With a a combined six boys and girls relay teams heading to Austin, backed by a loud contingent of fans, Cross Plains entered the 2021 UIL State Track and Field Meet feeling as though it had a shot to win two team state championships. Or at the very least, team bronze or silver. 

It just didn’t happen. 

Finishing in fifth place in both the girls and boys 1,600-meter relays, the exhausted Buffaloes were edged off the team medal stand with two fourth-place finishes. They were, nonetheless, the top boys and girls team performers among all Big Country Class 1A participants on Saturday, earning a combined total of four relay medals (two each).