The Amarillo High boys and girls track teams dominated the District 3-5A track meet Wednesday and Thursday at Lowrey Field in Lubbock.
The Sandies won the meet with 125 points, beating out Lubbock-Cooper by 15 points. Palo Duro finished in third place with 106 points. Amarillo High’s boys team won three events, including two relays, to secure the district title.
The Lady Sandies won the varsity girls division with 163 points. Tascosa was the runner-up, finishing with 113 points. AHS’ girls team won five events, including all three relays, en route to a district title.
Amarillo High even won the JV boys and girls divisions at the meet, sweeping the District 3-5A track meet in all four divisions.
The top four finishers in each event advance to the Districts 3/4-5A area meet April 12, back at Lowrey Field.
Lady Sandies relays dominate
Amarillo High’s victory was a team effort, but AHS was led by wins in all three of the event’s relays.
To start the meet, the Lady Sandies had to hold off Monterey to take the 400-meter relay crown, beating out the Lady Plainsmen by nine hundredths of a second.
In the 800-meter relay, the group was able to create a little more breathing room for anchor leg Memori Hibbler, as the Lady Sandies beat out Monterey to claim another gold medal.
“It just continues to be rewarding,” AHS sprints coach Kayla Thomas said. “Every time we go to practice, every time we go to compete, they come ready to go. I was telling someone the other day, I’ve never been around a group of girls that’s so driven and that loves it so much that, every time they step on the track, they give everything they’ve got.”
Hibbler and teammate Sofia Quiles both said they knew coming into the season that their 800-meter relay had the chance to have a successful campaign on the track. So far, the group has lived up to those expectations.
The duo said that they were less certain, though, about the team’s 400-meter relay before the season kicked off. As the 2025 campaign progressed, though, the Lady Sandies continued to find more success and pick up more confidence, culminating in wins at the Amarillo Relays and the district championships.
“For our 4×1, I think we realized (how good we could be) as the season went on,” Quiles said. “Amarillo Relays we got first also, and then we got to go to the Texas Relays for the experience and we did good. All of it, the handoffs getting smoother and smoother each week was just really comfortable.”
Amarillo High closed out the track meet with a win in the 1,600-meter relay, finishing off what was an outstanding performance for Jonathan Woodward’s team.
Palo Duro’s Saidgurhan claims three gold medals
Another standout from the District 3-5A track meet was Palo Duro’s Abdirisak Saidgurhan, who won the 3,200-meter run, 1,600-meter run and 800-meter run.
Saidgurhan finished the two mile more than seven seconds ahead of second place, and finished the mile more than three seconds ahead of the silver medalist. In the mile, Saidgurhan was joined on the podium by junior Abdihafit Mohamed, who placed third.
Saidgurhan and Mohamed’s success on the track comes after a strong cross country campaign for each athlete. Saidgurhan ran in the state cross country meet each of the last two years, and after a strong showing in Lubbock, is looking to reach the state track meet as well.
The standout senior said he found his love for the sport during his time with the Dons, but his stellar running career almost never happened.
Before joining Palo Duro’s cross country team with just two meets left in the 2022 campaign, Saidgurhan wasn’t even in the school’s athletics program. When a coach saw the gifted athlete reaching more than 100 on the FitnessGram PACER Test, he encouraged Saidgurhan to try running as a sport.
“Coach (Scott) Love, he saw me in P.E. class,” Saidgurhan said. “When I was in P.E., all the other kids would be jogging, and he saw me. … That’s when he recruited me for cross country, and that’s why I ran for him.”
Saidgurhan said that he ran in tennis shoes during the two cross country meets he competed in as a sophomore. As a junior, though, Saidgurhan was more prepared, and managed to get his times under 16 minutes.
The Dons’ star reached state in his first full season running cross country as a junior, and has carried similar success onto the track. After qualifying for the area track meet in three different events, Saidgurhan said he plans to compete in each event once again next week, before specializing at the regional track meet to focus on his best race.
Palo Duro’s coaching staff still has time to decide which race that will be, but with the success Saidgurhan has found in all three events, he has the potential to make a run to Austin.
District 3-5A track and field meet results
Wednesday-Thursday at Lowrey Field
Note: Top four finishers in each event advance to the Districts 3/4-5A area meet April 12 at Lowrey Field.
BOYS
Team standings: 1. Amarillo High 125; 2. Lubbock-Cooper 110; 3. Amarillo Palo Duro 106; 4. Amarillo Tascosa 72; 5. Monterey 61; 6. Amarillo Caprock 57; 7. Coronado 45; 8. Lubbock High 32; 9. Plainview 12.
