Gunnar Nixon
Santa Fe High School
Impact Statement
Nixon capped a record-smashing senior year by winning four events to lead Santa Fe to the 6A state team title, the school’s first since 1997.
Biography
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Nixon capped a record-smashing senior year by winning four events to lead Santa Fe to the 6A state team title, the school’s first since 1997. Nixon erased the oldest all-class record in the Oklahoma record book with a leap of 24-4½ to win the long jump. The previous record had stood since 1969.
Nixon also won the high jump (6-10) and swept the 110 (14.01) and 300 hurdles (37.58). No Oklahoma athlete of either gender had ever won state titles in all four events – and Nixon did it in a single state meet. It was Nixon’s second state title in the 300 hurdles – he won last year in 38.59 – and his second-place finishes in the long jump and the 110 hurdles helped Santa Fe finish second in state in 2010.
A two-time winner of the decathlon in the prestigious Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational, Nixon established a national high school record in the event at Arcadia in April. Despite going scoreless in the shot put due to fouls, Nixon established personal bests in the 400 and the long jump and finished with an official total of 7,524 points, 58 more than the previous record set in 2009. His original total of 7,577 points was adjusted due to his best long jump being wind-aided. The record earned the University of Arkansas signee Athlete of the Week honors from USA Track and Field.
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