Top seven takeaways from 2022 Texas (UIL) Track & Field State Championships

SBLive Texas takes a closer look at the weekend's top storylines and record-setting performances from the 2022 UIL State Track and Field Championships in Austin

Andrew McCulloch | May 15, 2022

Top seven takeaways from 2022 Texas (UIL) Track & Field State Championships /

The top high school track and field athletes from across the Lone Star State gathered Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mike Myers Stadium in Austin to complete the long road to the UIL state championships.

The weekend’s action was highlighted by several record-setting performances and highly-competitive pushes to land on the podium, a few teams and athletes stood out due to their historic accomplishments.

Here were the top seven standout storylines from the 2022 UIL State Track and Field Championships:

Natalie Cook, Flower Mound — Photo by Clara Sandoval / Photo by Tommy Hays

FLOWER MOUND’S NATALIE COOK DOMINATES 6A GIRLS DISTANCE RUNS

Flower Mound senior Natalie Cook made headlines earlier this year when she broke the national high school record in the girls 5,000-meter run.

There were no medals for Cook to win in the 5000 at the UIL State Track and Field Championships on Saturday, but it did little to slow her down or prevent her from seizing headlines again with her performance in the 6A girls distance running events.

Cook, an Oklahoma State signee, highlighted an elite contingent of distance runners representing Flower Mound by dominating the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.

Despite having already broken 6A girls and all classification UIL records for both events earlier this season, The Jaguars’ senior bested herself again in the 1,600 and 3,200 in a pair of record-breaking races.

Cook won the first race of the day by an astounding margin, as she finished with one of the few sub 10-minute 3,200 times in UIL history.

Cook clocked in at 9 minutes, 48.25 seconds which placed her 35 seconds ahead of her closest competitor and shattered the state meet record, a 9:58.77 mark set by Denton Guyer’s Brynn Brown last year. She finished less than a second behind the national high school record (9:47.88) in the girls 3,200-meter run.

In the final race of her high school career, she edged out her sophomore teammates Nicole and Samantha Humphries to help the Jaguars sweep every spot on the podium in the 1,600-meter run.

Cook raced her way into the record books again by crossing the finish line in 4 minutes, 40.29 seconds to lock up first place by 3 seconds. Her state-championship-winning run eclipsed the previous 6A girls and UIL all classifications state record for the 1,600, a 4:40.97 mark set in 2015 by Houston Lamar’s Julia Heymach.

MANOR’S CHE NWABUKO WINS THREE GOLD MEDALS, SETS 5A STATE RECORD

No sprinter left a bigger mark on the 2022 UIL State Track and Field Championships than Manor senior Che Nwabuko

Nwabuko, a Pitt football signee who also plays running back and wide receiver, qualified for the 5A state meet in three events — the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x100-meter relay — and helped the Mustangs lock up gold in all three.

The senior sprinter entered the state championships with the top qualifying time (10.44 seconds) among all 5A boys state finalists in the 100 and showed why Friday night. Nwabuko ran the fastest 100-meter dash time of the weekend and won first place with a time of 10.17 seconds, giving him a 0.22-second margin of victory.

Nwabuko was at his best, though, in a highly-competitive 200-meter dash final where he finished 0.02 seconds ahead of Highland Park’s John Rutledge for first. He clinched his second gold medal of the day and set a new 5A state meet record in the 200 with a personal best 20.53-second finish.

Nwabuko completed a perfect day at the 5A state meet when he also served as the second leg on Manor’s 4x100-meter relay team. He earned his third gold when he and teammates Isaiah Crosby, Carter La’Dontae and Trevon Harris won the 4x100 by crossing the finish line in 40.52 seconds.

Nwabuko and the Mustangs finished less than a third of a second ahead of second-place Denton Ryan (40.70 seconds) and third-place Lancaster (40.88).

DUNCANVILLE, KLEIN FOREST BOYS HEADLINE SPRINTS, RELAYS

Led by senior Pierre Goree and sophomore Jelani Watkins, Duncanville and Klein Forest highlighted the top performances in the 6A boys sprints and relay events Saturday.

Goree, a safety and SMU football signee, took first place in the 6A 100-meter dash with a 10.22-second mark and finished 0.09 seconds ahead of his next closest competitor. He also ran the fastest 100-meter dash this year nationally when he clocked a new PR at 10.09 seconds at the Region II-6A meet to qualify for the state championships.

Watkins, a four-star Class of 2024 recruit as an athlete in football, bolted to the 6A state title in the 200-meter dash in 20.78 seconds to set a new personal best. He eked out first place by less than a quarter of a second after pulling away during the final stretch.

Goree and Watkins were at their most entertaining when they went head-to-head leading Duncanville and Klein Forest’s 4x100- and 4x200-meter relay teams.

