The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Final Qualifiers for 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Built By The Home Depot
03.27.2018 | Texas Relays, Track & Field / Cross Country
More than 7,000 athletes headed to Myers Stadium for prestigious meet
Texas Relays Headquarters
Final Qualifiers: High School Girls | High School Boys | College/University Women | College/University Men
AUSTIN, Texas – The 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Built By The Home Depot begin Wednesday and today, Meet Director James Barr released the list of final qualifiers. Once again, more than 7,000 athletes will be competing at the event that takes place Wednesday through Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Myers Stadium will welcome athletes from across the nation and globe with 35 states represented among the entries. Athletes from 21 countries will compete as well.
There will be 712 high school teams among the entries at this year's Texas Relays and 195 college/university teams.
Barr announced the field for the Elite Men's Pole Vault last week, which will include five Olympians and some of the world's best vaulters. That event is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on the final day of the meet. That event is anticipated to be the highlight of the meet again in 2018 after a world junior record was set last year.
A look through the accepted entries reveals a number of elite athletes headed to Austin for the four days of action. More than a dozen Olympians are set to compete at the Texas Relays this year, with Lifetime Longhorn Ashley Spencer making her outdoor season debut in the 400m hurdles. The Olympic bronze medalist will see Lifetime Longhorn Melissa Gonzalez in the field. Gonzalez has dual citizenship with Colombia and won silver at the South American Championships last year.
One event that will stand out to track fans is the Men's 100m Invitational as well as the Women's 100m Invitational.
The men's invitational race will see three Olympians.
Japan's Aska Cambridge boasts one of the top times in the field. Cambridge helped his home country win its first-ever medal in the 4x100m relay as the anchor leg at the 2016 Rio Olympics taking silver. Their time of 37.60 was a Japanese national record. USA's Jeff Henderson won gold in the long jump in Rio and he will take on the field in the invitational 100. Another American known more for the 400m will be in the 100 field as well. Gil Roberts helped Team USA win gold in Rio in the 4x400 and will take on this shorter race. Also in the field will be 2013 NCAA champion and world championship silver medalist in the 4x100 Charles Silmon.
The women's invitational is highlighted by the trio of Blessing Okagbare, Tynia Gaither and Kerron Stewart.
Okagbare is a three-time Olympian for Nigeria and won bronze in the long jump in 2008. She ran on the Nigerian 4x100 that finished eighth in Rio and also competed in the 100 and 200.
Stewart guided Jamaica to silver in the relay at the 2012 London Olympics and saw individual success in Beijing in 2008 winning silver in the 100 and bronze in the 200.
Gaither ran in the 2016 Olympics for The Bahamas and also finished eighth in the 200m at last year's IAAF World Championships.
The collegiate sprints events are sure to be fast again in 2018 at the Texas Relays. LSU's Aleia Hobbs is fresh off her collegiate record time at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m and she headlines the field in the 100m along with her teammate Mikiah Brisco and UT's Teahna Daniels as the three fastest seed times. Harvard's Gabrielle Thomas broke the indoor collegiate record in the 200 and she will take on the field in the 100 as well.
Again, the Jerry Thompson Mile will be an exciting event for the men with Longhorns toeing the line with sub-4 times on their mind. Freshman Sam Worley won the event last year while still in high school after receiving a special invitation to compete. He clocked 4:00.61. Worley and Texas junior Alex Rogers will see Lifetime Longhorn Leo Manzano in the field to make it Texas past versus Texas present.
A number of the field events will be like a preview of the NCAA Championships, especially the men's high jump with Texas Tech's Trey Culver and Oklahoma's Vernon Turner going head-to-head. Both jumped 2.33m (7-7.75) during the indoor season to rank fourth in NCAA history.
The Women's Pole Vault University Elite will also bring the top vaulters in the nation against each other along with three elite pros. Defending NCAA indoor champion Lexi Jacobus of Arkansas headlines the collegiate entries and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr returns to Austin to compete. All seven of the current collegiate vaulters in the field were at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this month.
Myers Stadium has a reputation as one of the best facilities to pole vault at in the nation and the men's vault competitions also will be bringing in top talent.
The Men's University Elite section has last year's NCAA champion and the defending indoor champion headlining the group of 11 vaulters. Plus, the Elite Men's Pole Vault has five Olympians in a field of seven athletes. That section saw the world junior (U20) record go down last year. Current world indoor record holder Renaud Lavillenie of France is the top vaulter in the Elite section this year.
Final numbers on athletes, high school and college teams, states and countries represented will be available next week when final entries are announced. Last year, more than 7,700 athletes were accepted into the meet with nearly 800 high school teams and just under 200 college teams competing at Texas Relays. Athletes represented 17 countries and 37 states in 2017.
The collegiate competitions of the meet will be broadcast by Longhorn Network with times to be announced by the network.
Action gets underway on Wednesday, March 28 with the collegiate decathlon and heptathlon.
Thursday's action will highlight several of the distance disciplines, including the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters, and the steeplechase events across both the High School and University/College divisions.
