Northwest’s Eliora-Lynn Ndri ran 44.26 to place seventh in the 6A girls 300 hurdles Saturday at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
One of the youngest competitors on the track Saturday, Northwest sophomore Eliora-Lynn Ndri turned in a top 8 finish in her first appearance at the 6A state championships.
Ndri finished seventh in the 6A girls 300 hurdles Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, running 44.26.
“Running at state was fun, and there’s definitely a lot of people,” Ndri said. “There was a lot of good competition, so it was nice to race against really good runners. I did feel some nerves, especially when I looked around and saw the crowd and everything. Overall, it was a fun experience.”
Ndri believes she started the race well, but came up short down the stretch.
“When I got to the sixth hurdle, I kind of fell off a bit,” she said. “I guess I got in my head a little bit at the end.”
Northwest’s Nicholas Curley ran 38.47 to place ninth in the 6A boys 300 hurdles Saturday at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Tomball junior Naomi Booker claimed the state title in 41.30 — beating Alvin Shadow Creek senior Lailah Hudson (41.54) by about a quarter of a second. Plano freshman Morgan Olschewsky took bronze in her rookie campaign, running 41.84.
With two more seasons left, Ndri’s focus is getting back to Austin and climbing the standings at the state meet.
“I really want to work on finishing on the hurdles, as well as becoming a stronger athlete that’s more mentally prepared,” she said. “I want to improve my timing over the hurdles, just really snap my leg over it.”
Northwest coach Burke Binning believes pushed Ndri pushed through her nerves in her first state run.
“Eliora was certainly nervous, and it was reflected in her start — it wasn’t great, but she still battled back and put herself in the mix,” Binning said. “She’s just a sophomore, and hopefully, this makes her hungry to come back and perform better, and to get on the medal stand next year. She’s very talented and raw, and hasn’t come near her full potential. I’m excited to coach her for the next two years.”
Northwest junior Nicholas Curley also stepped onto the state track for the first time, placing ninth (38.47) in the 6A boys 300 hurdles.
“It’s pretty big to get to state — I worked really hard to get here,” Curley said. “I wasn’t nervous, but it was the biggest meet I’ve ever competed at.”
Similar to Ndri in the girls race, Curley had to overcome an issue late in the race.
“I kind of twisted my ankle at the sixth hurdle,” Curley said. “But I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I’ve just got to finish harder. It was a high level of competition. A bunch of the guys were runnings 36s, so it was a pretty fast race.”
Klein Collins junior Andrew Jones ran away with the gold medal in 36.09. Dickinson senior William King (36.79) garnered silver, while Austin Bowie senior Owen Langdon (36.85) took bronze.
Northwest coach Brady Reeves is happy for Curley to have the opportunity to compete at the state level.
“I’m so proud of Nick’s effort because it’s extremely tough to get down here,” Reeves said. “Just being here in this atmosphere and getting this experience, we’re definitely looking forward to next year to see if he can do something like this again. The consistency he’s put in this year has been tremendous.”
After getting a taste of the state meet, Curley hopes his experience this season will pay off as a senior in 2026.
“I want to get on the podium,” he said. “I’ve just got to work a little hard, and stay healthy, as well.”
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