3,200 meters: 1. Abdirisak Saidgurhan, Palo Duro, 9 minutes, 44.49 seconds; 2. Arturo Rodriguez, Lubbock High, 9:52.44; 3. Jackson Newman, Amarillo High, 9:53.33; 4. Luis Guerrero, Lubbock-Cooper, 9:59.61; 5. Grayson Hastings, Monterey, 10:20.28; 6. Abdihafit Mohamed, Palo Duro, 10:28.59.
Long jump: 1. Josiah Davis, Lubbock-Cooper, 22 feet, 1½ inches; 2. Keelon Campbell, Coronado, 22-0; 3. Creed Cavalier, Amarillo High, 21-8¾; 4. Kyree Baxter, Monterey, 21-7; 5. Josh Hierholzer, Amarillo High, 21-3; 6. Julian Reese, Palo Duro, 21-2¼.
Discus: 1. Hunter Spier, Amarillo High, 153-1; 2. Reed Murja, Amarillo High, 150-4; 3. Samuel McDonald, Lubbock-Cooper, 147-10; 4. Kenneth Osteen, Amarillo High, 146-6; 5. Bishop Nash, Tascosa, 137-9; 6. Krush Johnson, Tascosa, 135-11.
High jump: 1. Jermey Morrison, Lubbock High, 6-6; 2. Maslah Abdi, Palo Duro, 6-4; 3. Chester Creery, Tascosa, 6-4; 4. Aushaun Wilson, Palo Duro, 6-0; 5. Nolan Bivins, Amarillo High, 6-0; 6. Landon Heibert, Monterey, 6-0.
Triple jump: 1. Josiah Davis, Lubbock-Cooper, 45-11¼; 2. Alhosan Sheriff, Caprock, 45-8¼; 3. Davon Barrow, Tascosa, 43-5¼; 4. Kenny Gilbreath, Tascosa, 43-1¾; 5. Kevonte Carr, Coronado, 42-11¼; 6. Keelon Campbell, Coronado, 42-10¼.
Pole vault: 1. Jermey Morrison, Lubbock High, 13-6; 2. Jackson Hart, Caprock, 13-0; 3. William Williams, Amarillo High, 12-6; 4. Maxwell Trostle, Caprock, 12-6; 5. Moises Sandoval III, Tascosa, 12-0; 6. Jenz Sewell, Amarillo High, 11-6.
Shot put: 1. Sione Vaea, Lubbock-Cooper, 54-0¾; 2. Hunter Spier, Amarillo High, 53-6½; 3. Aaron Phares, Tascosa, 49-1¼; 4. K.J. Russel, Monterey, 48-1¼; 5. Dominic Parrish, Coronado, 47-7¾; 6. Jose Arenivar, Tascosa, 45-2½.
Wheelchair shot put: 1. Triston West, Caprock, 17-6; 2. Isaac Montoya, Lubbock High, 12-5.
400 relay: 1. Amarillo High (Bryson Brown, Aiden Bailey, Oliver Parsons, Creed Cavalier), 42.44; 2. Monterey, 42.59; 3. Palo Duro, 42.76; 4. Coronado, 43.01; 5. Lubbock-Cooper, 43.10; 6. Tascosa, 43.23.
800: 1. Abdirisak Saidgurhan, Palo Duro, 2:00.24; 2. William Escobar, Lubbock-Cooper, 2:00.45; 3. Logan Clayton, Monterey, 2:02.48; 4. Jaiden Esquivel, Plainview, 2:04.11; 5. Jeremiah Esquivel, Plainview, 2:06.05; 6. Paul Robertson, Lubbock-Cooper, 2:07.01.
110 hurdles: 1. Alhosan Sheriff, Caprock, 14.56; 2. Vern Blair, Palo Duro, 14.63; 3. Kyron Brown, Palo Duro, 14.67; 4. Logan Jackson, Amarillo High, 15.03; 5. Chester Creery, Tascosa, 15.79; 6. Kingston Wright, Caprock, 16.20.
100: 1. Allen Gant, Coronado, 10.66; 2. Quarren Boyd, Monterey, 10.91; 3. Mekhi Goitia, Palo Duro, 11.10; 4. Bryson Brown, Amarillo High, 11.21; 5. Aushaun Wilson, Palo Duro, 11.35; 6. Kyler McDowell, Lubbock-Cooper, 11.49.
