AUSTIN – Texas Panhandle athletes took center stage by setting a tone to kick off the 2025 UIL Class 4A-3A state track and field meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Thursday.
The Amarillo-area came away with a total of 16 medals with six of those being gold, six bronze and four silver medals.
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Canyon senior Lathan Lewter didn’t mess around at all in the Class 4A 3200-meter run. The grueling eight-lap race can crush the will of great and in-shape runners. The strategy work.
Lewter led wire-to-wire taking the lead from the get-go, pushing the pace when he could and winning in 9:11.43, four full seconds ahead of runner-up Victor Aviles of Burnet.
Although Canyon had the top three seeded times coming into the 3200-state final, a 1-2-3 finish was not to be as Canyon senior Ryan Fernandez finished fourth (.58 seconds out of third) and junior Noah Cooper (who was fighting off an illness) was sixth at 9:32.64.
For Lewter it was redemption time as he finished fifth in the 3200 last year.
“I was looking at the big screen every single lap,” said Lewter of massive scoreboard at one of the Mike A. Myers track. “Just seeing how far they were away from me. I noticed at one point I couldn’t see them, and I was getting a little comfortable. It’s just scary being up there all alone.
“But this is so nice. There is no better way to win a race from front to end.”
Lewter has produced a decorated running career at Canyon that includes winning the 4A state cross country meet last fall and went on to get fifth in the 1600-meter race with a time of 4:21.50.
Fernandez was able to redeem himself finding the medal stand during the running portion of the meet Thursday. Fernandez was able to cap off a huge season getting a silver medal in the 1600-meter race running a 4:18.99.
Teammate Baylor West added to Canyon’s successful Thursday getting third place and taking home a bronze in the 400-meter run thanks to a time of 49.17.
Brooke French and Tenera Gray led Randall to 28 points and a fourth-place finish combining for three medals.
French won two silvers in both the 3200-meter race and the 1600-meter event. French was stunned late in the 3200-meter run by Dumas freshman Emily Gross in the last 200-meters of that race but still clocked an 11:09.38 for a silver medal. French then won her second silver medal in the 1600-meter getting a time of 5:08.01.
Gray ended a tremendous career at Randall going out with a bronze medal. The spectacular multi-sport senior hit a leap of 39-4 1/4 to get third and on the medal stand.
Dalhart had two pole vaulters leave Austin with a medal. The Golden Wolves, who have a strong pole vault tradition, didn’t disappoint with Eli Garcia and Reese Jenkins getting bronze. Garcia cleared 14-9 to gain a bronze medal on the boys side while Jenkins leaped 12-feet for a bronze in the girls event.
Friona’s Kitzy Welch is ending her high school career on a high note. Welch uncorked a school-record throw of 142-6 on her first attempt in the discus which help up for second place and a silver medal, and Canadian’s Konnar McClendon ended a stellar high school career with a bronze in the 3200-meter run finishing with a time of 11:02.68.
McClendon was making her fourth straight appearance at the UIL state track and field meet.
For a look at the full results from Thursday’s UIL Class 4A-3A state meet, please visit https://uil.tfresult.com/