Track and field: Cactus Relays to mark special anniversary

The numbers are staggering.

Down through the years, most of the names have probably all been forgotten.

But when somebody takes the time to collect those names, find their results and put them together, those names start to come back to life.

Seventy years of West Texas track and field. Wrapped up in one place.

The track and field community at Iraan is getting ready to celebrate the 70th edition of the Cactus Relays on Saturday, a milestone that seems hard to put into perspective.

Until a glance at the booklet.

Last year Iraan track and field coach Ted Sellers asked local sports fan Johnny Rosales to put something together for the 70th edition of the Cactus Relays.

Nothing special. Just some results, big names, a quick look back at the meet's history.

"I told him to dig up a little bit of stuff," Sellers said. "While he was doing that, he started to go back farther and farther, farther than I ever thought he would.

Rosales started digging.

He pulled old newspaper copies. Found school records. Stepped into his car and drove to Odessa, Midland, Big Lake, Andrews and a host of other places to find information.

In the end, Rosales compiled the results from every single Cactus Relays ever held - 70 years for the boys, 31 years for the girls - into a single booklet.

Rosales found Cactus Relays results from all the way back to 1937, the first time Iraan held the meet.

During World War II, the Relays took a two-year sabbatical, but the meet has been a West Texas fixture ever since.

"You don't see many hold their water like that," Crane boys track and field coach Henry Anderson said. "It's always been a quality meet."

And Anderson should know.

Before he moved on to Crane, Anderson spent two decades at Iraan.

He has seen the track meet's staying power, which is built on the involvement of a community that supports the Cactus Relays every year.

"I've been around this area for 35 years," Anderson said. "You have to pay tribute to the community. They take a lot of pride in running a top-notch meet. That's what keeps it alive, and that's what keeps people coming back."

Sellers would like to see some extra people come back this year.

People drawn directly from that list of results compiled by Rosales. People who coached in the Cactus Relays, competed in the Cactus Relays, won a Cactus Relays title.

He's hoping some of those people will come back this Saturday.

To pay tribute to a meet that has been testing West Texas runners since before the start of World War II.

"We've invited some people," Sellers said. "We didn't put any RSVP on it, we just sent it out, and if they'll come we'll find a way to recognize them during the meet."

Sellers hasn't heard much in response.

With so many names to cover, he couldn't find a way to contact each and every competitor. He simply tried to spread the word, and Iraan is hoping that some of those names find time to come back to the Cactus Relays this weekend.

Because that's when those names will really come to life.