Humble Summer Creek star Darius Rainey at the start of the 2022 UIL 6A 400m state finals
The 2022 cross country and track and field seasons were absolutely phenomenal. There were so many memorable moments as well as performances worthy of being highlighted.
We decided to pick 22 to match the calendar year that was 2022.
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Photo Credit: Flower Mound Running Twitter
Flower Mound Girls Win The UIL 6A State Track Championships In Unprecedented dented Fashion
There is no secret that the Texas UIL state track and field meet is a sprint fest. Speed on the track rules; power and speed in the field events help make the distance events a mere complimentary proponent to a state title.
No team has ever won a UIL 6A state championship without winning relay events or sprint/hurdle events. That was until the Flower Mound girls did it in the 2022 season with their cross country team.
The 2022 season showed as easy as it is to win a state title with sprint relays the day of the state meet, that it is very difficult to maneuver relay teams through the district, area, and regional championships. Teams with sprinters and sprint relays were in position throughout the championship season to add 2022 to the never ending list of sprint dominance. However, the rounds were too much.
It is equally difficult for a distance runner to advance through the championship season. For four distance runners on the same team to do it was unheard of.
Flower Mound showed they had the best four distance runners in the state and they perfectly ran through the qualifying rounds getting all four runners through the toughest distance region in the state of Texas. They then executed two unheard of sweeps when they arrive in Austin. The Lady Jaguars won the 800m 1,600m, and 3,200m events. They also won the top three scoring/medal positions in the 1,600 and 3,200m and accumulating 58 total points.
Natalie Cook, Nicole Humphries, Samantha Humphries, and Alexandra Fox accumulated the 58 points with Riley Ward adding 10 points with a win in the high jump to bring the winning total to 68 and capturing the win over Shadow Creek who scored 40 points.
The Flower Mound 4x400 relay finished seventh overall in 3:50.96 and Eva Vreeland was eighth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.25.
Another Flower Mound accomplishment is that they became the only girls program in Texas' largest classification to win the cross country and track and field state championships in the same season.
Summer Creek Boys Were Best Statistical Track And Field Team Ever
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
This is more than an editor's opinion; the proof is in the numbers.
Humble Summer Creek won their second consecutive UIL 6A track and field team title after graduating all of it's five individual state champions from 2021. The result of great coaching along with athlete determination and execution were on full display in 2022.
Stats aren't the only thing proving how good Summer Creek was. Their heads up win at the state meet over Duncanville, who in our opinion was the second best team in the nation (won NSAF Outdoor Nationals) is proof they earned the mantle.
When it comes to numbers though, Summer Creek stacks up with the best teams ever assembled at the high school level.
In the Relays, the team had a 40.63 4x100 relay, a 1:25.94 in the 4x200 relay, and a 3:09.92 performance in the 4x400 relay. They became only the sixth school in the country since 2000 to run under 3:10 and the first since 2010.
When it comes to relays, Summer Creek's Sprint Medley Relay became only the second high school boys team to ever run under 3:20 when they ran 3:19.87, good for US No. 2 all-time behind New Bern, NC.
Individually, they had Donovan Bradley run 13.55 in the 110H and he won the state title. He added a 36.82 in the 300H and third place at state. His teammate Aaron Davis was just as impressive in the hurdles; he ran 13.84 and 38.79. Then Davis won the UIL 6A state title and had a 25-5.25 PR.
Senior Myles Thomas ran track for the first time in high school in 2022. He finished fifth at the state meet in the 100m and had a 10.49 PR. Darius Rainey won two UIL 6A state titles (400m/800m) and had PRs of 45.92 and 1:50.63. Justin Craft was fourth at the state meet in the shot put and PRed with 60-6.75; Summer Creek also had three other throwers over 55 feet.
Summer Creek tallied 70 points to win the UIL 6A team championship.
Natalie Cook Evolved Into The Best Ever
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
This is just the opinion of the editor, but Natalie Cook morphed into the best girls distance runner Texas has ever seen. Things began in the 2021 cross country season, but definitely continued into the 2022 outdoors season.
Indoors, Cook ran the second fastest indoor two-mile time in the country's history. She ran 9:44.44 at the New Balance Nationals Indoor championships. Cook then teamed up with Flower Mound teammates to crush the national record in the indoor 4 X Mile with a time of 19:40.67, making her a two-time indoor national champion.
Outdoors, Cook was untouchable. She ran a 5,000m national record of 15:25.93 at the Stanford Invitational. Next, was a Texas state record and US top 5 all-time performance of 4:36.96 in the 1,600m at the UIL 6A Region 1 Championships. Cook then ran UIL state meet records of 4:40.29 and 9:48.25 in the 1,600m and 3,200m to win two UIL state titles.
