A teen has been found guilty of murder over the fatal stabbing of another teen at a high school track meet last year.

Karmelo Anthony, 19, was indicted on first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Frisco, Texas, in April 2025.

Prosecutors called the stabbing “senseless” and “plain and simple murder,” while the defense argued that Anthony acted in self-defense.

The murder charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison. Ahead of closing arguments on Tuesday, the judge decided that jurors could also consider manslaughter, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA, which was in the courtroom for the trial.

The jury began deliberating midday Tuesday before reaching a verdict within three hours, according to WFAA. The jurors will now determine his sentence, the station reported.

The deadly stabbing occurred at a Frisco Independent School District stadium on April 2, 2025, during a track and field competition involving multiple schools in the district.

Police said Metcalf, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, was stabbed during an altercation under his school’s tent in the stadium bleachers. Witnesses said the two got into an argument over Anthony, a then-17-year-old student at Frisco Centennial High School, being under Metcalf’s school tent during the rainy track meet.

Jurors heard testimony over four days. Anthony did not take the stand in his own defense. 

Judge John Roach imposed a gag order in the case, restricting what those involved can say, and barred any electronics from the courtroom during the trial due to the attention the case has garnered.

Collin County First Assistant District Attorney Bill Wirskye told jurors that the stabbing was not self-defense but “unjustified” murder, according to WFAA.

In his closing argument on Tuesday, Wirskye claimed that Anthony provoked Metcalf, questioned why the defendant didn’t walk away and called the stabbing disproportionate.

“You don’t get to meet a shove with a stab — especially if you provoke a shove,” Wirskye told jurors, according to WFAA.

Defense attorney Mike Howard told jurors that Anthony had gone to the Memorial tent to get out of the rain when Metcalf confronted him and told him to leave, WFAA reported. Howard said Anthony “acted in fear and chaos” after Metcalf pushed him, and stabbed the other teen in self-defense, according to WFAA.

During his closing argument on Tuesday, Howard said Metcalf had “no legal right” to use force on Anthony, WFAA reported. In response to contentions that Anthony could have just left, the defense attorney said, “I am sure he wishes he did,” according to WFAA.

Multiple students who were at the track meet that day testified that they saw Metcalf push Anthony, who was seated on the bleacher, with some describing it as a two-handed push, like a “lineman move,” while others said it was a one-handed “small shove,” WFAA reported.

One witness testified that Anthony was asked to leave the tent about 15 times, according to WFAA. Some recalled Anthony saying, “Touch me and see what happens,” during the altercation, which witnesses said lasted about four to six minutes, according to WFAA. Another witness quoted Metcalf as telling Anthony, “I’m not going to fight you,” the station reported.

Surveillance footage from the track meet played in court did not show the stabbing, and some of the witnesses were asked to demonstrate the incident, according to WFAA.

After the stabbing, witnesses said Anthony jogged away from the tent, and a coach who spoke to him on the track testified that he said, “He put his hands on me. I stabbed him,” according to WFAA.

A pocket knife used in the stabbing was found on the bleachers, police said. Collin County Medical Examiner Dr. Elizabeth Ventura testified that Metcalf was stabbed on the left side of his chest, and the knife perforated his right ventricle, according to WFAA. 

Several people spoke during the trial of the efforts to save Metcalf. A football coach who was helping at the track meet testified that he put pressure on the stab wound, and Memorial’s athletic trainer said she did CPR until paramedics arrived, according to WFAA.

“Everybody was praying,” Memorial High School head track coach Robert Starr said in emotional testimony, according to WFAA. “I just knew Austin was gone.”

Metcalf was transported to an area hospital, where he was ultimately pronounced dead, police said.