The first impression about the 2026 UIL State Track & Field Championships is how much better it would be if all the elite runners were there.
Tate Taylor, who set the national record last year at state in the fastest high school 100-meter race ever run, has signed with Texas Tech and opted out of his senior year at San Antonio Harlan.
Schertz-Clemens sprinter Jake Odey-Jordan, on the short list of best sprinters in the nation to rival Taylor, has done the same. The two best girls sprinters in the state, Humble Atascocita twins Mariah Maxwell and Mia Maxwell, signed with the University of Texas and opted out of their senior years…