Felix, Merritt help bring US medal total to 31 in track

(Photo: The Associated Press)RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Allyson Felix and LaShawn Merritt are two savvy track stars who've been around long enough to know that not everything always goes to plan.

Over the final, topsy-turvy 30 minutes at the Olympic track Saturday night, both Americans came away with prizes they'd been wishing for all along.

Those prizes were both golds from the 4x400 relays, and the United States exited the final night of action at Olympic Stadium with 31 medals — the most it has taken in a non-boycotted Olympics since 1956, when the world and track were both very different places.

One of those 31 had been looking to go to 41-year-old Bernard Lagat in the 5,000 meters. He actually…