Craziest Marks at the 2026 Texas UIL State Track and Field Championships

Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin played host to the 2026 University Interscholastic League state track and field championships from May 14-16, and what unfolded over three days was something Texas fans hadn't seen in a long time — maybe ever. Persistent insane tailwinds inflated the sprint times to places the record books weren't ready for, and a collection of football-leaning athletes mixed with bonafide track specialists made for one of the most jaw-dropping state meets in recent memory.

Wind, Records and Why It Matters

Before getting into the marks, some context. The National Federation of State High School Associations sets +2.0 meters per second as the threshold for a wind-legal performance. Go over that, and the time lands on the all-conditions list rather than the official record books. Several athletes at this year's championships ran wind-legal marks that now stand as legitimate records. Others ran wind-aided times that had no business existing under any conditions. Both categories matter.

6A Boys: Sprint Chaos

C.E. King sophomore Dillon Mitchell entered the 100-meter final nursing a strained hamstring. He left with a 9.92-second clocking (aided by a +4.0 m/s tailwind, double the legal limit) that matched the fourth-fastest all-conditions 100m in U.S. high school history and tied Tate Taylor's wind-legal national record from 2025. Mitchell told the El Paso times "[he] thought was dreaming for a second" when he saw the time on the board. He came back later in the evening and ran 20.50 seconds in the 200m, finishing second and ranking No. 10 all-conditions.

The man who beat him, Katy Tompkins senior Blake Hamilton, produced the meet's most viral moment. Hamilton powered through the curve to win the 200m in 19.86 seconds — aided by a +4.6 m/s breeze — and in doing so posted the fastest all-conditions 200m in U.S. high school history. Hamilton, a football prospect and former UTEP signee, edged Mitchell and Shadow Creek's Kaleb Samuels, who ran 20.51 seconds for No. 11 all-conditions.

Klein Collins senior Andrew Jones entered the meet unbeaten and already holding the national record in the 300 hurdles. In the 110-meter hurdles final he had to lean past Richardson Berkner's Tyler Key to win in 13.01 seconds — a +2.6 m/s wind — tying the second-fastest all-conditions mark in history (behind his own 12.97 earlier this season). Key's 13.05 came back as the fourth-fastest all-conditions mark. Three athletes in the same final, all in the top six all-time. Jones acknowledged after the race that the wind asterisk stung given that it blocked an official national record.

Jones came back to win the 300 hurdles in 36.00 seconds, capping an undefeated season and taking 6A boys athlete of the meet.

Killeen Shoemaker's 4x200 relay quartet — Jamal Polite Jr., Michael Bickham Jr., Brandon Brown Jr. and Jayden Ford — ran 1:23.19 to win by nearly a second, with Tompkins (1:24.07) and Stony Point (1:24.38) filling out the podium. Fort Bend Ridge Point junior Joshua Shelton won the 400m in 45.86 seconds, a mark among the fastest in the country this season. Hurst Bell's Jacob Anthony bounded 51 feet, 1 inch in the triple jump, and McKinney Boyd's Kieron Donnelly cleared 6 feet, 10 inches in the high jump.

6A Girls

Duncanville's Sanyah Keeton ran 22.74 seconds to win the 200m, a wind-aided mark that still stands as elite. Conroe Tomball senior Naomi Booker won the 100m hurdles in 13.32 seconds. Alief Taylor's McKale Lee claimed the 800m in 2:08.69.

5A Boys

Ft. Worth Arlington heights Justin Stewart edged Keller Fossil Ridge's Jayden Kennedy to win the 100m in 10.23 seconds. Kennedy bounced back to take the 200m in 20.54 seconds, moving to No. 6 in Texas this season. Mansfield Timberview's Trysten Shaw ran 36.29 seconds in the 300 hurdles, a time that holds up against plenty of college performances. Austin Anderson's Colby Huntress won the 800m in 1:51.65.

5A Girls

McKinney North junior Zahria Bernard swept the sprints, running 11.32 seconds in the 100m and 23.07 seconds in the 200m — marks that, wind aid aside, put her among the top sprinters nationally. Lubbock Cooper's Ashtyn Lewis broke 53 seconds in the 400m for the first time, finishing in 52.81.

3A: Camden Capehart Makes History

Winnsboro senior Camden Capehart ran 10.02 seconds in the Class 3A 100m final with a legal +1.9 m/s wind. Per MileSplit's all-time rankings, the mark moved him to No. 6 on the U.S. high school outdoor list. Only Christian Miller (9.93), Trayvon Bromell (9.97), Matthew Boling (9.98) and Purvis and J-Mee Samuels (10.01) have run wind-legal marks faster. Hours later Capehart came back and doubled in the 200m, winning in 20.48 seconds — wind-aided at +2.4 m/s — completing one of the more impressive single-day performances in recent Texas high school history.

New Diana junior Max Garvin set a Class 3A record in the pole vault, clearing 17 feet, 2¼ inches — a height that would have podiumed in higher classifications. Holliday senior Noah Strohman swept the distance events, winning the 800m in 1:51.84 and the 3200m in 9:02.85, both Class 3A meet records.

Houston Worthing senior Avonte Earl won the 4A 300 hurdles in 36.76 seconds. La Marque Jah'Quan McAfee swept the 4A sprints, running 10.27 in the 100m and 21.02 in the 200m.

The Big Picture

Mitchell and Hamilton are both significant football recruits. Mitchell de-committed from UTEP this spring and was set to announce his next move May 20. Hamilton's 19.86, football background and all, is now a permanent fixture in the all-conditions record books.

The 110 hurdles final alone may be the best high school hurdles race ever run. Capehart's 10.02 — legal, in a small-school final — is the kind of mark that puts a meet on the map for decades. And San Miguel's discus throw, largely overlooked in the sprint hysteria, would have won outright in 6A.

Texas track isn't slowing down, especially in these crazy winds! One other thing that stood out was one of the nation's best thrower's CJ Williams losing out of the discus state title after entering with a 220'+ personal best. He was rehabbing from injury and with that crazy wind the discus can definitely be affected by that. He did go on to win the state title in shot put with a 67' toss.

I don't think we will ever live in a world where Texas, California and Florida as well as other southern states can agree to what state has the best track athletes, but with the depth of speed Texas put on display even with the crazy winds shows they ain't one to ne taking lighltly, especially at the top.

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