Deanna Foshee, Erin Foshee, Jenna Christensen and Sheridan Jordan don't seem like a group that has won four of the last state championships - two indoor and two outdoor.

Until about a month ago, none of the four had concrete plans to run in college.

While lacking the star power of an individual state champ, the team compensates with remarkable consistency from each runner who takes two laps around the track before handing off to the next.

Their names will go down in the history books after setting a new state record - by nearly five seconds - with a 9:06.17.

Part of what made them great is their competitiveness. Dotson said that has hid results from them until after the meet for fear of one runner having "a meltdown" upon discovering that she was the slowest leg of the day.

The other half of the winning formula is their close bond.

All four have known one another since their days at Lufkin Middle School in Apex.

"There's times where they'll (each) be a half-second from each other in the splits," Dotson said. "If one's having an off-day, the other three have a way of making it up. They're tight. Even if you stood out here and watched them have a workout, it's as if they have karabiners clipped to each other's hips."

Individually, their differing personalities are the right fit to handle the relay's four stages.