800 relay: 1. Lubbock-Cooper (Kyler McDowell, Josiah Davis, Karter Gentry, Carter Harris), 1:29.03; 2. Tascosa, 1:29.59; 3. Monterey, 1:30.33; 4. Palo Duro, 1:30.67; 5. Caprock, 1:30.98; 6. Coronado, 1:31.99.
400: 1. Blake Moore, Lubbock-Cooper, 49.64; 2. Jaelym Glover, Amarillo High, 50.47; 3. Xavier Vargas, Caprock, 51.21; 4. Abdiaziz Abdi, Palo Duro, 51.68; 5. Owen Edwards, Coronado, 51.69; 6. Jude Dunavin, Amarillo High, 52.32.
300 hurdles: 1. Kyron Brown, Palo Duro, 39.97; 2. Roger Ronaldo, Tascosa, 40.43; 3. Logan Jackson, Amarillo High, 41.34; 4. Jesse Elizondo II, Monterey, 41.49; 5. Allen Ellison, Amarillo High, 41.92; 6. Julius Zapata, Plainview, 42.30.
200: 1. Allen Gant, Coronado, 21.46; 2. Nicholas Josiah Fields, Tascosa, 22.08; 3. Creed Cavalier, Amarillo High, 22.20; 4. Josiah Davis, Lubbock-Cooper, 22.27; 5. Karter Gentry, Lubbock-Cooper, 22.51; 6. Maddox Ellis, Plainview, 22.79.
1,600: 1. Abdirisak Saidgurhan, Palo Duro, 4:33.38; 2. Luis Guerrero, Lubbock-Cooper, 4:36.53; 3. Abdihafit Mohamed, Palo Duro, 4:37.00; 4. Arturo Rodriguez, Lubbock High, 4:37.07; 5. Grayson Hastings, Monterey, 4:40.27; 6. Jackson Newman, Amarillo High, 4:41.07.
1,600 relay: 1. Amarillo High (Oliver Parsons, Jude Dunavin, Jaelym Glover, Austin Fies), 3:22.79; 2. Caprock, 3:24.68; 3. Lubbock-Cooper, 3:28.93; 4. Tascosa, 3:30.48; 5. Plainview, 3:34.26; 6. Monterey, 3:40.07.
GIRLS
Team standings: 1. Amarillo High 163; 2. Amarillo Tascosa 113; 3. Lubbock-Cooper 87; 4. Monterey 82; 5. Lubbock High 66; 6. Amarillo Palo Duro 42; 7. Coronado 30; 8. Plainview 23; 9. Amarillo Caprock 14.
3,200: 1. Reese Peña, Lubbock High, 11:13.89; 2. Sydney Smothers, Monterey, 12:00.10; 3. Sabrina Carbajal, Palo Duro, 12:26.23; 4. Aubrie Comans, Caprock, 12:42.84; 5. Meredith Gutierrez, Plainview, 12:48.23; 6. Braylee Cothrin, Amarillo High, 12:49.87.
Long jump: 1. Saphina Stanley, Tascosa, 17-9; 2. Kahlen Whitley, Lubbock-Cooper, 17-2½; 3. Sienna Cavalier, Amarillo High, 16-9; 4. Olivia Clayton, Monterey, 16-7¾; 5. Kynlee Phillips, Lubbock-Cooper, 16-7; 6. Heiress Bradic, Plainview, 16-5½.
Discus: 1. Ava Rushing, Plainview, 130-10; 2. Maggie Marhefka, Tascosa, 129-8; 3. Ava Rahlfs, Amarillo High, 120-4; 4. Raelee Blevins, Tascosa, 116-3; 5. Jade Martin, Lubbock High, 114-2; 6. Brooklyn Graham, Amarillo High, 108-8.
High jump: 1. Niomi Wines, Lubbock-Cooper, 5-8; 2. Brentley Preston, Lubbock-Cooper, 5-6; 3. Sara Goltz, Lubbock-Cooper, 5-2; 4. Gabbi Garcia, Monterey, 5-0; 5. Samantha Adams, Lubbock High, 5-0; 6. Berkley Harper, Tascosa, 5-0.
Triple jump: 1. Kahlen Whitley, Lubbock-Cooper, 36-10¾; 2. Saphina Stanley, Tascosa, 36-10; 3. Kylei Jordan, Monterey, 35-4; 4. Veronica Surowiec, Lubbock High, 35-0; 5. Zeinab Deng, Palo Duro, 34-4½; 6. Riley McCulloch, Amarillo High, 34-3¾.
