Ian Jackson slapped his legs from bottom to top, sending shockwaves out - a wake-up call to any muscle that wasn't already out of bed out the door and down the street.
He stood tall in Lane 5 with a long white compression sock up his left calf, and wore an expressionless pokerface that was tight and focused.
He held his cards close to his chest.
There was a giant task at hand - winning the 2019 3A 400 state title. But the Alamosa junior did drop the fastest time in the prelims - a 49.14 clocking, which was a personal best at the time.
Though, the road to gold had a few obstacles in front of it.
Three lanes to his left was the defending state champ, Chad Jackson - his brother.
When the gun shot off, sending all nine finalist around the track, Ian Jackson was far from the quickest out of the blocks.
Within 100 meters Michael Wedemeyer cruised up besides him in Lane 4, and inched by.
Jackson gradually responded down the backstretch, keeping Wedemeyer within half a stride, though the stagger between him and Mike Ciccio, who ran in Lane 6, remained in tact.
That was all about to change.
As they hit the 200 meter mark Jackson shifted gears, flipped the switch, turned on the boosters, he set the track on fire.
Jackson took massive bites out of the track - and the competition - with a giant stride that sent him off and away from everyone behind him.
Likewise, the defending state champ and older brother - Chad - made a move of similar proportions in Lane 2.
Onwards into the final straight Ian continued to pour on the pace while Ciccio gave chase. For a moment, and just a moment, it appeared that the Lutheran junior might have another gear.
But the gap was too much.
Ian pumped hard into the final strides and tugged at the maroon colored "ALAMOSA" that stretched across his white long-sleeve singlet. A year ago he had finished sixth here, now the 400 state title was his.
Ian crossed in a PR of 48.97, just ahead of Ciccio's 49.51, and Chad's 50.25.
Energized by the ecstasy of capturing his first state title, Ian jogged on towards the top of the track and raised his arms in the air while eyeing the scoreboard that read out his name on top.
Behind him Chad chased his younger brother beyond the finish line, and opened up his arms to hug in celebration.
The two embraced on the track, having kept the state title within the family.
Ian had dethroned his own brother for the title, though it remained in the name of a Jackson.
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