This much drama is hard to find outside of daytime television.

*Cue Don LaFontaine, the epic-sounding movie trailer guy*

In a meet...where two conference champions will decide the team title, only one can be victorious.

A climactic scene fit for Hollywood played out at Tuesday’s Cardinal Relays, where Maryville’s Sam McGinness found some unknown reserves to stave off Samantha Fender of Chillicothe and win the 4x400-meter relay by less than a second.

The two practically went into slow motion around the 75-meter mark before McGinness took the inside and willed herself across the finish line.

Maryville won the meet by a point — its ninth team victory of the year in as many tries — and completed an undefeated regular season. No small feat against a Hornets team that has dominated the MEC landscape for the better part of two decades.

But the Spoofhounds’ victory would have been even more convincing if not for the absence of stellar freshman Taylor Gadbois, who looked like the favorite to sweep the conference sprint events at Platte County until she showed up on crutches with a nagging leg injury. She remains questionable at best for this weekend’s district meet, according to coach Grant Hageman.

Maryville lost out on a few more points when Tiffani McReynolds, Pembroke Hill’s state champion hurdler, made an unexpected appearance and continued her mastery of Jordan Stiens.

McGinness’ wins in the 200 and 400 kept the ’Hounds close, but they wouldn’t have completed the comeback effort if not for several otherwise unnoticed performance — like her third place pole vault leap and Shelby Jones’ late sixth-place two-mile showing.

Even without Gadbois’ contributions, expect Maryville to be right in the thick of the team chase at Saturday’s Class 3 District 8 meet at Excelsior Springs.

A few other track-related tid bits from the week that was:

— Although McReynolds poached her would-be Cardinal Relays records, Stiens managed to break her own 300 hurdles record two days before at conference by running a 46.34.

— Benton’s Taylor Woodruff broke the existing 3200-meter run record with a 12:03.29 to displace Tina Meyer’s 1991 effort by three seconds. Woodruff has been a model of consistency in the two mile, but has yet to crack the 12 minute mark.

— Platte County’s Dustin Menk also set a new standard in the 300 hurdles, as did the Pirates’ boys 4x200-meter relay team.

— Cameron sprinter Brandon Tunks recently signed up to keep running with Northwest Missouri State’s track team.

The muscular, 190-pound senior has evolved into the area’s best short-distance runner and turned in the area’s first sub-50 time (49.80) in the 200 at Benton but finished second to Turner’s Dominique Banks, who also edged him in the 100.

Granted, anything can happen one districts rolls around, but his times in the 100, 200 and 400 should be good enough to get him down to state and possibly put him in medal contention.