Texas Athletes Dominated The Great Southwest....Again

Lauren Lewis crosses the finish line at the 2023 Great Southwest Classic

Team Texas wasn't made up of all of the state champions or even of all of the state finalists from the Texas Homeschools, SPC, TAPPS, and UIL. However, the talent in the state is plentiful and it runs deep.

Over three weeks after the last state championship in Texas, some athletes were still in good shape and sharp enough to take on track and field athletes from Missouri to Colorado, and more.

Lauren Lewis ran a all-time US top-10 time in the 400m and Alyssa Banales went for a US No. 2 in the long jump with her 20-10.75.

Here are some notable performances from the weekend:

Sprints

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In the 100m, Wazell Wright finished fourth place with a time of 10.54 followed by Miles Jones in 10.66 and Amar Williams in 10.68.

In the girls 100m, it was a barrage of Lone Star girls loading up in the top-10 places. UIL 5A 100m state champ and Texas A&M signee Laila Hackett was dominant in the elite race. She ran 11.39 with a +1.2 m/s tailwind to capture the win; that's the TX No. 9 all-time wind legal performance in the girls 100m.

Joining Hackett in the top-10 was UIL 6A 100m runner-up and University of Oklahoma signee Jordyn Price who finished second in 11.55, Alyssa Tate was fourth in 11.66, Sydney Bryant fifth in. 11.69, Michaela McCall seventh in 11.89, and Alaya Gradney was ninth in 11.95 and Emily Royce finished tenth in 12.11.

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The boys 200m was another victory for Texas. Ashton Torns who earlier in the weekend won the long jump came through again in the 200m He ran a 21.16 with a +1.4 m/s tail wind. The University of Miami (Fl) signee Torns was the UIL 6A long jump state champion and runner-up in the long jump.

Miles Jones was seventh in 21.33 and Wazell Wright was eighth in 21.43.

The girls 200m was another demonstration of Texas' superior speed. It was Lauren Lewis' second individual event of the day and her second win in an all-time best performance.

University of Texas signee, Lewis ran a TX No. 3 wind legal all-time best 22.94 to capture the win. She was joined by Laila Hackett who was third in 23.55, Angel Brefo in fourth place in 23.80, Sydney Bryant in fifth at 24.00, Ashley Lister in eighth place at 24.53, and Alyssa Tate with a ninth place finish in 24.54.

In the boys 400m, Texas brought in two 47 quarter milers and they did what they were expected to do. Arizona State signee Jayden Davis won the event with a superb 46.2. Texas' Alex Ornelas finished in second in 47.63 and Prosper junior Prentice Sanders was fourth in 47.99.

The girls elite 400m was a one-woman show.

Lauren Lewis who we already mentioned in the above 200m section dazzled with a meet record 51.17 and US No. 8 all-time performance. Only four US high school girls have ever run sub 51.0 and Lewis was three seconds faster than the second place finisher was nearly the fifth.

Freshman Angel Brefo was second in 54.76, Madisyn Jackson third in 55.31, and Kayleigh Bowie fifth in 55.58.

Alex Chukwukelu led ran on two relays as well as won the 110 meter Hurdles

Texas girls secured six of the top-10 hurdle finishes. Led by UIL 5A 100 meter hurdle champion Kaylah Braxton (13.87 - +2.4) the UIL 6A 100H runner-up Lillian Harden reinforced the superior hurdling by the Texans with her 13.96 runner-up finish.

Joining Braxton and Harden in the top-10 was Riyah Burns, Kelly Frederick, Trezur Connley, and Stephanie Fish.

The boys 110 meter hurdles was more of excellent running over and between the barriers by Texans.

UIL 6A state champ and runner-up Alexander Chukwukelu and Donovan Bradley put on a hurdling exhibition and finished first and second. They were joined by John Sanderson who finished fourth, Austin Kiser fifth, Jairius Burton seventh, and Aidan McFarlane was ninth.

Boys 400 meter hurdle finals heat 2

In the 400 meter hurdles it was seniors Alex Ornelas and Donovan Bradley going 1 -2. The University of Illinois signee Alex Ornelas won the event with an outstanding 51.91 performance. Ornelas and Bradley put the race to bed after the first hurdle as they began to pull away from the field more and more with each step.

By the sixth hurdle, it was Ornelas creating more breathing room from Bradley and he went onto hold form and minimize the stutter stepping. Everyone knows Bradley is fast and has good physical strength and he was surely putting together a strong finish to run 53.31, but Ornelas was able to keep him at bay.

In the girls 400 meter hurdles, it was Texas state record holder Sidney Green taking the win. The University of Michigan signee was in total control of this race from the the first step and never looked back until crossing the finish line in 58.92 for a new meet record.

Girls 400 meter hurdles heat 1

800m - Aaron Crittenden won the boys 800m event with a 1:51.90. He dominated the race by leaving the rest of the field that tried to hold on through 300m. But, after that it was a 100% solo effort for Crittenden to cruise to the win.

Field Events

Alyssa Banales won the long jump with a new 20-10.75 PR with only a +1.0 wind reading.. That's over a six inch personal best jump and moves her to US No. 2 giving Texas girls the 2 -4 spots in the long jump national rankings. Caitlyn Johnson finished third in 19-11.

As previously mentioned, Ashton Torns won the 100m, but prior to that he bolted down another long jump win in his career. The two-time UIL 6A state champion in the event won this event with a 24-5.75 wind legal jump.

In the triple jump, Texas claimed the top three spots with all three girls going over 40 feet. Lily Muzzy got the win with a 41-6.50 (+4.9), Isabella Copeland went 40-7.75 (+6.6), and Myla Canty jumped 40-3.5 (-0.5).

Madeleine Fey won the girls discus 48.67 meters,  (159-08) and finished runner-up in the shot put with a 43-0.50 throw.