KINGSVILLE — Adyson Burton’s face was bright red coming off the podium at Javelina Stadium on Saturday.
Maybe it was because she ran 400 meters just minutes before, but it may have also been out of sheer excitement and joy.
The Rockport-Fulton athlete wore a surprising gold medal coming off the medal stand as Region IV-4A champion to qualify for the UIL State Track Championships.
Burton only began running the 400-meter race at the District 30-4A meet and three meets later the Pirates junior was heading to state.
“It has hit me, but it also hasn’t,” Burton said, holding her gold medal and smiling from ear to ear. “I had never even made it to regional finals before, so it is exciting.
“I would never have believed this at the beginning of the year because I wasn’t even in the 400 until district. This is the first three meets I’ve ever run it.”
Burton had been running sprint events for Rockport-Fulton’s girls track team, but broke 60 seconds at the District 30-4A meet and ran 58.19 at the 29-4A/30-4A area meet in Bay City.
She and the field faced more of a wind along the backstretch and clocked 59.04 seconds to claim gold.
“It was because of hard work,” Burton said. “That is one of the things I pride myself in. I feel like I out-work everybody. That is what I do the best.
“I had to stay mentally strong (in the 400). I knew my body could do it, I just had to keep it in my mind to keep going and go as fast as I could.”
More: See all the results from the 2025 Region IV UIL Track & Field Meets
Brian Rivas Jr. breaks through
Brian Rivas Jr. was one of the top boys 400 runners in Region IV last year, but finished fourth in the finals despite having one of the top times out of prelims.
A year later, Rivas was determined to not fall short of state again.
The Beeville junior never let anyone chase him down in the home stretch and captured the regional title to qualify for the state meet.
He was one of a handful of Coastal Bend athletes to snare their first state track meet berths this weekend.
Robstown’s Bianca Bosquez was injured last year, while her teammate Nyomi Garcia qualified for state. Now healthy, the Pickers sophomore won the 3,200 to advance and finished third in the 1,600.
Kingsville’s JB Kazanjian, R-P’s Logann Wood start to shine
Kingsville freshman JB Kazanjian and Rockport-Fulton freshman Logann Wood have made immediate impacts this season and again were in the mix at the Region IV-4A meet.
Kazanjian grabbed three UIL State Meet berths, earning a wild card berth in long jump, finishing second in the 300-meter hurdles and winning the 100 hurdles.
After what she termed a disappointing showing in the long jump, Wood rebounded to finish second in the 100 hurdles and took bronze in the 300 hurdles, also snaring a state berth.
More: McClain’s record-breaking day leads Refugio to third regional track title in four years
Ingleside’s Nathan Edlin, T-M’s Shawn Burdick battle in shot put
Ingleside’s Nathan Edlin and Tuloso-Midway’s Shawn Burdick went 1-2 at the Region IV-4A meet last year in boys shot put and set up for another duel this year.
For the second straight year Edlin emerged with the gold, throwing 59 feet, 0.5 inches, while Burdick claimed silver (52-6).
Beeville Bundle
The Trojans started the Region IV-4A meet with a 1-2 finish in the girls discus and by the end of the weekend the school had three throwers advancing to the UIL State Track Meet.
Mia Garcia and Shelby Lewis finished first and second in the girls discus, followed by Calallen’s Brookelynn Meador in third. And on the final day of competition Kyra Davis grabbed her spot in Austin with a silver medal in shot put.
Kingsville’s Jasiah Rivera returns to state
Kingsville senior Jasiah Rivera, who had qualified for state every year in high school, earned two more berths with a win in the 300 hurdles and second place finish in the 110s. Rivera medaled in both events last year at state and is the defending state champion in the 300 hurdles.
Tuloso-Midway’s Jayden McCoy, another athlete who has been shining for years and is a former state medalist, hit 24-feet in boys long jump to claim the event and get another crack in Austin.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Rockport-Fulton’s Adyson Burton surprises in 400 and notes from Region IV-4A track meet
Reporting by Quinton Martinez, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
