The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
2012 85th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
Women's Track & Field wins the 4x400 Relay on final day of Texas Relays
03.31.2012 | Track & Field / Cross Country w, Track & Field / Cross Country
March 31, 2012
| Complete Results 
AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Texas claimed a first-place finish in the 4x400 relay on the fourth and final day of the 85th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays held at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
"Overall the meet was a great meet for us," said head coach Beverly Kearney. "We had some great performances and then we had some so-so performances. We are doing a great job. We ran well, we did not do well with the stick but individually it implied that we are ready to roll."
Sophomores Briana Nelson and Allison Peter, junior Kendra Chambers, and senior Stacy-Ann Smith posted a 3:29.79 finish to win the 4x400 relay event Sunday afternoon. The Longhorn relay squad finished 0.63 seconds ahead of second place LSU as they put up the fastest time of the year in the NCAA thus far.
"It was a really good race," said Nelson. "We knew we had the team to win. We came in with a really good time. We had everything we needed, so we just had to execute and that's what we did."
It marked the 17th time in 85 years of the Texas Relays that the Longhorns won the 4x400m contest. The last win came in 2005 which was the last of a streak of seven straight for UT.
"We had a bad exchange in the 4x 200 meter relay," said Peter. "For the 4x 100, we need some technical work. This was the last race of the day. We just had to give it our all. This is our track, we had to close it out with a win."
The 400 Meter Hurdles saw two Longhorn competitors, with sophomore Danielle Dowie placing second with a time of 56.90, missing a first place finish by less than one second. Senior Angele Cooper finished eighth, with a time of 59.72.
"It's really special to me," said Dowie. " I was really prepared mentally and physically. I'm happy I got a new personal best time but I really wanted to win so I'm not that happy. It was still a good performance and I'm just moving on from here. It's always good to win in front of the home crowd so I'm a bit disappointed."
Three Longhorns competed in the 1500-meter run, with two finishing in the top-ten. Sophomore Sarah Sutherland took third place with her time of 4:18.62. Sophomore Marielle Hall finished seventh, posting a 4:26.42 finish, and senior Julie Amthor finished 13th.
"The last lap was fast!" said Sutherland. "I wasn't thinking about anything. I was just going. I was really hoping to work on my close in all my races. It was awesome to finally achieve that and get to pass somebody at the end, because I generally tend to be the one getting passed at the end. It's awesome to have a little role reversal there."
Texas placed four in the top-ten for the high jump. Senior Victoria Lucas placed fourth after clearing the 1.81m mark on her first attempt. Sophomore Shanay Briscoe cleared 1.81m on her second attempt to finish in fifth. Junior Alicia Peterson and senior Beveryly Owoyele finished seventh and ninth, respectively.
Senior Amanda Van Dyke posted a sixth place, 15.28m finish in the shot put. Sophomore Bertha Sencherey took eighth place in Women's Discus Throw, posting a score of 45.04m. In the long jump, sophomore A'Lexus Brannon finished 12th with her 6.04m jump.
In the 100-meter dash, junior Chalonda Goodman posted an 11.32 for a seventh place finish.
Sophomores Allison Peter and Christy Udoh, junior Chalonda Goodman, and senior Stacey-Ann Smith finished third (43.88) in the Women's 4x100 Meter Relay.
The Texas squad featuring sophomores Briana Nelson, Christy Udoh, Allison Peter, and junior Chalonda Goodman took second place in the Women's 4x200 Meter Relay. They finished 0.97 seconds behind LSU, who finished first.
UT's Women's Distance Medley team, made up of freshmen Chamique Francis and Connor Ward, sophomore Katie Hoaldridge, and senior Anne Jones, finished 11th. They posted a time of 11:44.39.
"This is pretty much our first outdoor meet (of the season), besides the small spring break meet that we had," said Nelson. "This definitely gives us a boost. I feel like, overall, across the board, we did really well in all the relays, so I think everyone is pumped at the start of this outdoor season."
The women's track and field team returns to action next week when they travel to Gainesville, Florida for the Florida Invitational.
