The start of a new year means the collegiate track and field season is up and running. Athletes will compete on indoor surfaces during the first half of the season and outdoor during the second, allowing for competition to properly take place despite varying weather conditions nationally during winter months. With different-sized tracks in the indoor season versus the outdoor — an indoor track is 200 meters while an outdoor track is 400 meters — some different events are offered between the seasons while some are offered in both.
Texas began its indoor season with the Louisville Opener on Dec. 11 when the Longhorns, led by head coach Edrick Floréal, won nine total events with five on the men’s track side. Junior Chris Brinkley Jr. (500-meter), sophomore Evan MacGregor (1,000-meter), junior Logan Popelka (300-meter) and sophomore Luis Pastor (mile) earned individual first-place finishes. The team consisting of junior Damon Frabotta, senior Elijah Mosley, junior John Rutledge and Popelka came on top in the 4×400-meter relay as well.
The team’s first meet of 2025 will take place in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Jan. 17. The Arkansas Invitational will hold 22 men’s track and field events and is the second of nine meets before the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships, held in College Station from Feb. 27 to Mar. 1. The NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia, follow on Mar. 14 and 15.
Unlike the later outdoor season, the indoor season does not have preliminary events. Instead, athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships based on times in meets throughout the season, including those in conference championships.
The team has a balance of accomplished upperclassmen and underclassmen rich in potential. The full men’s roster, which involves those part of both track and field and cross country, has 47 athletes — eight freshmen, 13 sophomores, 11 juniors, 11 seniors and four graduate students — that participate in events ranging from distance running to sprints to jumps to field events. 12 Longhorns on the roster have been recipients of U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recognition.
The USTFCCCA indoor team rankings will debut on Jan. 28, three days after Texas participates in the Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Indoor rankings will be released weekly on Tuesdays until the national final results on March 16.
The outdoor season, featuring the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Mar. 26 through Mar. 29, takes center stage for the remainder of competitions.
