McKale Lee uses a second-lap kick to capture her first state title
2026 UIL Track and Field State Championships
Everyone has a race strategy when they get to the starting line. In the UIL 6A girls' 800m final, eight of those strategies were thrown away almost immediately. Even though eventual champion McKale Lee (Alief Taylor) won in a great time of 2:08.69, the pain it required showed clearly on her face at the finish line.
The reason why Lee was in such pain was that Darasimi Odelowo of The Woodlands sprinted to the lead and did not let up. The only other runner to go with her was Lee, while the pack had to decide what to do next. Odelowo hit the 400m at 59.88, which made all but one other runner go through the midway point in 62 seconds or less.
UIL 6A Girls 800m
Odelowo entered the race as the only returning 800m finalist from last year when she finished in sixth place. A month ago, she ran 2:08.79 to win her Area meet, but then she came in as the eighth seed after finishing second in 2:13.36 at the Regional. Her strategy effectively took away the kick of every runner, including Lee, who struggled to the finish line but easily had the fastest second lap of the competition, running 1:08.53.
Odelowo fell back from Lee but still ran the third fastest time on the second lap and finished as runner-up in 2:11.04 with a healthy gap to Samantha Cravin (Shadow Creek) in third place at 2:13.66.
The fast, early pace played havoc on the rest of the field. Only Prosper's Taylor Peck held back anything in the early going, and she still hit the 400m in 1:05.31 and was three seconds behind the rest of the pack. However, she had more in reserve than most of the other competitors and was able to move into sixth place by the end of the race and nearly caught a few others before running out of time. Sophia Lopez (Round Rock Stony Point) and Daniela Baeza (Longview) claimed fourth and fifth place, respectively, for the other two scoring spots.
McKale Lee uses a second-lap kick to capture her first state title
2026 UIL Track and Field State Championships
Everyone has a race strategy when they get to the starting line. In the UIL 6A girls' 800m final, eight of those strategies were thrown away almost immediately. Even though eventual champion McKale Lee (Alief Taylor) won in a great time of 2:08.69, the pain it required showed clearly on her face at the finish line.
The reason why Lee was in such pain was that Darasimi Odelowo of The Woodlands sprinted to the lead and did not let up. The only other runner to go with her was Lee, while the pack had to decide what to do next. Odelowo hit the 400m at 59.88, which made all but one other runner go through the midway point in 62 seconds or less.
