Bernard Blake had put it in the back of his mind and didn’t think about it again.
He had all but forgotten the 2009 Texas Relays.
“I hadn’t thought about it until just now when you brought it up,” Blake said while laughing.
You see, Blake is going to get a chance most athletes would love to have, a chance at redemption.
During Bastrop’s final exchange in the 400 meter relay at the 2009 Texas Relays, Blake dropped the baton.
What made it harder to accept, the Bears were ahead of Dallas Skyline, who was the top team going into the event.
Both the 400 and 800 meter relay teams didn’t have much luck at last year’s Texas Relays.
During the 800 relay, an exchange between Blake and Heath Hilbig also went bad.
Blake, now a senior, will get his chance at redemption on Friday and Saturday when 32 Bastrop County athletes will compete in the 83rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas-Austin.
Blake is quick to point out that it was that moment at the Texas Relays when the Bears turned dropping the batoninto a third place finish at the Region IV Championships.
“We turned it around after that,” Blake said. “That was our turning point in the season.”
Two of the members of those relay teams are gone and replaced by Adam Mack and Trae Bunton in the 400 relay and Paul Whitmill and Mack in the 800 relay team.
Mack, who ran in the 2009 Texas Relays with Smithville, placed sixth in the Division I 100 meter dash and fifth with the Smithville 800 relay team.
Blake said he thinks the Bears will get their redemption on Friday.
“We have had a pretty successful year so far and finished in the top two or three at every meet,” he said. “The Texas Relays is the best of the best so you have to run with a little more swagger than you normally do, but this gets us ready for district.”
Other Bastrop County athletes competing at the Texas Relays are:
n Bastrop: Girls 400 relay (Kaitlyn Marshall, Brittany Stuiberg, Chelsea Moore, Sydney Wilhelm)
n  Elgin: Girls 400 and 800 relay (Celes Inostrosa, Jasmine Corneilus, Tiffany Wong, Desarae Couthren), Alexis Chambers (high jump), Cornelius (long jump)
n Smithville: Jordan Runnels (100), boys 800 relay (Brice Nieto, Trevor Elam, Runnels, Ronald Cook), 1,600 relay (Neito, Elam, Cook, Shane Groff).
The high school competition at the Texas Relays will begin Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Go to www.texassports.com for a full schedule of events.

Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
When: Wednesday-Saturday; high school events begin on Friday
Where: Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin
Tickets: There is no charge Wednesday-Thursday; Beginning on Friday tickets are $15 for reserved seating and $10 for general admission per day. An all-session pass can be purchased for $30 for reserved and $20 for general admission.
Schedule: For a full schedule of events go to www.texassports.com
— Michael Adams