Under the threat of ominous rain clouds from April 1-4, the Longhorns hosted high schoolers, universities and Olympians from around the world for the 98th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Over the course of the weekend, former, current and future Longhorns showcased their talent in a packed Mike A. Myers stadium.
The Longhorns began their homestand last Wednesday morning. Sophomore Tabea Eitel competed in the first event of the day, the heptathlon. Eitel started Texas off strong, placing second overall in the event. Her best performance in the heptathlon was in the long jump, recording a mark of 5.86 meters.
Junior Giavonna Meeks continued her dominant season with a program record hammer throw on Thursday. Meeks, who owns the top six hammer throws in Texas history, broke her previous record with a throw of 67.42 meters.
“I would definitely have to attribute that to my mindset,” Meeks said.“I was at three universities, had four different coaches. I think I definitely have a lot of resilience. Every day, I attack training with the same mindset and just focus on consistency with my training, sleep and all of the other things that contribute to training.”
Later in the day, freshman Emma Wade took first in the 1500 meter with a time of 4:34.98.
“I was really hoping to get top three today. This is only my second race in college,” Wade said. “I’m really happy with it.”
Graduate Sophie Atkinson concluded the evening with a 16:14.96 victory in the 5000 meter. Texas began the race with three runners, one of whom exited about a mile in.
“We were going to get paced for the first mile, like, 74 or 75 (seconds per lap),” Atkinson said, explaining the pacer’s exit.
Texas junior Amelliah Birdow recorded a victory in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.37 seconds on Friday. Longhorn alumna Ashley Miller finished first in the professional 400 meter hurdles with a time of 55.97 seconds.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Miller said. “Having come here for a bit of my college experience was such an amazing journey. So, to come back almost 10 years after my first Texas Relays, it’s amazing to be able to walk away with the win today.”
The hot, humid conditions of the first three days were broken on Saturday morning when rain blanketed the stadium and plunged temperatures into the 50s.
After a short, one-hour delay to dry the track, junior Carleta Bernard, freshman Elise Cooper, freshman Abigail Wolfe and sophomore Naomi London stepped into the starting blocks for the Carlette Guidry University Women’s 4 x 100 meter finals.
“Regardless of the weather conditions, we just wanted to come out here and win,” Bernard said.
The Longhorns built on the momentum from their preliminary performance, the relay unit crossed the line in 43.19 seconds to claim first place. Cooper then claimed her second relay title in the 4×400 meter event along with freshman Bayleigh Minor, senior Ramiah Elliott and Birdow.
Texas commit and high school senior Mariah Maxwell won the women’s 200 meter invitational in 22.25 seconds.
After an action-packed Texas Relays, the Longhorns now focus their attention on 44 Farms Team Invitational in College Station, Texas, next weekend.
