The best track and field athletes from the Big Country and West Texas are heading to Austin to compete in the 2025 UIL State Track and Field Meet.

The UIL State Meet started Thursday and wraps up Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium at the University of Texas in Austin.

Here are the Big Country’s top 1A storylines to watch on Day 3 of the UIL State Track and Field Meet:

Gordon’s Stryker, Ry Reed to compete in six separate events

Brothers Stryker and Ry Reed will have an incredible opportunity to make waves and dominate the podium at the UIL State Track and Field meet when they hit the track Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

The Gordon juniors are set to compete in a combined six events for the Longhorns and should be regarded as early favorites to capture gold medals in many of them.

Ry Reed is set to run in the 1A boys 100-meter dash, the 4×200-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay for Gordon. Stryker Reed, meanwhile, will participate in the 1A boys 110-meter hurdles, the high jump, the 300-meter hurdles and as the anchor on the Longhorns’ 4×400-meter relay team.

Ry Reed could be the Big Country and Lone Star State’s fastest sprinter at the 1A level.

He holds the top qualifying time for the UIL State Meet in the 100-meter dash after capturing gold at the Region II-1A Meet at Abilene Christian with a time of 10.62 seconds.

Ry Reed joins Iredell’s Jordan Gutierrez (10.65) as the only two 1A sprinters whose qualifying times clocked in under the 11-second mark, which should set up a photo finish for two of the Big Country’s top sprinters.

Additionally, Ry Reed will participate as the first leg of Gordon’s 4×200 and 4×400-meter relay teams. Reed and the Longhorns also secured the top qualifying times in both relay races too after winning gold at the Region II-1A Meet in the 4×200 (1:30.47) and in the 4×400 (3:19.97).

Stryker Reed will serve as the Longhorns’ anchor in the 4×400, an event where Gordon beat the next fastest qualifying time by a healthy 5.40 seconds.

Stryker Reed’s greatest opportunities to separate himself from the competition, though, will come via the high jump and hurdle races.

He should be a significant favorite to win gold, or at least land on the podium, in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles. Reed owns the fastest qualifying times in both events: he captured first place in 110-meter hurdles (14.48 seconds) and in the 300-meter hurdles (38.78) at the regional meet.

He should have a big leg up on the competition in the 300-meter hurdles with a qualifying time nearly 2.50 seconds faster than his next quickest competitor. Reed should have a much tighter race in the 110-meter hurdles with fellow Gordon junior Kaden Crowe (14.72 seconds) having the only other qualifying time within a second of him in this event.

High jump will be Stryker Reed’s biggest test with a crowded and talented field competing against him for a spot on the podium. Reed took home a first-place finish in the high jump at the Region II-1A Meet (6-4), but will enter the state meet ranking fourth among all state qualifiers.

If Reed can hit a 6-6 clearance or match his mark from the regional meet, he’ll likely leap his way back onto the podium.

Big Country battles to headline boys, girls relay races

Few events on any day of the UIL State Track and Field Meet will have as much Big Country flavor as the boys and girls 1A relay races.

On the girls side, three Big Country schools will be represented in the 4×100-meter relay, two will race in the 4×200-meter relay and four more Big Country schools will participate in the 4×400-meter relay.

Gordon leads a deep field in the 4×100 with the top qualifying time of 50.71 seconds, giving the Lady Longhorns nearly a full second advantage on the majority of their competition based on qualifying times. Rotan (52.00) and Cross Plains (52.64) should also be considered prime contenders in this event in the middle of the pack.

In the girls 4×200, Gordon and Eula will be neck-and-neck fighting for a coveted spot on the podium. Eula (1:48.40) enters the state meet with the second-fastest qualifying time in this event while Gordon (1:49.76) should be right there in the mix too after the Jaybirds and Lady Longhorns finished first and second, respectively, at their regional meet.

Big Country schools will have a legitimate opportunity to sweep the gold, silver and bronze medals in a crowded 1A girls 4×400 field. Gordon (4:10.61) and Eula (4:12.33) should be considered the early favorites with the top qualifying times, but don’t discount Jayton (4:16.13) from emerging as a front runner and don’t be surprised if Cross Plains (4:35.37) makes a push for the podium in this event too.

