Refugio's Campbell finishes sixth in 100 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals

REFUGIO, Texas — Refugio's class of 2024 wide receiver Ernest 'The Flash' Campbell showcased his speed on the University of Oregon track at Nike Outdoor Nationals last Friday. The UIL 2A 3-time 100 meter dash state champion (2023 - 10.22, 2022 - 10.32, 2021 - 10.63) finished sixth in the champion U18 division running 10.6 seconds.

"It's a crazy track," Campbell said. "Everybody says it's nice, so when I saw it in-person and when I got to practice and do warm-up it was crazy. Like my mom said, 'you're going to have somebody to push you.' When I went there and when I saw head-to-head I was like yeah, I'm going to get better and I'm going to learn from my mistakes."

Campbell wore his Refugio track jersey with pride at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon.

"When coach Spiegs (Adam Spiegleman) gave it to me before I left, like my mom said, I'm going to rep this. I'm going to try to make Refugio proud," Campbell said. "After I finished everybody was like the fans said they were very proud of me so I think I did a good job."

Campbell won his 100 meter dash prelim heat before finishing sixth overall, running 10.6 seconds against the best high school sprinters in the nation.

"They said they were very proud," Campbell said. "Like sixth in the nation is crazy, so that really boosted me up the next day."

A learning opportunity for the class of 2024 sprinter who was a little slower than usual out of the blocks in the finals. That was after a false start disqualification from one of his nearby competitors two lanes over.

"Kind of nervous because the lady was looking at me, so I was scared so that messed up my start," Campbell said. "I got out of the blocks late."

The Flash's first start was electric, but a 10.6 is not shabby for the 3-time UIL 2A 100 meter dash state champion. A far trip to Oregon that could not have been reached without Bobcat Nation.

"I just want to thank the community before anything because they helped me with this," Campbell said. "My mom helped me, my dad, just want to thank them first. It was very blessing, a nice campus and a nice track."

Now the 4-star wide receiver ranked on Rivals is training for his final season at Refugio High School. The Bobcats ended their 2022 campaign as the UIL 2A-DI state runner-up at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.