AUSTIN — Canyon made its case as the gold standard of Texas track and field.
The Eagles’ boys and girls each earned team titles at Thursday’s Class 4A state meet at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Each was clinched at the 11th hour, too.
The girls trailed Dallas Lincoln by eight points entering the 1,600-meter relay, a race that also included the Tigers. Canyon got exactly what it needed, thanks to a 55.06-second anchor leg by Addyson Bristow that pushed the relay from fourth to first. The Eagles, who clocked a 3:50.09, tied Lincoln for the team championship with 58 points after the Tigers placed third (3:50.24) in the final event.
It was the sixth team title for the Canyon girls, but perhaps the most surprising under coach Ray Baca.
“At the very beginning (of the season), we weren’t very good,” Baca said. “We just had a lot of injuries and stuff. I just kept telling our kids, if you’ll just stick with me and believe, we’ve got a lot of time to get well. We’re gonna be all right. We didn’t run well at district, and that was discouraging. Area we didn’t run very well. Then all of a sudden, stuff just started clicking together.
“This small group that we had just kept believing.”
The Eagles went into the final race needing five points to win the school’s first boys team championship after a strong day in the field events and on the track.
They did better, as anchor Emmitt Stewart, who won also bronze in the 400, took the baton in third place and chased down a runner to finish second in the 1,600 relay and clinch the title by 13 points, 57-44 over Austin LBJ.
“We knew all we needed was (five) points, and we were confident going into it and we got the job done,” Stewart said. “I knew my teammates had great legs. I knew I needed to be pushed and be confident in my kick because it is God-given abilities that allowed us to win.”
Canyon coach Cade Wartes commended the leadership that the team had shown all season — especially on the 1,600 relay.
“I felt really good on that last handoff knowing we were in third,” Wartes said. “I was really just thinking run fast and turn left, because you never can really know because anything can happen in a relay.”
Wartes knew the Eagles were in position to chase the team title in school history after looking at qualifying times and events as they started adding up potential points.
“We had guys in a lot of events, and we were adding up the points and knew we could be in this position,” Wartes said. “Some things we did better in and others we didn’t do as well as we expected, and it was basically a wash in the end.”
Canyon got off to a fast start with a gold and bronze in the first race of the day — the 3,200 — as both Domenic San Miguel (9:04.51) and senior Noah Cooper (9:08 24) bested the previous state record.
The girls also dominated distance races to earn a bulk of their points. Freshman Presli Pool set a record with her 10:26.73 in the 3,200. She said her bullseye was on the previous mark (10:30.12) and felt it was attainable.
Of course she knew the former record. It was set by Canyon’s Hannah Stuart in 2023. Addyson Bristow holds the state-meet records in the 800 and 1,600.
Bristow (4:59.96) and Pool (5:00.52) went 1-2 in the 1,600 on Thursday. Bristow also won the 800 again. Such is the legacy of distance runners in purple and white.
“We have a lot of kids that just help the younger ones,” Baca said “And the younger ones, as they get older, they feel like they have to give back to the program by also being leaders and giving back to the younger ones. So the older kids just kind of become like assistant coaches.”
Along with the 3,200, the boys snared first and third in the discus. Kelton Burgoon threw 188 feet, 7 inches to win the event, while freshman teammate Colt McKinley tossed 166-4.
It all added up to a group of Eagles meeting at the award podium for their team plaques.
“It’s pretty special,” Baca said. “I think I saw somewhere in the program there’s like 22 other schools have ever done it at once, and most of them are smaller schools. You like to be part of a program that keeps producing success.
“Once one program’s successful, it bleeds over into the others.”
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Canyon boys, girls win UIL state track team titles
Reporting by Stephen Garcia and Quinton Martinez, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Stephen Garcia and Quinton Martinez, Amarillo Globe-News | USA TODAY Network
