Klein Collins graduate Andrew Jones capped one of the greatest high school hurdling careers in U.S. history with a wave of national recognition this fall.
Track & Field News published its 2026 High School Boys Absolute Top 25 Lists on Oct. 23, ranking the leading prep marks across standard events for the 2025-26 season. Sports Illustrated listed Jones as the No. 1 national leader in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, noting that no other athlete on the leaderboard owned two national-leading marks.
Jones set a high school record of 34.72 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles at his area meet in Tomball on April 17, breaking the previous mark of 34.83 set by Vance Nilsson of Gilbert, Arizona, in 2024, Track & Field News reported. Earlier in the spring, he ran a wind-aided 12.97 in the 110-meter hurdle prelims at the Texas Relays, the first sub-13-second effort in prep history under any conditions.
At the UIL Class 6A state meet on May 16 in Austin, Jones won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.01 seconds, four hundredths ahead of Richardson Berkner's Tyler Key, according to Klein Collins' athletics page. He then won the 300-meter hurdles in 36.00 flat. Four golds across two state meets.
The El Paso Times called the 110-meter final the greatest high school hurdle race ever conducted. Key's 13.05 was the fastest all-conditions time ever by someone other than Jones.
"By .04, that's pretty frickin' close," Jones said after the race, according to the El Paso Times. "This is probably the best year I've ever had, I'm undefeated and hope to keep it that way through my next race."
Klein Collins coach John Patterson told Track & Field News that Jones' progression came from pairing elite hurdling technique with increasing strength each year. Patterson switched Jones from a right lead leg to a left lead leg as a sophomore to improve his 300-meter hurdle form on the curve. The result: a hurdler who can lead with either leg.
"What you're seeing is the elite hurdling ability paired with strength and endurance," Patterson said.
Klein ISD recognized Jones as a UIL 6A state track and field top finisher at its board meeting on July 13. The district also congratulated him on being named the 2025-2026 Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Player of the Year, according to a Klein ISD social media post.
Jones has enrolled at Texas A&M, where he plans to transition to the 400-meter hurdles. Patterson told Track & Field News that Jones chose the Aggies because of coach Pat Henry's program for developing 400-meter runners.
"He's looking for the coaching staff that's going to help him become a 44-45-second quartermiler," Patterson said. "That's going to get him to the 400-meter hurdle times that are his goals."