The Friday evening session will showcase some of the non-traditional outdoor relay events with the sprint medley and distance medley for the High School and University/College levels. Several other premier High School events will be featured on Friday night, including the 1,600 meters and 300m hurdles along with 4x400-meter relay prelims.
Saturday will kick off at 8:15 a.m. with the High School 3,200-meter races. The Saturday portion of the High School 4x100-meter relay events will lead into an exciting, action-packed day. The Men's Elite Pole Vault competition is set for 1:45 p.m. and will feature five Olympians, including world indoor record holder and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Renaud Lavillenie.
Texas Relays By the Numbers:
University/College Teams: 195
University/College Athletes: 2,231
High School Teams: 712
High School Athletes: 4,330
Invitational Teams: 17
Invitational Athletes: 450
Total Teams Entered: 1,019
Total Athletes Entered: 7,011
States Represented (35): Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington
Countries Represented (21): United States, France, Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Papua New Guinea, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Qatar, Kenya, Latvia, Panama
Some notable qualifiers include:
Current Longhorns
• Rushelle Burton: 2017 Big 12 Champion, All-American – 100m Hurdles
• Teahna Daniels: 2016 NCAA Indoor Champion – 60m
• Ariel Jones: 3x Big 12 Champion – 400m Hurdles
• Pedrya Seymour: 2016 Olympian – 100m Hurdles
• O'Brien Wasome: 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion – Triple Jump
• Wolf Mahler: 2x All-American – Decathlon
• Kally Long: 5x All-American – Pole Vault
• Steffin McCarter: 3x All-American – Long Jump
Former Longhorns
• Courtney Okolo: Olympic Gold Medalist – 4x400m Relay, 2016 Bowerman Award Winner, 8-time NCAA Champion
• Ashley Spencer: Olympic Bronze Medalist – 400m Hurdles, 2x NCAA Champion – 400m
• Leo Manzano: 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist – 1,500 meters; 5x NCAA champion
• Kendra Chambers: 8x All-American (400m, 800m, 4x400m Relay)
• Sandie Raines: 2x Big 12 Champion – 5000m, 2x All-American
• Melissa Gonzalez: 2x All-American
• Ryan Dohner: 2x Cross Country All-American
• Allison Mendez: 5000m
• Will Nation: 5000m
• Allen Sumrall: 5000m
Non-UT Professional Athletes
• Shawn Barber: 2015 World Champion, NCAA & Canadian record holder in pole vault
• Erica Bougard: 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships 5th place Pentathlon,
• Aska Cambridge: 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist 4x100
• Jeff Henderson: 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist – Long Jump (running 100m)
• Renaud Lavillenie: 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, World Indoor Record Holder
• Blessing Okagbare: 3x Olympian, 2008 Bronze Medalist in Long Jump
• Gil Roberts: 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist – 4x400
• Kerron Stewart: 2008 Olympic Silver & Bronze Medalist, 2012 Silver Medalist
• Jenn Suhr: 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2008 Olympic Bronze, World Indoor Record Holder
• Kendell Williams: 2016 Olympian, 7x NCAA Champion
Notable Collegians
• Hussain Al Hizam (Kansas): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion Pole Vault – NCAA Meet Record
• Brooke Andersen (Northern Arizona): 2017 NCAA runner-up Hammer Throw
• Taliyah Brooks (Arkansas): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion Pentathlon
• Cameron Burrell (Houston): 2017 NCAA runner-up 100m
• Trey Culver (Texas Tech): 2016 & 2017 NCAA indoor high jump champion
• Elijah Hall (Houston): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion 60m/200m – Collegiate Record 200m
• Aleia Hobbs (LSU): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion 60m – Collegiate Record
• Kyriazis Ioannis (Texas A&M): 2017 NCAA Champion Javelin, World Championships 6th, No. 2 Collegiate History
• Lexi Jacobus (Arkansas): Olympian, 2016 NCAA outdoor, 2018 indoor pole vault champion
• Kemar Mowatt (Arkansas): 2017 World Championships 4th place – 400m Hurdles
• Michael Saruni (UTEP): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion 800m – No. 2 Collegiate History
• Gabrielle Thomas (Harvard): 2018 NCAA Indoor Champion 200m – Collegiate Record
• Jessica Woodard (Oklahoma): 2016 NCAA Outdoor, 2018 NCAA Indoor 3rd place shot put,
Tickets
Tickets can be obtained at the Mike A. Myers Stadium Box office during the event or can be purchased in advance at TexasSports.com or by calling the UT Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 982-2386 or (512) 471-3333. Fans can attend the event free of charge on Wednesday, March 29 and Thursday, March 30 with $20 reserved seating and $10 general admission tickets available for Friday and Saturday. Fans can save $5 on all-session passes when they buy online with $35 (reserved seats) and $15 (general admission) available.
Television Coverage
For the seventh year in a row, Longhorn Network will provide extensive coverage. LHN will air 13.5 hours of coverage with 10.5 of it live during the meet.
Austin Urban Music Festival
For the 13th straight year, the Austin Urban Music Festival will be held the same weekend as the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. The two-day festival begins Friday, March 30 and will be held at Auditorium Shores. For more information, click here.
Players Mentioned
