UA track coach Fred Harvey became emotional, shedding tears last week when he referred to sprinter Trayvion White-Austin as “the best sprinter in UA history.” Indeed, White-Austin’s time of 10.14 in the 100 meters last year broke Olympic bronze medalist Michael Bates‘ 1991 record of 10.20.
White-Austin, a Sahuaro High grad who spent a year at Central Arizona College, has established school records in four sprinting events: the outdoor 100, the indoor 200, the indoor 60 and the 4x100 team relay. That’s undeniably a historic career.
Arizona track and field’s Trayvion White-Austin competes in the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Championships at Texas Tech on March 1, 2025.
On Friday, White-Austin finished ninth in the NCAA Indoor 200 finals. He was two spots behind ex-Tucson High and Arizona sprinter Johnnie Blockburger, now at USC. White-Austin ran 20.78, Blockburger, the UA record holder in the 400 meters, set in 2021, ran 20.65.
White-Austin’s best finish in a Pac-12 championship was third in the 200 meters in 2023. He has not scored points in an NCAA meet. If he can win the Big 12 championship in the 100 or 200 two months from now at Baylor, he will fully leave a lasting mark in the UA record books worthy of comparison to Bates, a four-time Pac-10 champion at Arizona.