Duncanville’s 4x100 relay team of Caden Durham, Goree, Donte Hamilton and Jaylen Washington clocked a season-best time of 39.98 seconds to secure the gold and come within a quarter of a second of the national record (39.76) set by Fort Worth Wyatt in 1998. Watkins and Klein Forest’s 4x100-meter relay team won a silver medal by finishing 0.13 seconds behind the Panthers.

Klein Forest pulled away to take first place in the 4x200 though when the Eagles’ relay team of Jaden Galloway, Jacob Compton, Ahmir Robinson and Watkins posted a 1-minute, 23.37-second finish. Goree and Duncanville secured second place in the 4x200 after finishing 0.53 seconds behind Klein Forest.

FORT BEND MARSHALL WINS BOYS, GIRLS TEAM STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

No school impressed more than Fort Bend Marshall over the weekend, as the Buffaloes rumbled to both boys and girls team state championships at the 5A state meet.

That makes Marshall the first school at any classification level to win boys and girls team titles at the UIL State Track and Field Championships in the same year since Dallas Carter captured dual Class 4A titles in 2018.

Few schools at any classification level placed as many athletes on the podium as Marshall, which dominated the boys and girls relay races to dominate the team standings.

The Fort Bend Marshall girls, who split the 5A girls team state championship with Lancaster in 2021, locked up back-to-back titles with 75 points to beat out Mansfield Timberview (61) and Lancaster (52) in the final team standings.

The Lady Buffs earned spots on the podium in the 4x100-, 4x200- and 4x400-meter relays. Tariah Johnson, Cesley Williams, Brittney Green and Janai Williams led Marshall to a second-place finish (46.26 seconds) in the 4x100, finishing 0.29 seconds behind Timberview.

Green, Johnson, Tyeler Moore and Williams earned another silver medal for Fort Bend Marshall with their 1:38.05 mark in the 4x200, while Williams, Desirae Roberts, Brianna Brinkley and Green claimed bronze in the 4x400 relay with a 3:48.23 finish.

The Lady Buffs took home three individual medals too. Johnson won the 5A girls 100-meter hurdles (13.62 seconds), Genesis Griffin took third place in the long jump (19'4.75") and Desirae Roberts secured a bronze medal in a tight 300-meter hurdles heat (42.73 seconds).

Fort Bend Marshall won the 5A boys team state championship, the program's first since 2019, after ending Friday's evening session with 64 points ahead of second-place Lancaster (42) and third-place Manor (40).

The Buffaloes were powered to the top of the boys team standings after winning the 4x200- and 4x400-meter relays and posting strong performances in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.

Michael Patterson, Gerard Holmes, Jonathan Howard and Kameron Williams led Marshall to a gold medal in the 4x200, clocking in at a season best 1:23.60. The group finished 0.35 seconds behind the state and national record in the 4x200-meter relay set by The Woodlands in 2018.

The Buffs added another gold in a slightly tighter relay race thanks to the 4x400 team of Mason Roseboro, Holmes, Williams and Chris Brinkley, who won with a time of 3:14.60.

Brinkley, a senior, and junior Arveyon Davis gave Fort Bend Marshall a strong presence in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles too as state qualifiers in both events.

Davis (13.78 seconds) claimed a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles and Brinkley (14.09) earned a fourth-place finish. In the 300, Brinkley (36.74 seconds) took the bronze while Davis (37.21) finished in fourth place.

JUNCTION’S ELLA STRICKLAND CRUSHES OWN 2A POLE VAULT STATE RECORD

Few individual performances stood out in a single event as much as Junction’s Ella Strickland during the state meet.

The senior pole vaulter entered the weekend with the top qualifying mark in the state after posting 12-foot, 6-inch clearance at the Region IV-2A meet and as a defending state champion in Class 2A.

Strickland, however, soared to new heights Friday at the UIL’s Track and Field State Championships and crushed the 2A girls pole vault state record, one she first broke at last year’s state meet.

Strickland went well above and beyond her state-championship winning leap (13’0.25”) from 2021.

She raised the bar substantially by finishing with a 13-foot, 9.25-inch clearance on her third attempt to set a new 2A state record and breaking the UIL’s girls pole vault state meet record for all classification levels, a 13”0’ mark previously shared by three athletes.

Strickland’s record-breaking 13’9.25” clearance also ranks as the 10th-highest mark nationally among high school girls pole vaulters this year.

CEDAR PARK’S ISABEL CONDE DE FRANKENBERG BREAKS 1600M RECORD, CLAIMS THREE MEDALS

Cedar Park’s Isabel Conde De Frankenberg made a name for herself as a freshman at the UIL State Track and Field Championships as one of the youngest state champions in 2021.

