On Wednesday, Texas will host one of track and field’s biggest weekends.
Athletes ranging from high school freshmen to Olympic medalists will come to Austin this week for the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, which begin Wednesday and run through Saturday. A total of 6,625 athletes from 34 states and eight countries are set to compete.
Texas, which had a strong showing in last year’s events, looks to build momentum heading into their outdoor season. Ryan Crouser and Courtney Okolo will lead the Longhorns, and both are finalists for the Bowerman Award, given to the best man and woman athlete in collegiate track and field. Texas’ pole vault specialist junior Kaitlin Petrillose, 2013 NCAA decathlon champion junior Johannes Hock, junior Morolake Akinosun and sophomore Kendall Baisden will also compete for Texas.
Former Texas star Trey Hardee will also return to Austin for the event. His talents will be on display as he looks to the decathlon in hopes of securing another title in his record book. Hardee, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, also won an NCAA Championship with Texas in 2005 in the decathlon.
Other Olympians, including Chelsea Hayes (2012 Olympian in the long jump), Antoine Adams (2012 Olympian in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m), and Amy Acuff (five-time Olympian), will use the event as a warm-up for the national stage.
The four-day event kicks off Wednesday morning with the college decathlon and heptathlon and runs through Saturday night’s finale, in which the 4x400m will finish the events at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The races will be aired on the Longhorn Network.
