At 4:00 p.m., the final bell rings, signaling the end of the school day at Texas High. While most students pack up and head home, the Texas High track athletes are just getting started. As the afternoon heat settles in, regional qualifiers for the UIL Track Meet can be seen making their way down to the track, focused and determined. These athletes represent a variety of events, but they share a common purpose—showing up each day to put in the work.

Since the beginning of the season, every member of the team has demonstrated grit, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, not only for themselves but also for their teammates. Five standout athletes have truly embodied these values, earning their place at the UIL Regional Track Meet.

Zanasia Nelson, Dayjon Jamison, Limaje Stuckey, Sam Cross, and Justin Arnold will represent Texas High School, April 18-19, 2025, at the University of Texas at Arlington stadium. Students must place in the top two in their event to progress to the State meet. Previously, students had to make the top four in their events to advance to the next meet. Due to the higher competition and narrower window to make it to the next level, the Tigers must persevere through their race and event to win. 

“The area we competed against was really good, the Dallas area was much different from what we’ve seen, and so was Houston,” Head Track Coach, Astin Greer said. “What we did manage to do was get a boy out in the 400-meter dash, and we’ve got four kids in field events, which hasn’t happened in a long time.”

Zanasia Nelson is a repeating athlete and competes with her sister, Acacia Nelson, who unfortunately ended her season early with an ankle injury at the Deon Minor Relays in Paris, Texas, during both of their Shot Put events. Willfully, Zanasia pushed forward and placed second in the Area meet to secure her spot at Regionals.

“Last year I didn’t get to regionals, and I feel like this will be the first time in a long time a girl has a chance to go to state,” Sophomore Zanasia Nelson said. “You most definitely have to eat well, lift weights all day, and work on technique. It’s tough, I actually work with my AAU coach, and he teaches me about technique and how to get across the rings faster.”

Although the physical demands of a Track athlete can be quite challenging, an athlete’s mental health and their relationship with their team are what make or break their success. Throughout Acasia’s time on the Track team, she has noticed growth in herself as she has created closer relationships with her teammates.

“I feel like team bonding has been my favorite part of the whole process,” Zacasia said. “I feel like we’ve gotten closer with each other, [rather than] doubting each other, because last year I don’t think our team was as cohesive.”

While Shot Put athletes were creating a bond with each other, Coach Allen Cross has been building a relationship with his athletes since 2023, when he restarted the Pole Vault Program at Texas High School. After Pole Vault had not been a part of the program for over twenty years, with the help of Coach Cross’s teachings and ambition, the program has taken off. Now, Texas High him a lot will send their first Pole Vault boy to regionals for the first time since the early 2000s.

“We started this program three years ago with Sam, we started from scratch, and each year we just got better,” Pole Vault Coach Allen Cross said. “At this point, we are really focused on the technique, and that’s what we’ve done a lot with Sam this year. He was vaulting twelve feet for the last three weeks, and then we get to Area and he vaults thirteen feet, the highest he’s vaulted in thirteen months.”

Thanks to Sam Cross’s tie with his personal record, he placed fourth in the Area meet, allowing him to advance to the next meet. Along with other athletes, Sam has had various setbacks that only challenged him to work harder and accomplish what he wanted.

“For a couple of weeks before district, I layed off practice because I tweaked my shoulder, and during football season I broke my hand twice and spent half the year with a cast,” Junior Pole Vaulter, Sam Cross said. “I would love to go to state this year, my definite goal is to [go to Regionals] and PR. My dad is my coach, and he’s helped me a lot, and my club coach, Maurice Sanders, I went to him a lot, and [thanks to both of them] I’ve improved a lot.”

Across the field from the Pole Vault pit, the sand pit is being utilized to better Triple Jump qualifiers, sophomores, Dayjon Jamison, and Limaje Stuckey. Jamison also qualified for the Long Jump event and placed second in both. 

“I am hoping to place, so I can qualify for state,” Jamison said. “I have been working on my second phase, so I can get as close to the pit as possible. The second phase has to be as close to the pit as possible to get further.”

Although Jamison had qualified in both events, he has focused on the triple jump along with his teammate Stuckey. Together with Coach Lane Elliot, their Triple Jump Coach, they have been able to progress in just the two years they’ve been in the program.

“[Coach Elliot] has motivated me more to become a better Triple Jumper, to do better to reach my full potential,” Stuckey said. “I do try my best to achieve this dream of going to state, and I think I just like hearing the sound of jumping, because it’s a rhythm, and once you get the rhythm down, it sounds better and you just jump better.”