Top Seven Races To Watch At UIL Texas State Championships

May 10, 2023

WATCH LIVE: THE UIL TEXAS STATE OUTDOOR TRACK ANAD FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

AIRS THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ON FLOTRACK/MILESPLIT

We're less than 24 hours away from championship action in the Lone Star state.

The UIL Texas State Championships -- arguably one of the most competitive state meets in the country -- will feature some of the nation's top talents vying for elusive UIL medals.

Continue below to learn more about our top seven selected races to watch this weekend at Mike Myers Stadium on the Texas state stage.

Boys 5A 4x100m

Four-hundredths of a second.

That's how far away the Fort Bend Marshall 4x100m squad is from the national high school record that has stood for 25 years.

It's been more than two decades since Ft. Worth Wyatt clocked a U.S. high school record of 39.76 in the boys 4x100m, but now Fort Bend Marshall has a legitimate shot of not just winning a state title this weekend, but surpassing that all-time mark.

The team's impressive season best of 39.80 came at the 19-20 Area Championships as they advanced through the rounds to get to the state championships.

Fort Bend Marshall has had quite the history of producing all-time 4x100m teams. Head coach Lloyd Banks has led 4x100m teams to sub-41-second performances in 11 straight seasons. 2023 simply represents the continuation of elite success for the squad in the relay event.

Last year, the team failed to qualify for the state finals in 2022, but 2023 could be the year that Fort Bend Marshall ends out on top yet again -- and perhaps in record-breaking fashion.

And none of the top three teams from last year's state meet return in 2023, meaning the field will be wide open for programs to secure podium placements.

* Kailey Littlefield wins the 800m at the UIL 5A State Championships in 2022.

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Girls 5A 800m

Kailey Littlefield put all of Texas on notice last year with her 2:06.21 5A record en route to her second-straight 800m state title.

In 2023, could we see that record go down?

Now as a junior, Littlefield will be shooting for a three peat in the event that she has dominated in since she was just a freshman at Lucas Lovejoy.

She's been at the top of the 5A rankings nearly all season long, and her 2:07.02 season best from the Lovejoy Spring Distance Festival puts her among the top 10 half-milers in the country. And with three sub-2:10 efforts under her belt this season, her speed and consistency could be tough to beat.

Other top challengers include Avery Perkins of Hallsville and Frisco Lebanon Trail's Taylor Brown, both of whom have clocked 2:11 in the 800m this spring. Perkins joins Littlefield as the only two returners from last year's state championship field, and she took sixth place in 2:12.79.

* Alex Chukwukelu enters the 6A 110mH field as the top seed.

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Boys 6A 110mH

It'll be a battle of the nation's top hurdlers in a thrilling 6A boys 110mH matchup this weekend.

Begin first with North Forney senior Alex Chukwukelu, who has had a historic season on the track. He leads the country with a 12.98 all-conditions mark from the District 10 Championships, a mark unheard of at the high school level.

Chukwukelu is the only short hurdler to ever go under 13 seconds in all conditions.

But he won't be the lone star in the field. Summer Creek's Donovan Bradley -- last year's state runner-up -- returns hoping to upgrade his hardware and sits at US No. 2 in the event with his 13.42 (+2.0) PR from Texas Relays.

The only guy ahead of Bradley? It's Chukwukelu with a season best of 13.32 (+2.0), which won him the Texas Relays title.

Katy Thompkins' Jayden Keys will also be a star to look out for coming out of the blocks as he holds the third-best wind-legal time of 2023 of 13.62 (+2.0). That effort also came at Texas Relays where he finished just behind fellow competitors Chukwukelu and Bradley.

The US No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 performers will all race side-by-side this weekend in Austin, which could likely make for more historic efforts in the 110mH.

* Lauren Lewis reacts to winning the UIL 6A 400m title in 2022.

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Girls 6A 400m

Lauren Lewis has done it all at the state level in the 400m.

She won the 6A title last year in 52.54. She now has the all-time Texas state record, too, of 51.83 from the District Championships.

Now, the Prosper senior and Texas signee will have one last chance to win another 6A gold and possibly climb up the national record books.

Currently, Lewis sits at US No. 9 all-time with her 51.83 performance from April. But on as big of a stage as the UIL Texas State Championships, don't count out another big PR effort from Lewis, or maybe even a sub-51-second run.

And the rest of the 400m field is loaded, too. Ariana Sutton of Schertz Clemens returns to the finals after placing fifth last year as a junior and is a consistent 55-second racer.

* Kevin Sanchez takes home the UIL 6A 3,200m title at the 2022 state championships.

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Boys 6A 3,200m

This year's showdown will likely be a repeat of the 2022 3,200m dual between Kevin Sanchez and Reese Vannerson that came down to the final 400m.

Sanchez, the Austin Vandegrift star and Notre Dame signee, closed hard to win his first-ever Texas state title in 8:57.85, and Houston Strake Jesuit talent Vannerson took second in a season best of 9:01.17.

Now, the two will line up yet again as the top seeds looking to cap off their high school careers with state medals.

Vannerson currently leads Texas across all divisions with his 8:58.42 personal best from the Region 3 Championships, but Sanchez sits just fractions of a second behind him with a 8:58.51 season best from Texas Relays.

While Sanchez and Vannerson may be two of the favorites for the win, don't forget about the rest of the quick field. Klein Oak's Jack Boyd, El Paso Coronado senior Luis Pastor and phenom freshman Caden Leonard of Southlake Carroll have all dipped under 9:07 this season, and they'll surely be in the mix for the top podium spots.

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Girls 6A 1,600m

Flower Mound juniors and twin sisters Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries will be looking for yet another 1-2 finish on the state stage.

It began last November at the UIL 6A State Cross Country Championships as the two went stride-for-stride through the finish line to take the top two spots on the podium, with Nicole crossing first by fractions of a second in 17:36.40.

And in the qualifying rounds leading up to the outdoor championships, it's been more of the same for the Humphries. Nicole earned regional titles in the 800m (2:10.57) and 3,200m (10:11.87) while Samantha earned the win in the 1,600m (4:47.87). The two finished within a second of each other in each of the three regional races.

Will that trend continue at states? Last year, Samantha and Nicole went 2-3 in the 1,600m final behind former teammate Natalie Cook, and this year will be shooting for titles.

Fellow junior talent San Juanita Leal could also push for a win, along with the rest of the field that includes numerous sub-4:55 1,600m racers.

* Jelani Watkins will look to defend his 6A 200m title this weekend.

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Boys 6A 200m

Could we see a repeat champion again in the boys 6A 200m?

Klein Forest junior Jelani Watkins will look to make that happen.

After dipping under 21 seconds to win the 6A gold in 2022 in 20.78, Watkins will enter this weekend's championships as the favorite to take the win yet again.

So far in 2023, Watkins has clocked an all-conditions best of 20.39, which came at the area championships, and ranks as the fastest guy in Texas this season.

But he isn't the only athlete that's posted elite-level marks this spring. Jaquaize Pettaway and Marquis Johnson enter the championships having just posted 20.52 and 20.95 wind-assisted efforts at their regional championship competitions.

Watkins may be the favorite to win another title, but the other top sprint talents in the 6A 200m will present stiff challenges to that gold-medal defense.