The Lady Eagles track star recently continued her success at the prestigious Nike Outdoor National Track and Field Meet in Eugene, Ore., last week. Running in the Emerging Elite Division, Winfrey blew the competition away running the 400 meter hurdle race for the first time ever winning gold with an impressive time of 1:02.49.
“It’s a lot different than running 300 hurdles in high school,” Winfrey said. “I just had to go out there and run the first 300 like I usually do. The last 100 hundred you just have to finish, get your legs up and try not to trip on hurdles.”
Canyon Lady Eagles head track and field coach Ray Baca made the long trip to Oregon with Winfrey. The dynamic duo spent the last three weeks prepping Winfrey for this unique race that is geared toward the college level.
“Abree was fired up about it,” Baca said. “She was doing some workouts faster than she was for the state meet, so we got really excited about it and it kind of just fell into place.”
Winfrey echoed Baca’s comment.
“Once the track season ended, I had two or three weeks of preparation for this meet,” Winfrey said. “Two days before we left for Oregon, we had measured the distance of the 400 hurdles on the track and I ran it for the first time.”
Winfrey also ran the 800 meter run at the Nike Outdoor Nationals clocking a 2:13.35 to win her heat.
Winfrey’s accomplishments from the national meet carried her momentum from a stellar performance at the UIL Class 4A State Track Meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin back in May. The Lady Eagles brought home the Class 4A state team championship for the second time in four years and Winfrey was a huge reason why.
Winfrey won gold for the second year in a row in the 800 meter dash and finished second in the 300 meters hurdle event.
But it was her effort in the 1600 meter relay that will stand a test of time. Running as the final leg, Winfrey chased down Kennadale’s Gracyn Reed in the final 100 meters to give Canyon a thrilling victory.
“Abree is a chaser,” Baca said. “If you have people that are faster than her in front of her, she is always going to rise to the level of competition. I don’t think that’s a weakness. I think that’s her character.”
Winfrey’s immaculate career accomplishments speak for themselves and she’s far from done. The incoming senior, and daughter of Canyon head football coach Todd Winfrey, is already a 5-time state track champion, has three top five individual finishes at the UIL Class 4A State Cross Country meet, has helped the Lady Eagles to back-to-back UIL Class 4A team cross country championships in 2019-2020, and is a starter on the dominant Lady Eagles basketball team.
“I’m already back to work now,” Winfrey said. “My teammates and I with coach Baca are already preparing every morning for cross country season in August. It’s just what we do here in Canyon.”