AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas state track and field championships kicked off Thursday at Mike A. Myers stadium on the University of Texas campus. The 3A and 4A levels competed Thursday, while 5A and 2A compete Friday.
Saturday’s finale features the state’s largest classification, and the 6A events will have some juice. While the 100 meters is usually the glamour event, the boys 4×100 relay is the most anticipated race of the day.
The sprint relay features three of the fastest teams in the nation in Duncanville, Houston North Shore and Atascocita. All three programs have run sub-40 seconds this year, setting new marks for the national high school records.
To put these performances into perspective, Atascocita’s 38.92 in the spring would put them among the top 15 teams in the country at the college level.
While the eyes of the state of Texas tune in, there will be plenty of eyes watching from Louisiana as well.
LSU has been aggressive in recruiting the state of Texas, and the Tigers have four players either committed or signed to play in Baton Rouge.
Duncanville’s relay is headlined by four-star LSU running back signee Caden Durham and the nation’s No. 1 receiver in the 2025 class, Dakorien Moore. Both will also run on Duncanville’s 4×200 team, while Durham competes in the 100-meter dash and Moore does the long jump.
Atascocita is home to LSU wide receiver signee Jelani Watkins. Watkins will anchor the Atascocita 4×100, and he’s the favorite to win the 100- and 200-meter dashes with personal bests of 10.22 and 20.56 seconds. In what has been a back-and-forth battle between Atascocita and Duncanville, Atascocita has had the upper hand when it comes to 4×100 times.
North Shore linebacker Charles Ross committed to LSU during the spring, and he’s been burning up the track this spring. Listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Ross will play a big role in North Shore’s bid to win the 4×100. Ross will also compete in the 100-meter dash, where he ran a personal-best 10.36 seconds this spring.