Track and Field Performances Highlight High School Spring Sports
from Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff, NFHS Chief Executive Officer
There are untold opportunities for high school students to be involved in sports and other activity programs. In fact, the most recent sports participation survey indicated that schools offered more than 60 different sports during the 2023-24 school year.
There are obvious sports like football and basketball and volleyball, to the fairly obscure such as judo, mountain biking and rock climbing. However, the sport creating some of the biggest headlines as the 2024-25 school year draws to a close is the one that has the longest championship history and the largest combined participation by boys and girls – outdoor track and field.
Outdoor track and field is the No. 1 participatory sport for girls – ahead of volleyball, soccer and basketball – and No. 2 for boys behind football. Combined, there are more than 1.1 million boys and girls competing in outdoor track and field – slightly ahead of the combined participation in football.
And when it comes to the history of state high school championships, track and field is the runaway front-runner.
The first state high school track and field meet was contested by the Illinois High School Association in 1893 – 132 years ago – and was followed two years later in 1895 by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Indiana began its meet in 1903, and many other state associations have eclipsed the century mark, with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association holding its centennial meet last week.
High school sports is about providing students opportunities to participate, compete and perhaps take home the crown with their teammates. Track and field, which provides opportunities to showcase various skills, has become the sport of choice in the spring for many multi-sport athletes to complete that trifecta. And the popularity of this sport continues to rise. In the past 15 years, there has been a 10 percent increase in participation in both girls and boys outdoor track and field.
Already this month, there have been some spectacular performances, with more states set to hold state championships over the next two weekends. The biggest headline thus far came in early May at the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Track Championships in Austin.
Tate Taylor of Harlan High School in San Antonio won the 100-meter dash in an unthinkable time of 9.92 – the first time a high school athlete has run the distance in less than 10 seconds. Pending the completion and approval of the record application, this will be a new national record and eclipse the previous mark by two-tenths of a second. Amazingly, Taylor nearly set another national record in the 200-meter dash with a winning time of 20.14.
In addition, three other national records were set (pending final approval) at the Texas state meet. Ja’shaun Lloyd of Corsicana High School eclipsed one of the longest-standing boys records in the NFHS National High School Record Book with a 13.2 clocking in the 110-meter hurdles. Two girls relay teams also set potential national records – Lancaster High School in the 4×100 relay (43.91) and Shadow Creek High School in Pearland, Texas, in the 4×200 relay (1:33.71).
Elsewhere, at the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Track Championships last weekend, Quentin Nauman of Western Dubuque High School became the first high school athlete to run under 1:50 in the 800 meters and under 4:00 in the 1,600 meters in the same meet and won both events. And, by the way, he had won the 3,200 meters earlier in the week!
And another national high school mark could be in peril this coming weekend if Jackson Cantwell of Nixa, Missouri, continues his excellence in the shot put.
After tossing the shot 76-5¼ at last week’s sectional meet, Cantwell will take aim at Michael Carter’s national mark of 77-0 (set in 1979) at the Missouri State High School Activities Association State Track and Field Championships.
Many other memories were made during the month of May by students in school programs – from sports to other activities like speech, music and theatre. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in education-based high school activity programs.
Online link to article: https://www.nfhs.org/articles/track-and-field-performances-highlight-high-school-spring-sports/
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her seventh year as chief executive officer of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 18 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,800 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 8 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Bruce Howard,
Director of Publications and Communications
National Federation of State High School Associations
bhoward@nfhs.org
Chris Boone,
Assistant Director of Publications and Communications
National Federation of State High School Associations
cboone@nfhs.org
Jordan Morey,
Manager of Communications and Media Relations
National Federation of State High School Associations
jmorey@nfhs.org