GOLD MEDALS
Bryce Braden, Stratford
Year: Sophomore
Event: Class 2A discus
Performance: The standout quarterback of the Stratford Elks brought home his first ever gold medal by tossing out a throw of 168-feet-10 inches on his last throw of the afternoon.
SILVER MEDALS
Panhandle 800 and 1600-meter relay
Team: Makenna Austin, Soph.; Sydney Adee, Sr.; Grace Sims, Sr.; Leah Land, Soph.
Performance: Makenah Austin, Sydney Adee, Grace Sims, and Leah Land did the highly unlikely on Friday night at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. Competing in only two relays, the foursome won two silver medals in the 800-meter and 1600-meter relays to claim a share of the UIL Class 2A team state championship. Austin, Adee, Sims and Land ran a season best time of 1:43.43 in the 800-meter relay, and then the same team that ran in an order of Austin, Land, Sims and Adee in the mile relay, clocked another season best mark of 4:01.07.
Ke’Mauri Pinkard, Tascosa
Year: Senior
Event: Class 5A triple jump
Performance: The lone Tascosa representative at the UIL Class 5A state meet did his school proud by finding the medal stand. Pinkard was able to climb from fifth to second place and earn a silver medal with a leap 48-10 1/2 on his fifth attempt.
BRONZE MEDALS
Tahlie Brandt, Randall
Year: Freshman
Events: Wheelchair 100 and 400-meter races
Performance: The freshman was definitely a highlight of Friday night as Brandt earned two bronze medals. Brandt won her first bronze with a time of 21.32 in the 100-meter race. Brandt then followed that effort with her second bronze medal by clocking a 1:23.16 in the 400-meter event.
Kami Drinnon, Vega
Year: Senior
Event: Class 2A triple jump
Performance: Drinnon gave a gutsy effort to get on the medal stand. In her final jump of her high school career, Drinnon popped off a leap of 37-10 1/2 that put her into third place and good enough for a bronze medal.
Mia Gray, Sunray
Year: Junior
Event: Class 2A shot put
Performance: The Sunray junior and Region I-2A champion used a toss of 38-feet-10 1/4 inches to earn a bronze medal with a third-place finish on Friday.
Candace Holland, Gruver
Year: Junior
Event: Class 2A pole vault
Performance: Holland ended a strong season by clearing 10-feet-6 inches to grab a bronze medal on Friday morning.
Pratt McLain, Gruver
Year: Junior
Event: Class 2A pole vault
Performance: For a second consecutive year, McLain was announced on the podium after another successful outing in the pole vault event in Austin. McLain cleared 15-feet before just missing 15-6 to get a bronze medal.
Kendra Murray, Tascosa
Year: Senior
Event: Wheelchair shot put
Performance: Murray had a lot of firsts in 2023. In her first year competing in the shot put, Murray made history by not only becoming the first Amarillo ISD wheelchair athlete to compete at the UIL state track and field championships, but also medal at the event. Murray’s last throw was her best throw as the senior tossed out a 16-0 1/4 that earned her a bronze medal.
Kennedi Richey, Farwell
Year: Junior
Event: Class 2A 300-meter hurdles
Performance: Richey edged out Texas Panhandle competitor Brenna Butler of Gruver by three tenths of a second for third place spot on the medal stand. Richey earned that bronze medal thanks to a time of 45.26.