Top 20 sprinters in Texas high school boys track: Meet the state's best track & field athletes

With the 2022 Texas high school track and field state championships taking center stage next weekend in Austin (May 12-14), SBLive is highlighting the top boys and girls track and field athletes in the state.

Our first list highlights the top boys sprinters.

There are hundreds of outstanding sprinters in Texas, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive. Tag us on Twitter or Instagram @SBLiveTX and let us know about other sprinters worthy of fans’ attention.

TOP BOYS SPRINTERS IN TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL TRACK

(The list is in alphabetical order)

Kody Blackwood, Sr., McKinney North

Personal bests: 400, 47.80; 110 hurdles, 13.56; 300 hurdles, 36.51

Blackwood finished runner-up to future University of Texas teammate Kendrick Smallwood in the 300 hurdles at last year’s UIL 5A state meet. With victories at the 5A District 10 and Area 9-10 championships in both hurdles races, he’s poised to challenge Smallwood in both events at state next month.

Cameron Boger, Sr., Mesquite

Personal bests: 300 hurdles, 36.69

Boger hopes his final postseason mirrors last spring’s, when he swept to titles at the UIL 6A District 10, Area 9-10, and Region II championships before placing third at the state meet. So far, so good—he’s won the district and area championships this spring.

Donovan Bradley, Jr., Humble Summer Creek

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 13.55; 300 hurdles, 36.82

Bradley ran personal-bests in both hurdles races at the 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Relays and swept the UIL 6A District 21 hurdles titles in mid-April.

Chris Brinkley, Sr., Fort Bend Marshall

Personal bests: 400, 47.91; 110 hurdles, 13.89; 300 hurdles, 36.27

Brinkley won the UIL 5A Region III title in the 300 hurdles and placed fourth at state last spring as a junior while anchoring the 4x200 relay to a state title. This spring, the University of Texas commit has gone undefeated in the 300 hurdles and swept the hurdles titles at the District 24 and Area 23-24 meets.

Dominic Byles, Jr., Mansfield Lake Ridge

Personal bests: 100, 10.68; 200, 21.48; 400, 47.69

Byles has been a track prodigy since middle school, winning USATF Junior Olympics national titles and earning All-American status as a seventh- and eighth-grader. Since entering high school, he’s a two-time UIL 6A District 11 champion in the 400 and running a leg on this year’s district 4x400 champions.

Mason Dossett, So., Fort Bend Ridge Point

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 13.66; 300 hurdles, 37.79

Dossett kicked off his season with victories in the 110 hurdles at the Pearland John Morriss III and Texas A&M Bluebonnet HS invitationals. He swept the hurdles titles at the UIL 6A District 20 championships and won the Area 19-20 title in the 110s on April 21.

Tsegaya Fazarro, Sr., Allen

Personal bests: 100 meters, 10.10 seconds; 200, 21.19

Fazarro hadn’t done much during his high school career to portend what took place at the UIL 6A District 5 championships April 13, when he cut almost four-tenths of a second off his personal-best in the 100 and over a second in the 200 in the prelims, winning district titles in both. He followed that up a week later with Area 5-6 titles in both sprints.

Shane Gardner, Sr., Richmond George Ranch

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 13.69; 300 hurdles, 37.36; High jump, 6-4

Gardner, a University of Pennsylvania commit, placed seventh in the 110 hurdles at the UIL 6A state championships last spring. He ran a wind-aided personal-bests in both hurdles races in winning the Summer Creek Generation Park Invitational in March and placed second at the District 20 and Area 19-20 meets in the high hurdles.

Pierre Goree, Sr., Duncanville

Personal bests: 100, 10.09; 200, 21.38

Goree will play safety next year at SMU, but he still has work to do on the track at Duncanville after winning the UIL 6A District 11 championship in the 100 and running legs on the district title-winning 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

Eric Hemphill, Sr., Brenham

Personal bests: 200, 21.84; 400, 46.86

Hemphill, a Missouri State commit at cornerback, finished second at the UIL 5A state championships in the 400 as a junior. He ran his personal-best in the 400 at the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational in March and won the UIL 5A District 19 and Area 19-20 championships earlier this month.

