Outdoor Leaderboard Reset at Texas A&M
---
The Texas A&M Bluebonnet High School Invitational lived up to its reputation as one of the premier early-season meets, producing 13 new U.S. #1 outdoor marks across multiple events. With ideal conditions and high-level competition, athletes wasted no time in setting the pace for what promises to be an electrifying outdoor track and field season. From dominant sprint performances to impressive marks in hurdles, jumps, and throws, this meet reshaped the national leaderboard and showcased some of the nation's best talent.
Boys Recap
The sprints provided some of the biggest highlights of the meet, led by Richard Lee's U.S. #1 outdoor time of 20.77 in the 200m prelims. Though he ultimately finished second in the finals, he still recorded a wind-aided 20.66, just behind Justin Stewart's wind-aided winning time of 20.64. Meanwhile, Kendrick Jones Jr. delivered a statement performance in the 400m dash, running a U.S. #1 outdoor time of 45.27 to win by over a second- only the second time in his career that he has dipped under 46 seconds.
The hurdles also saw two new U.S. #1 outdoor marks, with Swayde Griffin charging to victory in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.52, while William King secured the 300m hurdles title in 36.59, shaving 0.09 seconds off the previous national lead. Duncanville's boys 4x200m relay team took over the U.S. #1 outdoor ranking with a dominant 1:23.81, winning by nearly a full second.
In the field events, Bradley Lowman soared 24' 2.16" in the long jump to set the U.S. #1 outdoor mark, becoming the only boy to surpass 24 feet this season. Meanwhile, Damerian Clerkley claimed the national lead in the triple jump with a leap of 49' 0.19", securing the top spot by over nine inches.
Girls Recap
The girls' sprints were just as electric as the boys, highlighted by Mia Maxwell's wind-legal U.S. #1 outdoor time of 11.40 in the 100m prelims. She followed that up with a blazing wind-aided 11.21 in the finals to claim the title. In the distance events, Sophia Bendet dominated the 1600m, finishing in a U.S. #1 outdoor time of 4:44.49, winning by over three seconds and holding a 2.37-second national lead.
The hurdles continued the streak of record-setting performances, with Lailah Hudson running a U.S. #1 outdoor time of 42.48 in the 300m hurdles. Meanwhile, in the jumps, Caitlyn Cavitt soared to a U.S. #1 outdoor mark of 20' 3.31" in the long jump, joining U.S. #2 Ashley Lister as the only girls to break 20 feet this season.
One of the most impressive performances of the meet came in the discus, where Jaydon Isham launched a U.S. #1 outdoor throw of 156' 4". The senior, who entered the season with a PR of just 136 feet, has now shattered that mark four times and surpassed 150 feet twice, establishing herself as one of the top throwers in the country.
With 13 new outdoor national-leading marks, the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational set the bar for the rest of the season. These performances have put the rest of the nation on notice, and as the outdoor campaign heats up, all eyes will be on these athletes to see if they can maintain their dominance at the top.