Cook added 20 points to Flower Mound's unprecedented UIL 6A track and field team championship.
Darius Rainey First Texas 6A Boy To Win 400m and 800m state titles
Photo Credit: Anthony Torns - MileSplit TX
Darius Rainey was impressive all season long in 2022. He helped lead the Summer Creek boys team to their second consecutive UIL 6A state championship and he did it by walking the walk, talking the talk.
However, Rainey did a whole lot more by accomplishing what several boys have unsuccessfully attempted and what many other of the state's top sprinters/middle distance runners have been unable to even attempt. He won both the UIL 6A boys 400m and 800m state title at the same state meet. The feat has only been unsuccessfully attempted by few at Texas' largest division.
The reason the feat is so difficult is because you have to go through the rounds (district, area, regionals, and state) against the fastest runners in the state. Then, you have to finish against the best in the state with limited recovery time. Rainey executed by going through the Houston metropolitan area then completed the process by running 46.36 and 1:50.63 in Austin.
He finished the season with TX No. 1 rankings in both events. Rainey qualified for USA U20 team when he ran 45.92. He also anchored Summer Creek to the US No. 1 4x400 relay 3:09.92 and the US No. 2 all-time Sprint Medley Relay 3:19.87.
Emmanuel Sgouros Ran TX No. 1 All-Time 3200m - 8:47.19
Photo Credit: Jeff Sides - MileSplit NC
The Houston St. John's distance star had an exceptional senior season in 2022. His last big race was perhaps his best as a prep runner. Sgouros ran 8:47.19 at the Arcadia Invitational to net him the fastest all-time performance by a Texas runner at the 3200m distance.
Sgouros won the Gatorade POY for Texas boys in the 2021 cross country season. He won the SPC Championships and was a top finisher at the Eastbay National Championships.
Duncanville Perfected The Relays
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
Duncanville became just the sixth boys school in history to run under 40.00 seconds in the 4x100 relay. They ran 39.98 to win the UIL 6A state championship. They added the 12th fastest 4x200 relay of all-time when they ran 1:23.90 for runner-up at the state meet.
However, Duncanville had more in their arsenal than just the short sprint relays. The Panthers had a formidable 4x400 relay that saw them finish fourth at the state meet with a 3:13.49 SB.
Just when you think the reach of this team was done, that's where Duncanville continued to turn things up. They had the luxury of having two sub 1:55 800m runners on the team. A third runners who was sub 1:58 helped turning a 7:52.80 SB performance in the 4 x 800 relay.
They are the only team in the country ever to run under 41, 1:25, 3:15, and 8:00 in the same season.
Autumn Wilson Dominated Sprints In Texas
Photo Credit: Roderick Pernetter - MileSplit TX
It happened again. It was the second consecutive season Autumn Wilson won the TAPPS 6A 100m and 200m state titles.
The season started out hot with Wilson during the indoor season when she ran seven 60m races under 7.40 and four under 24.0 in the 200m. She ended the indoor season with a 60m national title and runner-up in the 200m.
Outdoors, Wilson would dominate the sprint events at the Texas Relays as well as The Arcadia Invitational prior to the TAPPS state meet. Afterwards, she was runner-up in the 100m at Brooks PR and then was third at the USATF U20 Championships to make the team in the 4x100 relay.
Emma Sralla Throws No. 2 Texas A-T Discus and Wins U20 World Title
Photo Credit: William Grundy - MileSplit TX
Marcus thrower Emma Sralla had a fantastic 2022 track and field season. After her international competition in 2021, she used the experience to develop extremely well.
Sralla threw a 185-0 in the discus to win the UIL 6A - District 5-6 Area Championships. That throw earned her a US. No. 1 ranking and was a TX No. 2 all-time throw to rank only behind eventual US Olympian Shelby Vaughan.
Sralla would go on to win the UIL 6A state title with a 174-3 toss. Representing Sweden, she would also win a gold medal at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Columbia with a 56.15 (184-1) throw.
Aaron Davis and Ashton Torns Long Jump Battle At UIL 6A state meet
It's not every year that we get a 25 foot long jumper in one long jump competition. In 2022, we had two go that far in the UIL 6A long jump competition.
Aaron Davis (Summer Creek) was enjoying a solid season by going over 25 feet two meets prior to the state meet and getting the win at Texas Relays. Needless to say, entered the state meet with a lot of confidence. Ashton Torns also entered with confidence as the defending state champion.
