{"id":27028,"date":"2025-04-08T11:53:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T15:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=27028"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:33:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T14:33:29","slug":"god-will-take-care-of-us-family-of-texas-athlete-murdered-at-track-meet-leans-on-faith-amid-heartbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/04\/god-will-take-care-of-us-family-of-texas-athlete-murdered-at-track-meet-leans-on-faith-amid-heartbreak","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;God Will Take Care of Us&#8217;: Family of Texas Athlete Murdered at Track Meet Leans on Faith Amid Heartbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_27031\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27031\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2025\/04\/Austin-Metcalf_credit-Left-Fox-News-Right-Jeff-Metcalf.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-27031\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2025\/04\/Austin-Metcalf_credit-Left-Fox-News-Right-Jeff-Metcalf.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Fox News | Right: Jeff Metcalf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The family of Texas high school athlete Austin Metcalf continues to lean on their faith in God as they walk through unimaginable grief nearly a year after the 17-year-old was fatally stabbed during a track meet in Frisco, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, June 10th,\u00a0 Karmelo Anthony, the teen convicted of murdering Austin during the April 2025 incident, was sentenced to 35 years in prison. According to local reports, Anthony will be eligible for parole after serving half of that sentence.<\/p>\n<p>The emotional sentencing hearing gave Austin\u2019s family an opportunity to speak directly to the teen responsible for taking the life of the beloved football standout and honor student.<\/p>\n<p>Austin\u2019s mother, Meghan Metcalf, remembered her son as a \u201cpeacemaker\u201d and a \u201cprotector\u201d as she reflected on the devastating loss her family continues to endure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou may have just been given a sentence of 35 years,\u201d Meghan told Anthony in court, according to NBC 5, \u201cyou should feel lucky because I\u2019ve been sentenced to a life without my son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fighting through tears, Meghan described Austin as a young man full of love, character, and strength.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a part of him you can never take from me, the strength I still get from him every day, because I know what it was like to be loved by him,\u201d she said. \u201cMy son was murdered. He didn\u2019t just die. He was taken from us. Just as he was starting to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Austin\u2019s twin brother, Hunter Metcalf, also addressed the court and spoke candidly about the ongoing pain of losing both his brother and best friend. Hunter, who witnessed the stabbing, said he has been trying to process the tragedy through his faith while learning what forgiveness looks like after such devastating loss.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow I want everything taken from you,\u201d Hunter said during his statement, according to Fox 4. \u201cYou took everything from me. I wake up every morning and his door is still shut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the days immediately following Austin\u2019s death, Hunter had publicly spoken about wanting to eventually forgive Anthony, saying at the time, \u201cI pray for his family. I pray that they understand what we\u2019re going through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Austin\u2019s father, Jeff Metcalf, once again pointed to faith as the foundation helping his family endure the heartbreak. Jeff previously told reporters shortly after the tragedy, \u201cGod is going to take care of me. God is going to take care of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During Tuesday\u2019s hearing, Jeff remembered Austin as \u201ca friend, a leader, and a true warrior,\u201d reflecting on the close bond Austin shared with Hunter from the day they were born.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the day he first grabbed my finger, he had my heart with it,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff also revealed that the family has endured repeated harassment since Austin\u2019s death, including multiple swatting incidents targeting both parents.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he emphasized the case was never about race, but about accountability and justice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said from day one this was never about race,\u201d Jeff told the court, according to Fox 4. \u201cIt\u2019s about right and wrong. We are all humans. We all bleed the same color.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He later directed emotional remarks toward Anthony, saying, \u201cYou failed your parents, yourself, and society. You don\u2019t belong in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fatal stabbing occurred during a track meet at Kuykendall Stadium after Austin reportedly confronted Anthony for standing beneath a tent designated for Austin\u2019s school team. Prosecutors said Anthony pulled a knife after a brief confrontation and stabbed Austin in the chest. Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense, but jurors ultimately rejected that argument and found him guilty of murder.<\/p>\n<p>Austin\u2019s death deeply impacted the Frisco community, with hundreds gathering at vigils and prayer services in the days following the tragedy. The Metcalf family, who attends Hope Fellowship Church, has continued to openly lean on their Christian faith throughout the painful journey.<\/p>\n<p>In what became his final social media post before his death, Austin shared a message that now carries even deeper meaning for those mourning him: \u201cFaith that God got me \u2764\ufe0f and my work will pay off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the Metcalf family, that faith remains the anchor carrying them through the heartbreak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The family of Texas high school athlete Austin Metcalf continues to lean on their faith in God as they walk through unimaginable grief nearly a year after the 17-year-old was fatally stabbed during a track meet in Frisco, Texas. On Wednesday, June 10th,\u00a0 Karmelo Anthony, the teen convicted of murdering Austin during the April 2025&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":27031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;God Will Take Care of Us&#039;: Family of Texas Athlete Murdered at Track Meet Leans on Faith Amid Heartbreak<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After losing their son Austin, the Metcalf family is clinging to faith, forgiveness, and God&#039;s promise to carry them through.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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