Pole vault: 1. Cailyn Lott, Caprock, 10-6; 2. Kierly Raef, Amarillo High, 10-6; 3. Patton Posey, Amarillo High, 10-0; 4. Lawsyn Everett, Lubbock-Cooper, 10-0; 5. Blake Graham, Tascosa, 9-0; 6. Brooke Quick, Lubbock-Cooper, 8-6.
Shot put: 1. Ava Rahlfs, Amarillo High, 40-8; 2. Ava Rushing, Plainview, 38-6; 3. Raelee Blevins, Tascosa, 37-2¾; 4. Eliza Miles, Palo Duro, 36-1½; 5. Riley Curtis, Plainview, 35-8¼; 6. Jessie Houston, Lubbock-Cooper, 35-7¼.
400 relay: 1. Amarillo High, 49.49; 2. Monterey, 49.58; 3. Palo Duro, 50.01; 4. Tascosa, 50.03; 5. Coronado, 50.42; 6. Lubbock-Cooper, 50.88.
800: 1. Reese Peña, Lubbock High, 2:14.94; 2. Sierra Cornell, Amarillo, 2:15.78; 3. Zanashia Harris, Coronado, 2:19.90; 4. Kinley Davis, Amarillo High, 2:23.99; 5. Carolina Hernandez-Acosta, Lubbock High, 2:25.60; 6. Kylee Costley, Amarillo High, 2:27.32.
100 hurdles: 1. Jazzlynn Brown, Palo Duro, 15.14; 2. Willow Cornell, Amarillo High, 15.19; 3. Mysia Lewis, Monterey, 15.57; 4. Eva Minielly, Lubbock-Cooper, 16.35; 5. Sara Dy, Lubbock High, 16.71; 6. Jessie Houston, Lubbock-Cooper, 16.84.
100: 1. Niomi Wines, Lubbock-Cooper, 12.16; 2. Saphina Stanley, Tascosa, 12.40; 3. Memori Hibbler, Amarillo High, 12.70; 4. Eyjniq Jones, Monterey, 12.88; 5. Abbey Watts, Lubbock-Cooper, 13.02; 6. Zania James, Coronado, 13.07.
800 relay: 1. Amarillo High, 1:43.61; 2. Monterey, 1:44.47; 3. Tascosa, 1:44.53; 4. Coronado, 1:44.55; 5. Lubbock-Cooper, 1:46.40; 6. Lubbock High, 1:49.17.
400: 1. Saphina Stanley, Tascosa, 56.51; 2. Sierra Cornell, Amarillo High, 56.86; 3. Destiny Gates, Tascosa, 1:01.65; 4. Veronica Surowiec, Lubbock High, 1:01.96; 5. Alana Wiseman, Palo Duro, 1:02.64; 6. Mariah Watson, Tascosa, 1:02.77.
300 hurdles: 1. Willow Cornell, Amarillo High, 43.89; 2. Chandler Graham, Tascosa, 46.09; 3. Sara Dy, Lubbock High, 47.23; 4. Sienna Cavalier, Amarillo High, 47.33; 5. Jazzlynn Brown, Palo Duro, 48.47; 6. Maren Peck, Tascosa, 49.28.
200: 1. Niomi Wines, Lubbock-Cooper, 24.08; 2. Sofia Quiles, Amarillo High, 25.37; 3. Jordan Williams, Monterey, 26.28; 4. Alana Davis, Palo Duro, 26.52; 5. Markline Nuquay, Tascosa, 26.72; 6. Sophie Webb, Amarillo High, 26.82.
1,600: 1. Reese Peña, Lubbock High, 5:09.53; 2. Zanashia Harris, Coronado, 5:28.20; 3. Kinley Davis, Amarillo High, 5:29.55; 4. Sydney Smothers, Monterey, 5:31.49; 5. Ivana Ibarra, Tascosa, 5:45.07; 6. Kaydance Harrelson, Coronado, 5:45.75.
1,600 relay: 1. Amarillo High, 3:58.67; 2. Tascosa, 4:06.80; 3. Lubbock High, 4:10.14; 4. Monterey, 4:15.98; 5. Lubbock-Cooper, 4:16.36; 6. Coronado, 4:29.04.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: District 3-5A track results, storylines: Amarillo High claims boys, girls team titles
Reporting by Randall Sweet, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
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