State Records Fall, National Champions Emerge, as Arizona Stars Shine on the National Stage

Kadyn Hysong at the Open State Track and Field Championships in May 2026. Photo Credit: Andrew Wise

Arizona's high school track season ended in May. The records didn't.

Throughout June and July, the state's top athletes turned the offseason into one of the most productive summers in recent memory. State records fell, national titles were won, personal bests continued to pile up, and Arizona's next generation of stars gave the state plenty to be excited about before the 2027 season has even begun.

No athlete had a bigger summer than Kadyn Hysong.

Just one day after the disappointment of narrowly missing a spot on Team USA for the U20 Championships, Hysong returned to the runway with something to prove. The sophomore delivered the biggest vault of his career, clearing 18 feet (5.49m) at Nike Outdoor Nationals to break Sam Novak's Arizona state record of 17 feet, 8 inches, which had been set just one year earlier.

The performance was years in the making.

At this point last summer, Hysong hadn't even cleared 17 feet. Twelve months later, he had become Arizona's state record holder. Hysong told SharpShooter Media:

"I just finally started jumping like I knew I could,"

Former record holder Sam Novak wasn't surprised to see the record fall.

"It was a long time coming. I thought I'd have [the Arizona record] for a bit longer."

The significance of the jump stretched well beyond Arizona. Hysong's 18-foot clearance placed him just one inch shy of the sophomore best set by world record holder and Olympic champion Armand Duplantis, widely regarded as the greatest pole vaulter in history.

As if that wasn't enough, Hysong has since unofficially cleared 18 feet, 1 inch at a Risen Performance Summer competition, matching Duplantis' sophomore mark and adding another chapter to what has quickly become one of the most impressive rises Arizona has seen in recent years.

Rebekah-Jhade Garrett opens her season at South Mountain in February 2026

Hysong wasn't the only Arizona athlete rewriting the record books. After Hysong's historic breakthrough, Rebekah-Jhade Garrett reminded everyone why she entered the summer as one of the nation's premier hurdlers. Unlike many of Arizona's top athletes, Garrett made the unusual decision to sit out much of the high school season, choosing instead to focus on training with her club team. While the decision limited her opportunities during the spring, it paid off when the national meets arrived.

At the USATF U20 Championships, Garrett broke through with the race Arizona had been waiting for, clocking 13.19 seconds to finish third against some of the country's best junior hurdlers. The performance established a new Arizona state record in the 100-meter hurdles and cemented her place among the nation's elite.

She followed it up just weeks later at Nike Outdoor Nationals, where she captured the national title in 13.28 seconds, proving her U20 performance was no one-off.

By the end of the summer, Garrett had traded questions about her unconventional approach for one of the most accomplished résumés of any Arizona athlete, leaving little doubt that the decision to prioritize long-term development over the high school season had paid off.

Arizona high school record holder in the Javelin, Kelson Hogan warms up for the Open State Championships last May

After breaking the state javelin record during the spring, Kelson Hogan spent the summer proving his breakthrough was no fluke. The future senior recorded three throws beyond 214 feet, extending his own Arizona record to 216 feet, 8 inches and showing a level of consistency few high school throwers ever achieve. Rather than peaking with one historic throw, Hogan continued raising his ceiling throughout the summer, setting himself up for what could be one of the nation's best senior seasons in 2027.

Ryder Hall at the 2026 Open State Championships, where he set his Personal best of 6' 10" in the high jump.

Meanwhile, Ryder Hall reached a milestone that had been years in the making.

Competing through injury at Nike Outdoor Nationals, Hall faced adversity almost immediately. In what is typically his strongest event, the high jump, he managed just 6 feet, 4¼ inches, well below his personal best of 6 feet, 10 inches. Instead of watching his decathlon unravel, Hall responded. He delivered major personal bests in the pole vault and javelin while adding smaller improvements in both the 400 meters and discus. By the end of the two-day competition, Hall had done enough to eclipse one of the sport's most prestigious benchmarks, scoring a personal-best 7,097 points to break the 7,000-point barrier. The performance marked another major step forward before the Arizona standout heads to BYU, where he will compete in both the decathlon and high jump. Not every memorable summer performance came in the form of a record.

After capturing three consecutive Arizona high jump state championships, Kayna Williams closed out her high school career with another strong national showing, tying for fourth with a clearance of 5 feet, 7¾ inches. While the mark fell short of her personal best, Williams reached a long-awaited milestone earlier this summer by finally clearing 5 feet, 10 inches at the USATF Arizona State Championships. It served as a fitting exclamation point on one of the most decorated high jump careers Arizona has produced in recent years.

Chad Davis, cousin of Arizona hurdles star Rebekah-Jhade Garrett prepares for his 4x400m at the Region 10 USATF Championships

The future is just as promising. Incoming Xavier College Prep freshman L. Hopkins announced herself on the national stage by running 12.08 in the 100 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals. Before competing in a single Arizona high school meet, Hopkins already enters the fall as one of the fastest freshmen in state history.

Another future freshman, Chad Davis Jr., delivered one of the summer's biggest performances at USATF Club Nationals in California. Davis won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.66, capturing a national title while also setting a new Arizona age-group record.

Davis is set to attend Desert Edge High School, a program long recognized for producing elite sprinters and hurdlers. Although longtime coach Sharod Selph recently departed to become the head coach at Utah Tech, the program's next standout may already be on campus.

Arizona's summer wasn't defined by one athlete or one meet. It was defined by excellence. A sophomore pole vaulter became a state record holder and is already chasing heights once reached only by Armand Duplantis. A javelin thrower proved his historic spring was only the beginning. A future BYU decathlete fought through injury to surpass 7,000 points. One of Arizona's most accomplished high jumpers closed out her career with another milestone, while the state's next freshman class is already making national headlines before ever stepping onto a high school track. If this summer was any indication, Arizona track and field isn't waiting for next season to make history.