The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays are set to take place beginning Wednesday in Austin — only this time, the meet is a little more special.
The meet celebrates its centenary this year, and for its efforts being one of the premier collegiate track and field meets, World Athletics presented the meet with the Heritage Plaque to salute its contribution to the sport.
Over 5,000 athletes compete in the four-day meet at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, making the event the second-largest athletics event in the United States, only behind the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.
At the collegiate level, athletes from approximately 100 schools will compete in the meet. It will be the first major meet for many schools as they come off their indoor seasons and will be an introduction to how the season will shape up.
Although Texas had already competed in Houston’s Kirk Baptiste Invitational, the Texas Relays serve as its true introduction to the outdoor season after a slightly underachieving indoor season.
“That’s one of the best (atmospheres) to jump in,” senior jumper Kelsey Daniel said. “Being at home, this is your track, and you train here day in and day out.”
Daniel headlines the Longhorn athletes as he comes off a historic indoor national championship-winning performance, where he broke the school and facility record along with his native country Trinidad and Tobago’s national record. With this being his first meet since the championship, he’ll look to ride that wave into the outdoor season.
Senior jumper Solomon Washington was the only other indoor national qualifier, where he placed 11th, and will compete in the long jump, triple jump, and 100-meter dash during the Relays. Other Texas athletes in the meet coming off of successful indoor seasons include junior sprinters Kendrick Smallwood and Logan Popelka, as well as senior field athlete Sam Hurley.
Several Texas athletes in this meet also return to their national qualifying events from last season. Senior Almond Small and junior John Rutledge are part of the 4×100-meter relay team, which placed fifth in last year’s nationals. Daniel and junior Kody Blackwood also qualified in the triple jump and 400-meter hurdles, respectively, and will begin their campaigns in this meet.
Sophomores Michael Piñones and Osawese Agbonkonkon will also look to build off their winning performances in the Kirk Baptiste Invite in the shot put and high jump, respectively. Other athletes who placed well in the meet include junior Nigusom Knight, freshman Sam Abati, and junior Dylan Lineberger.
Fierce competition provided by schools such as North Carolina, Texas Tech and Oklahoma will give the Longhorns a true test in this meet. But with its first taste of a home crowd, Texas will look to kick off the season with revamped energy.
