After a dominant season in 2024, the 2025 track and field Eagles are State Champions once again. From May 1st through 3rd, the team competed at the TAPPS State Meet in Waco, Texas, coming home with their second consecutive state title.

The weekend began with a bus ride to their final destination on Thursday, May 1st, where the team checked in and headed to the track for warm-ups and shake-outs to get acclimated. The team and coaches then enjoyed the traditional pre-meet dinner and team meeting, where Head Coach Nathan Labus and Assistant Coach Joe Malouf reviewed the weekend’s expectations.

“In that meeting, Malouf gave our team a motto that failure is never an option,” Labus said. “If you foul, then you foul. Don’t dwell on that. Reassess, then adjust what we need to adjust. You go down there and you compete as hard as you can.”

After winning last year’s state title, Labus expected another top-three finish—especially after a dominant 2025 regular season. He emphasized to his runners and field athletes that their consistency and high level of performance should boost their confidence, and not to get in their heads.

“The last thing you want to do is put pressure on these teenage kids,” he said. “We told them they didn’t have to do anything special to win this meet. Just do what you normally do, and don’t put any extra pressure on yourself.”

And these Eagles delivered.

The following day, field athletes dominated.

  • Quinn Klenke (’26) placed third in Pole Vault.
  • Elijah Henry and Edward Bocock (both ’25) placed first and second in Triple Jump, respectively.
  • Bocock also placed first in the Long Jump.

The Eagles cleared the competition, leading the pack with 54 points, about 15 points higher than the team in second place.

Heading into Saturday, the team had a cushion to compete comfortably. The pressure eased even more, having at least one runner in each track event, which guarantees at least one point per athlete.

St. Thomas’ runners had top-three finishes in the 800-meter Run (second place, David Carbajal, ‘26), the 110-meter and 300-meter Hurdles (third place in both, Bocock), the 100-meter Dash (third place, Derek Stevenson, ‘26), and the 1600-meter Run (third place, Tyler Benesch, ‘27). The Eagles placed first in all three relays—the 4×100, 4×200, and 4×400—securing a decisive win for St. Thomas Track and Field.

“The relay guys are huge contributors to the morale of the team,” Labus said. “From day one, those guys have gelled well and have been great leaders this year.”

4×100 and 4×200-meter Relay Team:

Logan Branting (’25), Derek Stevenson, Damarcus Batiste (’25), and Blake Coogan (’25)

4×400-meter Relay Team:

Caleb Soluren (’26), Edward Bocock, Ryan Bordas (’25), and Logan Debose (’27)

By the final races, the hurdles and 4×4 relay, it was mathematically impossible for another team to take the lead. The first-place finish in the 4×400 was the “exclamation point on the state championship,” in Labus’ words. The Eagles won the championship with 165 points, surmounting the second-place Liberty Christian by 61. Bocock earned his second Athlete of the Meet distinction for his strong all-around performance.

After the athletes brought home the championship trophy to 4500 Memorial, Labus thanked the seniors, his coaching staff, and the school community for their support. Looking ahead to next year, he hopes to keep the momentum going.

“I always say we want to be in the top three. Next year, our guys will be able to fill the seniors’ roles. I have confidence in the boys and our phenomenal coaching staff that we’ll be good—great—again.”

Reflecting on this year’s team and title, he added, “We had the right recipe. Great coaching staff, great athletes, and leadership from the athletes who all really wanted it.”