Coahoma's Kohen Grantom sets state records, eyes world stage

AUSTIN – Coahoma’s Kohen Grantom came to the UIL state track and field meet at Mike A. Meyers Stadium with two goals — win gold medals and break records.

He can put a checkmark on both of those objectives.

Grantom swept the boys wheelchair events Friday, starting with a gold medal in the shot put with a winning throw of 27-feet and 8-inches — improving on his silver medal from last season. He continued checking boxes with gold medals in the 100 and 400. His 100 and 400 wins set new state record times of 15.13 seconds and 53.50, respectively.

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For Grantom, though, there’s always room to improve.

“My time isn’t usually what I run, but it was enough to get the record, but it wasn’t what I was shooting for,” Grantom said.

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Coahoma’s Kohen Grantom crosses the finish line first in the boys wheelchair 100-meter dash during the UIL State track and field meet on May 15, 2026, at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Grantom, understandably, has high expectations for himself. During the Region I-3A meet in Abilene, Grantom broke the meet, state and national record in the 400 with a time of 50.3. For the sophomore, he said his biggest improvement came from not being too hard on himself when he doesn’t achieve his goals.

“I’m proud of my performance,” Grantom said. “But I feel like the wind definitely played a role in the first 200 meters (of the 400) and bumped my time somewhere I didn’t want it to be. But at the end of the day, it’s part of the sport — it happens, so I’m just glad I came out with the gold and got the record still.”