior at Texas A&M. After overcoming an injury as a college freshman, he captured NCAA Division I All-American honors in the 400m intermediate hurdles by finishing eighth in the national championships last June in Eugene, Oregon.
Leake is working hard in the business program at Georgetown while McGuire is majoring in sociology and minoring in education at Buffalo. Tucker is majoring in sports management and Kyree Johnson is pursuing business studies at Texas A&M.
“All four athletes report that classes are tough, but there is plenty of academic support to help get them through,” Wilson said.
