EUGENE, Ore. – The reputation of former Harlan High School sprinter Tate Taylor continues to grow months before he officially enters the blocks for Texas Tech.
Taylor made his mark Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic, the prestigious track and field showcase held annually at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.
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The Harlan alum shocked the Olympic-level competition around him — and himself — by winning the men’s 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 19.75 seconds into a headwind.
Taylor bested Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.93), who won the gold medal in the 200-meter dash at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“Whenever I crossed the line, the first thing I thought of was, ‘Look at God,’” Taylor told NBC Sports during a post-race interview. “I came out here — and if I’m being honest — I was praying a lot, but I was expecting to get second, third, fourth. You know, he’s (Tebogo) an Olympic champion. I really never thought that I had the chance to beat him."
Taylor, who also told NBC Sports he had trained all week in Lane 3, was coincidentally positioned to run in Lane 3.
“I came out here really, really pumped up,” Taylor told NBC. “Whenever I stepped on the line, I was like, ‘God, just do You.’ So, all glory to God.”
After he signed his national letter of intent with Texas Tech, Taylor elected to compete in national track competitions instead of going toe-to-toe with opponents around his age.
Last spring, Taylor clocked a 100-meter dash win in 9.92 seconds at the 2025 UIL Class 6A State Championships, which shattered the previous national high school record.
In January, he broke another high school record by posting a 300-meter dash win (32.45 seconds) to win the USATF division race at the Virginia Showcase.
Last month at Texas A&M, Taylor became the first high schooler to complete the 200-meter dash in under 20 seconds (19.97).
Current U.S. Olympian Noah Lyles, who won the gold medal in the 100-medal dash two years ago in Paris, had owned the high school record (20.09) in the 200 when he set it at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
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