Isaac Henderson, Sr., Shadow Creek

Personal bests: 100, 10.14

Henderson won titles in the 100 at the Manvel-Shadow Creek Invitational and Stafford Spartan Relays early in the season and heads into regionals fresh off victories at the UIL 6A District 23 and Area 23-24 meets, running a wind-aided personal-best at the area championships.

Gerard Holmes, Sr., Fort Bend Marshall

Personal bests: 100, 10.89; 200, 20.77

Holmes didn’t run the 200 for most of the season, but he’s blazed to victories at the UIL 5A District 24 and Area 23-24 championships — his winning time at the area meet leads the state and is a personal-best — while also running legs on the victorious 4x100 and 4x400 relays at both meets.

Tyler King, Sr., Alief Taylor

Personal bests: 100, 10.39; 200, 20.74

King hasn’t matched his personal-best time set last spring when he placed third at the UIL 6A state meet in the 200, but the future Texas Tech wide receiver won the 6A District 23 title in the 200 on April 11 and took fourth at the Area 23-24 meet while also placing third in the 100.

Jaquaize Pettaway, Jr., Langham Creek

Personal bests: 100, 10.41; 200, 20.81; Long jump, 22 feet, 11½ inches

Pettaway is better known as one of the top wide receiver prospects in the nation, with offers from Texas, Oklahoma, LSU and Ohio State, but his times at the Sheila Lofton Relays on April 1 put him among the state leaders in both the 100 and 200.

Logan Popelka, Sr., Wylie

Personal bests: 100, 10.34c; 200, 20.96; 400, 46.66

The Boston University signee made the 100 final at the UIL 6A state championships last spring, placing eighth. This season, he ran the nation’s third-fastest 400 at the season-opening Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational and won District 9 and Area 9-10 championships in the 100 and 400.

John Rutledge, Sr., Dallas Highland Park

Personal bests: 100, 10.95; 200, 20.88; Long jump, 21-6

Rutledge followed up a fourth-place finish in the 200 at the UIL 5A state championships as a junior with an undefeated senior season in the event, including victories at the UIL 5A District 13 and Area 13-14 meets.

Kendrick Smallwood, Sr., Mesquite Poteet

Personal bests: 200, 21.58; 110 hurdles, 13.36; 300 hurdles, 36.32; Long jump, 22-3

Smallwood started making a name for himself as a freshman, when he finished fifth in the high hurdles at the UIL 5A state meet. Last spring, he returned to the 5A state meet and came home a double-champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles, later placing fifth in the 110s at the Brooks Invitational and winning the AAU Junior Olympics national title. The University of Texas signee positioned himself to repeat at state next month after sweeping both hurdles titles at the District 13 and Area 13-14 meets.

Khamari Terrell, Sr., Killeen Shoemaker

Personal bests: 200, 21.06; 200, 46.26

Terrell signed in February to play cornerback at the University of Oregon, but before heading to the Pacific Northwest, he’ll look to build upon the UIL 6A District 12 titles he won in the 200 and 400 on April 13.

Jelani Watkins, So., Klein Forest

Personal bests: 100, 10.21; 200, 21.06

For much of the season, Watkins led the state after running a wind-aided personal-best at the Texas Southern University Relays on March 19. Watkins also has a future on the gridiron, where 247Sports ranks the wide receiver No. 1 among Texas recruits in the Class of 2024.

Grant Williams, Sr., Celina

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 13.80; 300 hurdles, 36.68

Williams qualified for regionals in the 300 hurdles as a freshman, then came back last spring to finish second in the 300s at the UIL 4A state championships. He won District 9 titles earlier this month in both hurdles races.