The two had tousled previously in the season at Texas Relays with Davis getting the win over Torns who was runner-up.
The state meet competition was just what we thought we'd get. Davis established himself early with some solid 24 footers, but he was in the driver's seat with a 25-03.75. Torns was chasing him the entire competition; he was sitting in third and even fourth place at times during the competition.
Late in the competition, Torns would eventually hit big when he jumped 25-3.75 of his own, the exact same distance as Davis. Neither jumper would log a farther jump, thus ending the competition in a tie. The tie breaker would go to who had the best second best jump and Davis had another 25 footer that broke the tie.
The atmosphere was what jumpers dream of and the show they put on was as good as any.
Flower Mound Wins Third Straight UIL 6A Cross Country Championship
Photo Credit: Christine Langford - MileSplit TX
The Flower Mound girls continued their dominance in distance running in the state of Texas. At the UIL 6A state cross country meet, they added their third consecutive state title and fresh off the heels of their state track and field championships.
Twin sisters Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries tied for first place with times of 17:36.40 and teammate Alexandra Fox finished behind them in third for the team sweep on the individual awards podium.
Flower Mound is the only girls program in Texas to win a track and field state championship and cross country state championship in the largest division in Texas.
Girls 800m Was Out Of Control
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
To crack Texas' top-10 in the girls 800m, you had to run 2:11.58; eight girls ran 2:10 or better. That is absolutely absurd!
That's fast, but it doesn't just stop there. Running 2:15 has become an average time in these days; 32 girls ran 2:15.00 in 2022. The event is deep with quality runners in Texas and it doesn't look like that is changing anytime soon. Girls from all over the state and in every classification and in every league were responsible for the take off of the 800m event.
Isabel Conde De Frankenberg (2:05.61)has the fastest time in the state and she didn't even win her state meet race. That honor went to Kailey Littlefield (2:06.21). Aubrey O'Connell, the 2021 UIL 6A state champ, was second at the state meet in 2022 and had the fifth fastest time of the year.
The girls 800m was the most treacherous event in 2022.
Fort Bend Marshall Wins Girls And Boys UIL 5A Track And Field Titles
The Fort Bend Marshall girls tied for the 2021 team title with perennial powerhouse Lancaster, but the 2022 team title was theirs and their 14 point margin over Mansfield Timberview left little doubt who the best team was on the year.
The Marshall boys scored 64 points to take the boys team win. The title had eluded them for a couple of years, but they weren't to be denied as hey padded their total by 22 points over the Lancaster boys.
Senior hurdlers Tairah Johnson and Desirae Roberts scored big in the 100-meter hurdles (Johnson won and Roberts fourth) and in the 300-meter hurdles Roberts was second. The long jump also paid point dividends for Marshall when Genesis Griffin placed third with Johnson fifth.
The Lady Buffs were relay rich getting double points with runner-up finishes in the 4x100 relay and the 4x200 relay then a third place finish in the 4x400 relay.
The boys win was highlighted by big time hurdle points from Arveyon Davis and Chris Brinkley in both hurdle events and two relay wins in the 4x200 (their winning time of 1:23.60 was .08 short of the 5A state record) and the 4x400 relay.
Damilare Olukosi Showed He Could Fly
Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle
Damilare Olukosi's 2022 track and field season was out of sight. The Fort Bend Travis jumper was consistently over 47 feet indoors. He even ventured out and over 50 feet at the FasTrak Coach O Youth & High School Indoor Challenge.
Olukosi maintained his consistency outdoors with several distances over 49 feet.
At Region 3-6A, he took ratcheted things up a notch going 50-9 PR to earn his first trip the the state meet. In Austin, he continued to fly through the sky and made the most of his trip to state. The senior jumped to the US No. 1 ranking with three jumps over 50 feet including a 51-08.75.
No Bar Was Too High For Jace Posey
Photo Credit: Shelton Jolivette - MileSplit TX
Jace Posey is a basketball star moonlighting in the high jump event during the spring. There are no hoops on the track and no balls to dunk, but Posey entertained himself and others at pits all over Houston.
His show ended in Austin at the UIl 6A state meet, but he gave the stadium their fare share of pleasure as the Strake Jesuit hopper went for a UIL 6A state meet record of 7-4.25.
That was good for No. 4 all-time in the state of Texas and the highest mark since 2004.
Walker St. John Went Berserk In The Distances
Photo Credit: Gary Kinyanjui
The Grapevine star took a different approach to the 2022 track and field season than most distance runners. Instead of defending his UIL 5A 1,600m state title from 2021, he elected to compete in the 800m.
