A pair of Marble Falls High School track and field standouts competed at the Nike Indoor 2026 meet March 13-15 at The Nike Track and Field Center at The Armory in Washington Heights, Manhattan.
They are junior Madison Cuplin and sophomore Graham Goggans. Both set new personal bests in their events, and their finishes put them in the top 10 in the state and caught the eyes of the nation’s best.
”We are proud of how these Mustangs represented our program on the national stage,” Marble Falls middle-distance running coach and girls head track and field coach Brenda Gonzalez said. “Keep leading the way.”
Goggans set a new personal best in the 800 meters thanks to finishing in 1 minute and 56.28 seconds, good enough for 10th overall in the Emerging Elite race. That time ranks him No. 10 in Texas.
”Graham showed a lot of grit competing on the big stage at Nike Indoor Nationals, especially coming off a week of sickness,” Gonzalez said. “He led his heat, got the win and finished 10th overall in the Emerging Elite division with a new (personal record). He’s made great progress in finishing his races strong, and that really showed.”
Cuplin competed in four events.
”Big competitions like nationals help bring out the best version of myself,” she said. “It’s a good challenge that I enjoy trying to overcome.”
Her best finish was in the long jump championship where she had a leap of 19 feet and 9.75 inches to earn the bronze medal.
In the triple jump championship, the Lady Mustang recorded a mark of 415.25 to finish fourth.
Cuplin completed the Emerging Elite 55-meter dash in 7.27 seconds for 11th overall.
She was 12th overall in the 60-yard dash of the Emerging Elite preliminaries with a time of 7.81 seconds, less than a thousandth of a second away from qualifying for the finals. ”Maddie had a huge weekend as well, hitting a big PR in the triple jump and another PR in the 60 meters,” Gonzalez said. “Her consistency in the jumps continues to stand out.”
”I love the atmosphere of big competitions,” the Lady Mustang said. “I enjoy being around the best of the best athletes and proving that I am capable of showing out. I also have a great connection with a lot of the competitors, which makes these competitions fun.” Cuplin’s finishes means she is an All-American for the second time. ”I believe it takes more mental toughness than physical,” she said of the status. “You have to want the title. I told myself I wanted people to remember my name, so I went out and gave it my best effort.”
Cuplin and Goggans will rejoin the Marble Falls program the rest of the season as some big meets are in front of them. First is the Johnny “Lam” Jones Relays hosted by Lampasas Thursday, March 26, then the 98th Annual Texas Relays at the University of Texas at Austin April 3-4, and the District 24-4A meet at Bulldog Field hosted by Burnet High School April 8-9.
”Overall, I’m really proud of both Maddie and Graham,” Gonzalez said. “They’re the type of athletes who step into every competition aiming to get better, and they both had an outstanding weekend. It was a fun weekend for both of them, and I couldn’t be more proud of how they represented themselves and the sport of track and field.”
Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalkTalk.com. To send her a note, email [email protected].
