The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Defining Moments: Hall of Honor inductee Merlene Frazer
09.26.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorn Track & Field star Merlene Frazer will be inducted into the Longhorn Women’s Hall of Honor on Oct. 6.
by Riley Neuheardt
When Merlene Frazer came to Texas to join the Women's Track and Field team as a sophomore in 1993, she knew she'd be facing elite, seasoned athletes. She was a transfer student from San Jacinto Junior College in Pasadena, Texas, and expected the jump from junior college to Division I competition to be big.
But as soon as Frazer took the jump, she soared far past the rest, establishing herself as one of the most dominant short sprinters in Texas Track & Field history.
At her first NCAA Outdoor Championship in 1994, Frazer remembers her teammates briefing her on the top competition and which esteemed universities had led in the last year's events. Despite high expectations, Frazer took home her first NCAA title in the 200 meters.
"Going to that level of competition and having to prove myself as an athlete, that was a personal accomplishment for me," Frazer said. "I told myself from that point that I could do anything."
Frazer would continue to shine over her next three years with Texas. She garnered 12 total Southwest Conference titles and returned to the NCAA Championships in 1995, this time in indoor, to earn titles in the 200 meter and 4x400 relay. Her 100 and 200 meter times still rank within the top 10 in school history. With Frazer, the Women's Track and Field team began a stretch of dominance.
Although Frazer's legacy at Texas is comprised of plenty of commanding performances on big stages, her favorite win came as a shock even to herself. At the 1995 Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Frazer's 4x400 relay team wasn't poised to take first.
"We sort of were looked at as an underdog," Frazer said. "We weren't expected to win because our team was so young."
Frazer came from behind during the race and edged ahead just enough for a first-place finish, startling herself, her teammates and the other teams.
"It took everybody just giving it their all that particular day," Frazer said. "I saw the team come around at that time, and saw just how proud we were as athletes of UT. We were really happy and everyone came together."
Frazer's athletic accomplishments spilled over into a successful professional career after her graduation from Texas in 1996. She represented her home country Jamaica over the next five years, earning three medals in 4x100 relays at IAAF World Championships and bronze in the 200 meter at the 1999 World Championship. Her largest achievement came in 2000 when she helped Jamaica earn silver in the 4x100 at the Sydney Olympics.
Throughout her decorated professional career, Frazer said she continued to practice principles and focus that she had learned during her time at Texas.
"The dedication that going to UT requires to get through to these different events, I would say I capitalized on it for the Olympics," Frazer said. "I knew that whatever it took to make it at that level, that I was able to work a little bit harder for the Olympics."
Frazer's Texas legacy culminated in her 2017 Induction into the Longhorn Women's Hall of Honor. She said that she matured and grew academically while at Texas, and is humbled that the university still remembers her athletic feats 21 years after she left the Forty Acres.
"It really means a lot that years later, they can look back and just honor me, and esteem me, and say thank you for what I did at The University of Texas,'" Frazer said. "Gratitude is not always perfect, but it follows you for years to come."