He didn't win a state title in the event, but he still ran a 1:53.32 PR and did qualified for the state meet. St. John still proved his stock in the 1,600m as he ran sub 4:10 twice including a TX No. 2 4:05.82 PR at the RunningLane Track Championships.
St. John added the UIL 5A 3,200m state title to end his high school resume by running 9:07.78. His major race in the event was a 8:57.77 to win the Texas Relays. St. John's 14:30.59 to win the Texas Distance Festival.
That made a crazy stat line for the year of 1:53.32, 4:05.82, 8:57.77, and 14:30.59. Not many runners can do that.
Simone Ballard Was Fastest Hurdler In The Country
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
Simone Ballard was fast over the hurdles in 2022. Her fast produced 13 sub 14 second performances in the 100-meter hurdles and two sub 41 second races in the 300-meter hurdles. She topped out with a 13.28 and a 40.68 and two UIL 6A state titles.
That was just the beginning of where things started for the Katy Mayde Creek hurdler. She was so imposing over barriers because she was the fastest hurdler in the country. Ballard ran three 100m races under 12.0 and a sub 25 in the 200. With 11.61 and 24.83 PRs, there was little room for error for anyone with hopes to beat her in the hurdles.
Molly Haywood Jumps TX No. 2 All-Time Pole Vault
Photo Credit: Shelton Jolivette - MileSplit TX
Tomball Memorial vaulter Molly Haywood was only a junior in 2022, but that didn't stop her from making a seismic impact in the event.
Haywood vaulted to the second best performance ever by a Texas girls pole vaulter. Her 14-4 jump at the UIL 6A - Region 2 Championships was the mark that etched her in the history books. Later tacking on the UIL 6A state title with a 14-3 performance was the icing on the cake for Haywood's season.
Chris Riley Was Another Distance Wizard
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
Chris Riley led the 1,600m at the state meet in 2021, but wasn't able to secure his positioning for the win.
The 2022 season was different. Riley was the hottest distance runner over the season and ended the year with title that got away the year before. He also added the Texas Relays 1,600m title to his resume and he did so in a 4:05.78 PR.
Riley ended his 2022 season with a crazy stat line of 1:55.20, 4:05.78, 9:19.10, and 14:47.43.
Pierre Goree Dominated The Boys Sprints
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby - MileSplit TX
If you think Matthew Boling was the most dominant Texas sprinter of recent times, then you have to add Pierre Goree to that conversation. Aside from Boling's 9.98, Goree's resume was equally as impressive, if not more so.
With five consecutive 100m races of 10.23 and under, the only thing he needed to top Boling was a windy state meet. Instead, he had to deal with a (-0.5) head wind
Goree ran 10.10, 10.19, and 10.09 in consecutive races and and undefeated season to end his high school career.
Girls High Jump Event Was Top Flight
Photo Credit: Anthony Torns II
Three Texas girls jumped 6-0 in 2022. Claire Lowrey, Abigail Elmore, and Hannah Pfiffner all cleared the barrier. There were six other girls who cleared 5-10 and nine others who were at 5-8 and 5-9.
The 10 best girls from 2022 return for 2023, which should make for an even more interesting season.
India Alix Starts The 2023 Season With A 2022 Bomb
Photo Credit: Stuart Kantor - MileSplit TX
Have you ever been ready for something you've been waiting on it? That's how prepared Klein jumper India Alix was for the 2023 season to begin. Technically, the jump is in 2022, so we are popping it up on this list.
At the NORTH TEXAS SHOWCASE, on December 11-12, 2022, Alix lept a 20-11.75 bomb of a long jump to list her No. 6 on the all-time list in Texas.
Chris Preddie Jumped Over 24 feet And Over 50 feet
Photo Credit: Temple Star Telegram
Preddie was denied two state titles in 2021, but that wasn't the case in 2022. Not only did he repeat as the triple jump state champion, but he added the long jump championship in Austin at the 3A state meet.
He jumped spectacularly all season long and ended the UIL season as one of the best in the country. He long jumped over 24 feet twice this season and he did it at the biggest moments (Regional and State levels) dropping a 24-5 PR. In the triple jump, he jumped over 49 feet five times including a 50-2.75 to win state.
Not only did Preddie win two state titles, but he is one of only four boys in the country to jump over 24 feet and over 50 feet this season.
Humble Summer Creek star Darius Rainey at the start of the 2022 UIL 6A 400m state finals
The 2022 cross country and track and field seasons were absolutely phenomenal. There were so many memorable moments as well as performances worthy of being highlighted.
We decided to pick 22 to match the calendar year that was 2022.