AUSTIN – A pair of Brown County runners secured four medals – including three gold – in their final high school athletic endeavors Saturday at the UIL Class A Track and Field State Championships at Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.
Blanket Tiger senior Kannon Kensing captured state championships in both the boys 100 meters and 200 meters, while Zephyr Bulldog senior Aaron Fagan also clinched a state title in the 3200 meters and added a bronze medal in the 1600 meters.
Kensing fueled Blanket’s sixth-place team total of 22 points, while Fagan generated all of Zephyr’s 16 points to land in 14th place. Gordon won the team state title with 81 points, while Richland Springs was second with 69.
More information on the Richland Springs performance at the state track meet can be found HERE.
Kensing, in the 200 meters, entered the meet with the fastest regional time of 22.52, and easily beat that Saturday with a championship effort of 21.95. Kensing – who placed fourth in the 200 meters at state last year in a time of 22.67 – withstood the challenge of runner-up Devante Toliver of Kennard (22.06).
In the 100 meters, Kensing was clocked at 10.96 to narrowly defeat silver medalist Miles Colunga of Garden City (10.99). Kensing, who did not qualify for state in the 100 meters a year ago, came into this year’s meet with the fourth-best regional performance at 11.08.
Fagan started the final day of the state track meet by capturing the 3200 meters championship in a school-record time of 9:48.81. Fagan, who came in with the third-best regional time of 9:55.15, edged silver medalist Sebastian Talamantez of Comstock (9:48.91) by a tenth of a second.
Fagan, who is also the Class of 2026 salutatorian and headed to Sterling College in Kansas to continue his athletic and academic career, extended Zephyr’s string of consecutive years with a track and field state champion to three, following Ronni McClain’s back-to-back gold-medal performances in the girls pole vault.
Saturday night, Fagan picked up a bronze medal in the 1600 meters in another school-record time of 4:35.41. Fagan trailed only Sebastian Talamantez of Comstock (4:31.41) and Brett Macias of Necher (4:35.27), and improved on his fourth-best regional time of 4:36.93 to return to the state medal stand for the second time.
In 2025, Fagan placed fourth at state in the 3200 meters in a time of 10:14.44, and did not qualify for state in 1600 meters.
Narrowly missing out on the medal stand Saturday with fourth-place state efforts were Brookesmith’s Brooklyn Haby in the girls 300-meter hurdles (47.67), May’s Kobey Morris in the boys discus (144-2), and Sidney’s Kallin Woodley in the girls 800 meters (2:26.58).
Complete state results for all local Class A entrants are as follows:
1st Place
- Richland Springs’ Brice Roesler in the boys discus (165-8)
- Richland Springs’ Brice Roesler in the boys shot put (55-1.5)
- Richland Springs’ Layne Ward, Evan Deeds, Ethan Deeds and Cohen Ethridge in the boys 4×200 relay (1:30.29)
- Blanket’s Kannon Kensing in the boys 100 meters (10.96)
- Blanket’s Kannon Kensing in the boys 200 meters (21.95)
- Zephyr’s Aaron Fagan in the boys 3200 meters (9:48.81)
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2nd Place
- Richland Springs’ Cohen Ethridge in the boys long jump (22-7.75)
- Richland Springs’ Cohen Ethridge in the 300-meter hurdles (38.5)
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3rd Place
- Zephyr’s Aaron Fagan in the boys 1600 meters (4:35.41)
- Richland Springs’ Layne Ward, Evan Deeds, Ethan Deeds and Cohen Ethridge in the 4×100 relay (43.57)
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4th Place
- Brookesmith’s Brooklyn Haby in the girls 300-meter hurdles (47.67)
- May’s Kobey Morris in the boys discus (144-2)
- Sidney’s Kallin Woodley in the girls 800 meters (2:26.58)
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5th Place
- Blanket’s Alex Valdes in the boys 800 meters (2:04.8)
- Cross Plains’ Rylen Reed in the boys 110-meter hurdles (15.66)
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6th Place
- Richland Springs’ Ethan Deeds in the boys pole vault (13-0)
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7th Place
- May’s Lauren Hicks in the girls long jump (16-5)
- May’s Aubree Gerhardt, Lauren Hicks, Chloe Lord, and Jordyn Gerhardt in the girls 4×400 relay (4:25.03)
- Blanket’s Leo Valdes in the boys 800 meters (2:06.77)
- Priddy’s Trapper Schoenhals in the boys discus (137-7)
- Cross Plains’ Colton Wedeking in the boys triple jump (43-0)
- Sidney’s Kallin Woodley in the girls 400 meters (1:03.7)
- Rising Star’s Laynee Allgood in the girls 1600 meters (5:35.7)
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8th Place
- May’s Chloe Lord, Jordyn Gerhardt, McKenna Landes, and Lauren Hicks in the girls 4×100 relay (51.74)
- Rising Star’s Laynee Allgood in the girls 800 meters (2:34.45)
- Cross Plains’ Rylen Reed in the boys 300-meter hurdles (42.0)
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9th Place
- Blanket’s Leo Valdes, Kannon Kensing, Mason Beck, and Alex Valdes in the boys 4×400 relay (3:37.42)
- Panther Creek’s Adan Wyatt in the boys triple jump (40-10)
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Did Not Finish
- Cross Plains’ Alivia Allison in the girls 300-meter hurdles