On the boys side, four Big Country schools will race in the 4×100, three will compete in the 4×200 and three will participate in the 4×400.

The boys 4×100 will be a showcase for several of the Big Country’s top 1A sprinters with Strawn (43.68 seconds), Jayton (44.05) and Iredell (44.08) entering as the early favorites with the three fastest qualifying times. Hamlin, however, will make this race interesting with a qualifying time of 44.58 seconds and a strong anchor leg which should create a golden opportunity for three Big Country relay teams to claim spots on the podium.

The Gordon boys will be the prohibitive favorites in both the 4×200 (1:30.47) and the 4×400-meter relays (3:19.97), but the Longhorns will face some stiff competition from other area schools.

Gordon’s toughest local competition in both relay races will be Jayton and Cross Plains.

The Jaybirds should give the Longhorns all they can handle in the 4×200. Gordon edged out Jayton by less than a second during a photo finish in this event at the regional meet.

Gordon’s advantage in the 4×400 is, on paper, much greater though: the Longhorns own the fastest qualifying time by nearly 6 seconds, making them heavy favorites here. However, Jayton (3:25.37) and Cross Plains (3:30.91) boast the second and third-fastest qualifying times in the 4×400 and could easily turn this race into a Big Country podium sweep too.

Five Big Country athletes will vie for gold in girls triple jump

The 1A girls triple jump will have the exciting distinction of the only event at the UIL State Track and Field Meet this weekend that will boast a majority of Big Country athletes participating.

Five of the Big Country’s most prolific triple jumpers will fight for a gold medal and podium spots amidst a crowded and talented field of 1A athletes.

Eula sophomore Reagan Barr enters the weekend with the field’s top qualifying mark of 36 feet, 2.5 inches after claiming a gold medal during the Region II-1A Meet at Abilene Christian.

Barr will face tough competition, though, from Bronte senior Emalyn Bohensky, Aspermont freshman Emilee Silva, Gorman junior Delila Crain and Zephyr senior Haley Eason.

All five Big Country triple jumpers will have good opportunities to earn medals, with Bronte’s Bohensky (35-08.75) and Aspermont’s Silva (35-06.75) likely to give Barr a run for her money as the second and third-highest rated qualifiers in this event.

Crain (34-06.00), a dynamic girls basketball star at Gorman, and Eason (33-11.75), an experienced senior veteran, should also be prime contenders for a triple jump medal.

The threshold for a gold medal in this event will likely be a clearance of 36-plus feet and a leap of 35-plus feet should position any one of these Big Country athletes to earn a medal.

Jayton’s Chisum, Roby’s Benson look to dominate distance events

Jayton junior Jace Chisum and Roby senior Lilly Benson were fiercely competitive against one another in the 1600-meter run and the 3200-meter run during the Region II-1A Meet at Abilene Christian.

Chisum and Benson were neck-and-neck through a majority of their distance races at the regional meet and swept first and second place in those events between the two of them.

Now, the distance runner duo is likely to experience a similar chippy, competitive dynamic at the UIL State Meet in Austin.

Chisum, who earned silver medals in these events as a sophomore at state last year, returns to the state meet this time with the third-fastest qualifying time in the 1A girls 3200 (11:43.52) and the second-fastest qualifying mark for the 1600 (5:23.57).

Benson, meanwhile, clocked in just behind Chisum in a pair of photo finishes at the regional meet. She clocks in with the third-fastest 1600 time (5:23.57) and the fourth-quickest 1600 time (11:53.97).

Both will need to challenge the McMullen County junior duo of Isabella Billingsly and London Yanity in both the 3200 and 1600. Chisum, Benson and the McMullen County duo collectively hold the top four qualifying times in both distance races.

Chisum and Benson will likely vie for a bronze medal in the 3200 based upon qualifying times, but both Big Country runners will have a strong chance to capture gold in the 1600.