As a sophomore, Conde De Frankenberg raced her way back onto the podium and instead stood out from the competition because of her breakaway speed that helped her capture a trio of medals and a new state record.

She narrowly missed out on winning three gold medals, but secured a pair of first-place finishes in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and took a close second place in the 800.

Conde De Frankenberg set a new PR in the 800-meter run and finished a mere 0.38 seconds behind Lucas Lovejoy sophomore Kailey Littlefield (2:06.21).

Both Conde De Frankenberg and Littlefield broke the previous 5A girls state record (2:07.39) and the UIL girls state meet record (2:06.71) for all classifications for the 800 during that heat.

She earned another opportunity to etch her name into the record books, though, by blazing past her competition in the 1,600-meter run. Conde De Frankenberg posted a 4-minute, 45.95-second time in the 1,600 to smash the 5A girls state meet record (4:48.16) and crossed the finish line more than 5 seconds ahead of the rest of her competitors.

Conde De Frankenberg’s most dominant performance of the weekend, however, was her first race of the day Friday morning. She ran away with another individual state title in the 3,200-meter run and posted a 10:34.13 mark that left her more than 15 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

BROCK, SUMMER CREEK BOYS, CANYON GIRLS SECURE BACK-TO-BACK STATE TITLES

Three schools were able to secure back-to-back team state titles, as the Brock and Humble Summer Creek boys and Canyon girls each successfully defended their 2021 state championships.

Brock won its second straight 3A boys team state championship and was powered back to the top of the team standings thanks in large part to the strength of its relay teams and throwers. The Eagles led the 3A boys team standings with 55 points ahead of second-place Breckenridge (33) and third-place New London West Rusk (30).

Bain Shanklin, Brett Tutter, Carson Finney and Eli Potts captured a silver medal with a 41.92-second mark in the 4x100-meter relay, and Brock earned a fourth-place finish in the 4x200-meter relay.

Brock senior Nathan Jones, an all-state tight end and Minnesota football signee, also gave the Eagles a big shot in the arm by winning a pair of silver medals in the 3A boys shot put and discus on Thursday.

Jones hurled his top shot put toss of 62 feet, 7.25 inches to firmly secure second place and finish 2.5 inches behind the longest throw of the day. He also finished second in the discus after a 176’5” throw that measured more than 15 feet farther than his next closest competitor.

Humble Summer Creek seized its second consecutive 6A boys team state title amid a fierce fight that included several of the state’s most talented and decorated teams. The Bulldogs ended the day with 70 points in the team standing to beat out second-place Duncanville (60) and third-place Klein Forest (46).

Summer Creek benefitted from big performances in the long jump, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay.

Senior Aaron Davis won a dramatic jump-off against Austin Westlake’s Ashton Torns on his sixth and final attempt to win first place in the 6A boys long jump with a 25’3.75” leap, while senior teammate Darius Rainey earned three gold medals for the Bulldogs on Saturday.

Rainey won individual golds when he finished the 400-meter dash in 46.36 seconds, eking out first place by 0.31 seconds, and clocked a 1:50.63 time in the 800-meter run to win by more than a second.

Along with teammates Malcolm Washington, Dylan Jacobs and Blake Gibson, he also anchored Summer Creek’s 4x400-meter relay team that posted a gold-medal winning 3-minute, 10.36-second time.

Canyon cruised to the top of the 4A girls team standings for the second year in a row at the UIL’s Track and Field State Championships. The Eagles crushed their competition with 70 total points to finish well ahead of second-place Stephenville (43) and third-place Waxahachie Life (42.33).

The Canyon girls dominated the 4A distance events to earn spots on the podium in the 4x400-meter relay and the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and also performed well in the 300-meter hurdles and the pole vault.

The Eagles’ 4x400 relay team of Thalia Solias, Whitney Williford, Brooklyn Kinsey and Abree Winfrey posted a time of 3:56.05 and clipped Kennedale for first place by less than a fifth of a second in a photo finish.

Winfrey, a junior, also won an individual state title in the 800-meter run when she crossed the finish line in 2 minutes, 14.42 seconds. She earned a silver medal too with a 44.10-second time in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing 0.08 seconds behind Midlothian Heritage’s Leah Anderson.

Canyon freshman Avery Brown earned fourth place (5:10.92) in the 1,600-meter run, while sophomore Hannah Stuart brought home two silver medals with a 4-minute, 59.47-second finish in the 1,600 and a 10-minute, 51.71-second mark in the 3,200-meter run.

Junior Cashlee Dickinson added to the Eagles’ medal count in the 4A girls pole vault, where she earned second place after registering a 13-foot max clearance.

Published May 15, 2022

ANDREW MCCULLOCH