Canyon sweeps state: Eagles and Lady Eagles capture UIL 4A track titles

The Canyon Eagles capped a historic day at the UIL Class 4A State Track and Field Championships with both the boys and girls programs bringing home team titles from Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. Years of steady growth, near misses and championship expectations finally turned into reality as Canyon’s athletes delivered one of the most memorable performances in school history. The boys captured the first state track championship in program history, while the Lady Eagles battled to a dramatic co-state championship in a finish that came down to fractions of a second. Together, the victories completed an incredible school year for Canyon athletics after both cross country teams also claimed state championships in the fall.

For the Canyon boys, the long-awaited breakthrough came through balance, depth and clutch performances from start to finish across nearly 12 hours of competition. After finishing fourth two years ago and fifth last season, the Eagles arrived in Austin determined to finally finish on top, and they did exactly that with 57 points to outdistance runner-up Austin Johnson by 13 points.

Canyon wasted no time making its presence known in the opening event of the day. The distance duo of Domenic San Miguel and Noah Cooper immediately put the Eagles in contention during the 3200-meter run. San Miguel delivered one of the most dominant performances of the meet, setting a new UIL Class 4A state meet record with a blistering time of 9:04.51. Cooper added a third-place finish to give Canyon a massive early boost and establish momentum that carried throughout the day.

The Eagles then turned to the field events, where senior Kelton Burgoon and freshman Colt McKinley produced another huge swing in points during the discus competition. Burgoon appeared to have the gold medal secured early before Pampa’s Parker Webb briefly overtook him late in the finals. With the pressure mounting, Burgoon responded on the next-to-last throw of his high school career with a massive toss of 188 feet, 7 inches to reclaim the lead and secure the state championship. McKinley added a bronze medal with a throw of 166-4, giving Canyon 16 valuable points in one event.

The evening track finals continued to push the Eagles closer to history. Emmitt Stewart earned a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash, while San Miguel and Cooper added more points in the 1600 meters with fifth- and sixth-place finishes. By the time the final event arrived, Canyon sat just three points behind Austin Johnson in the team standings with the 1600 relay left to decide the title.

The Eagles relay team of Nolan Prock, Jacob Asbill, Baylor West and Stewart removed all doubt in emphatic fashion. Instead of simply protecting a lead, Canyon produced one of its best races of the season, running a school-record and team-best time of 3:16.04 to finish strong and officially clinch the first boys state track championship in program history.

The relay victory punctuated a remarkable year for Canyon’s boys distance and track programs after also winning the Class 4A cross country title in the fall. The combination of elite distance runners, key field event contributors and explosive relay performances ultimately gave Canyon the depth needed to separate itself from the rest of the field.

While the boys celebrated history on one side of Mike A. Myers Stadium, the Canyon Lady Eagles authored an unforgettable championship story of their own.

The girls championship race delivered one of the most dramatic finishes of the entire UIL state meet. Canyon entered the final two events needing near perfection to have any chance at catching Dallas Lincoln for the team title. What followed was a stunning rally led by senior star Addyson Bristow and freshman sensation Presli Pool.

The comeback began in the 1600 meters, where Pool and Bristow executed a patient strategy before unleashing devastating finishing kicks over the final lap. Bristow won the state title in 4:59.96, while Pool finished second in 5:00.52 to give Canyon 18 critical team points and vault the Lady Eagles back into contention.

Pool had already delivered one of the top performances of the day earlier that morning when she shattered the Class 4A state meet record in the 3200 meters. The freshman phenom dominated the race from the second lap onward and crossed the finish line in 10:26.73, breaking the previous state meet record held by former Canyon standout Hannah Stewart.

Bristow added another gold medal in the 800 meters, capturing her third consecutive state title in the event with a commanding performance. The Oklahoma State signee controlled the race from the opening stretch and finished more than seven seconds ahead of the runner-up to cement her legacy as one of the greatest distance runners in area history.

Still, everything ultimately came down to the 1600 relay.

Canyon’s relay team of Pool, Aubrey Holloway, Reese Wilson and Bristow entered the final exchange in fourth place with Dallas Lincoln still positioned to secure the championship. Over the final 75 meters, Bristow produced a remarkable closing surge, weaving through traffic and sprinting past multiple runners at the finish line to steal the relay victory in 3:50.09.

In one of the tightest finishes of the meet, just fifteen hundredths of a second separated first through third place. The dramatic win gave Canyon 20 points and elevated the Lady Eagles into a co-state championship tie with Dallas Lincoln at 58 points apiece.

The unforgettable finish capped a magical season for Canyon track and cross country. Between the boys and girls programs, the Eagles and Lady Eagles completed a clean sweep of Class 4A cross country and track state championships, solidifying this group as one of the greatest collections of athletes in Canyon school history.