A slew of top-6 finishes (and the absence of a win) at the 68th Annual Pepsi Florida Relays illustrated the Longhorns’ room for growth in the outdoor season.
Claiming sixth out of 68 runners in the 400-meter dash, sophomore Briana Nelson made the first strong showing at the two-day meet for Texas. Nelson ran for a career-best 52.49 seconds. Kendra Chambers, Stacey-Ann Smith and Alicia Peterson competed alongside Nelson, all except Peterson finishing in the top half.
Friday afternoon’s field events were also opportunities for Texas athletes to gain confidence in outdoor competition.
Despite placing two spots higher at the Texas Relays, Okwukwe Okolie finished 5th in the discus throw invite with an improved 51.14-meter mark.
In the high jump, Victoria Lucas and Shanay Briscoe — two historically close competitors — came in second and third, respectively. Beverly Owoyele and Peterson also competed in the event.
Coming off a second-place performance two Saturdays ago at the Texas Relays, sophomore Danielle Dowie clenched fourth in the 400-meter hurdles.
Sophomore Christy Udoh, competing in the 200-meter dash for the first time outdoors this year, and junior Chalonda Goodman found success in the final individual running event of the meet for UT.
Coming in fifth, Udoh was less than one-tenth of a second off the time that had earned her the title of fastest Longhorn in the race last outdoor season. With a personal record of 22.85, Goodman claimed second and ended Udoh’s reign of team-dominance in the event.
While only participating in three events, Longhorns closed out the Florida Relays on Saturday with two fourth-place performances.
In the last field event of the meet, Amanda Van Dyke took fourth in the shot put invite with a throw for 15.84 meters. Wrapping up the weekend with the final women’s event, a Texas team — composed of Dowie, Chambers, Udoh and Nelson — held its own with the fourth best time in the 4×400-meter relay.
Printed on Monday, April 9, 2012 as: Nelson runs career-best 400-meters in Florida