Braylon Kinzie becomes Wichita Falls High's last athlete at UIL State Track Meet

AUSTIN — Wichita Falls sophomore Braylon Kinzie didn't write the history he wanted to at the Class 4A UIL state championships, but there will be two more years for that.

What Kinzie did achieve Thursday was nonetheless special. When Kinzie walked off the track after a ninth place finish in the 300 hurdles to complete his two-event day, he became the last track athlete at the 123-year-old Wichita Falls High School to wear the Coyote jersey.

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Wichita Falls' final bell will ring on May 21, its doors will close for good and its students will be distributed to new schools Legacy and Memorial. Kinzie will be at Memorial next year when he looks to build on a special 2024 season, but Thursday was a swan song of sorts for Old High.

"It doesn't matter what place I got or how I finished, what matters it that we're here and hungry for more," said Kinzie, who two hours earlier finished seventh in the 800 in 1:57.75. "I feel very blessed, I feel I honored the name well for the last year.

"I'm excited to move on to next year, let's keep going."

As Kinzie was having his day in Austin, the Coyote baseball team was finishing its year in the bidistrict round of the UIL playoffs, where it fell to Decatur to close Wichita Falls' athletic history.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

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This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Braylon Kinzie becomes Wichita Falls High's last athlete at UIL State Track Meet