CFISD Athletes Win Three Championships at 2023 UIL State Track MeetÂ
CFISD athletes brought home three individual state championships and five total medals from the University Interscholastic League (UIL) State Track and Field Meet, held May 11-13 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
All three champions were previous state Class 6A qualifiers. Cypress Ridge High School junior Rylee Hampton won gold in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles, Cypress Ranch High School sophomore Celeste Robinson won the girls’ 100-meter dash and Langham Creek High School senior Alex Ornelas placed first in the boys’ 300-meter hurdles.
Qualifying for state for the third consecutive year, Hampton finished first with a time of 13.64. She now adds a gold medal in the event to the bronze she won in 2022 and fifth-place finish as a freshman.
“I was really excited to finally accomplish this after two years of me going and having that moment that I did it,” said Hampton, who is also a back-to-back state qualifier in the 300-meter hurdles. “The race itself wasn’t the best for me. I wasn’t executing the things I was supposed to but just being the competitor that I am, I fought to the line.”
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Robinson qualified last season as part of Cypress Ranch’s 4x200-meter relay. Now, as a sophomore, she won her event in a time of 11.64. “If you have told freshman Celeste that she would win state as a sophomore, I don’t think I would believe you. So be called a state champion, that’s exciting,” said Robinson, who helped the Mustangs place sixth in 2022. “Track is a mental game, so I learned that you need to be mentally prepared. When I went last year, I wasn’t in my right state of mind. But I’ve learned from it to be both physically prepared and mentally prepared.” |
 Celeste Robinson
Cy-Ranch High School Sophomore
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Ornelas was also able to improve on a previous state performance. He placed fourth as a junior, clipping the final hurdle and falling to fourth place in the 300-meter hurdles.
 Alex Ornelas
Langham Creek High School Senior
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A year later, he won gold with a time of 36.30. “It was just confirmation from all my hard work, especially going through what I went through last year,” Ornelas said. “It stuck with me and it was always a reminder. And getting that medal felt amazing. You’re not a winner until you win, so even if someone said, ‘In my head, you’re a state champion,’ it’s good to have that confirmation. They can call me a state champion and it feels good.” |
Also earning medals were Bridgeland High School junior Lillian Harden, who placed second in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles (13.82), and Langham Creek High School senior Jaquaize Pettaway, who finished third in the boys’ 100-meter dash (20.88).
The following CFISD athletes placed fourth through ninth in their respective events:
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Bridgeland High School sophomore Benjamin Montgomery placed fifth in the boys’ 3,200-meter run (9:00.71);
- Cypress Park High School junior Sydnee Burr placed fifth in the girls’ long jump (18-9.25);
- Hampton placed seventh in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles (43.54);
- Pettaway placed seventh in the boys’ 100-meter dash (10.70);
- Cypress Woods High School senior Terrance Green placed eighth in the boys’ shot put (54-1); and
- Cypress Falls High School senior Jairius Burton placed ninth in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles (14.33).
View complete results from the 2023 UIL State Track and Field Championships.
Source: Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
