UIL track and field state meet: These Fort Worth-area athletes can make history
The UIL Texas high school track and field state championships start on Thursday, May 1, in Austin at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium.
Here are the things to look out for with Fort Worth-area competitors. Click here for the schedule and qualifiers.
Can Southlake Carroll’s Caden Leonard set UIL state records?
In 2023, Reese Vannerson of Houston Strake Jesuit set the UIL state track and field meet record, running 3,200 meters in 8:49.10.
Southlake Carroll junior Caden Leonard has the potential to become the record holder. In the 2024 state championship meet, Leonard ran 3,200 meters in 8:51.57, finishing just over two seconds behind Vannerson’s time and securing second place in Class 6A.
To punch a ticket to the state meet in 2025, Leonard ran an impressive 8:53.17, which he could improve upon.
Leonard is also competing in the mile, and he has flirted with a sub-four-minute performance. His best performance came in the RunningLane Track Championships, where he finished in 4:02.46.
In 2024, Leonard won the 1,600 Class 6A state championship with a 4:09.39 mark.
His best time in the 2025 season was a 4:09.13 performance at the UIL Region One meet. The UIL state record is a 4:02.30 mark set by Sam Worley of Comal Canyon in 2017.
Will Northwest’s Cooper Lutkenhaus make history?
As a sophomore, Justin Northwest’s Cooper Lutkenhaus is already one of the best 800-meter performers in the history of high school athletics, not just in Texas but nationwide.
He set the outdoor Texas state record at the Brooks PR Invitational in June (1:47.58), the summer after his freshman year. He has a knack for finding another gear during the second lap, which helps him overtake the competition.
Lutkenhaus has the potential to set a UIL state record, which is currently held by Abilene’s Jonathan Johnson (1:48.21). In the regional meet, Lutkenhaus posted a time of 1:50.20, just two seconds shy of that record. His time at the Brooks PR Invitation is nearly a second faster.
The national record set by Michael Granville in 1996 (1:46.45) is also a potential goal for Lutkenhaus, who has lots of room to grow as he finishes his sophomore season. In 2024, he won a Class 5A state championship with a time of 1:49.84 in the 2024 meet, setting a national freshman record.
Lutkenhaus also competes in the 400-meter dash and, in the area round, recorded an outdoor PR (47.02). Elijah Ferguson has the best time at a UIL meet in 2025 (45.46).
Will Fort Worth Dunbar’s Kalani Lawson secure a championship three-peat?
In 2023, Kalani Lawson set the Class 4A UIL state meet record in the 100-meter hurdles (13.98). In 2024, she one-upped herself, setting the new record of 13.89 to win her second individual state championship.
For her accomplishments, she was named the 2024 Star-Telegram Girls’ Athlete of the Year.
As a senior, she will attempt to secure a third state championship. In the regional meet, she posted a time of 14.76. With most top athletes landing in Class 4A and 5A, Lawson’s experience and proven talent make her a heavy favorite heading into the meet.
Four Fort Worth-area athletes look to thrive in 200-meter dash
Justin Northwest’s Skylar Brazzell is a state leader in the 200-meter, recording the second-fastest time in the state in the 2025 season (22.78) in an area meet.
She is one of the favorites to win the Class 6A 200-meter state title, but she’ll have competition from others, including another Fort Worth-area athlete: Arlington Bowie’s Bailey Johnson.
Johnson posted a time of 23.20 at the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational. In the 2024 UIL state meet, Johnson finished less than a quarter of a second behind North Crowley’s Indya Mayberry, who set the state meet record (22.82).
In Class 5A, Burleson Centennial’s Micah Tucker and Fort Worth Wyatt’s Nia Trammell are potential contenders.
Tucker posted a time of 23.50 at the TCU Alumni Invitational and Trammell recorded a time of 23.59 at the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational. Both athletes finished just above 24 seconds at the UIL regional meets.
Can Arlington Martin’s Caitlynn Cavitt win a state title?
Arlington Martin’s Caitlynn Cavitt is as versatile as a high school athlete can be.
She’ll compete in four events at the UIL state track meet: Long jump, 100-meter dash, 4x100 relay and the 4x200 relay.
In the area round, she thrived in the long jump with a mark of 20-4, and she came close at the region one meet with a 20-00.75 performance. That jump finished behind Duncanville’s Ashley Lister (20-01.50) and Bridgeland’s Eguonome Akpobassa (20-06.75), who are also championship contenders.
In the 100-meter dash, she has a strong time of 11.38, which places her among some of the best in Texas. She’ll have her work cut out for her, however, with five qualifying athletes finishing with a faster time.
Another local athlete to watch in the 100-meter is Mansfield Lake Ridge’s Evah Elleby, who finished 0.14 seconds behind Cavitt.
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