Women's Track and Field crowned NCAA Outdoor Champions

Saturday, June 10

Austin, TX

University of Texas

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Texas celebrates the NCAA Outdoor Championship

Photo by: Texas Athletics

Women's Track and Field crowned NCAA Outdoor Champions

06.10.2023 | Track & Field / Cross Country

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Longhorns win fifth NCAA outdoor title in school history and first since 2005.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas women's track and field team were crowned the NCAA Outdoor Champions for the fifth time in program history scoring 83 points, the most in UT history.

The Longhorns championed four events on the final day of competition on its way to its 11^th NCAA team title.

Julien Alfred led the Longhorns with 22.5 points as she championed both the 100-meter and the 200-meter, while also running the opening leg of the 4x100-meter relay. Alfred defended her 100m title with a wind-aided time of 10.72. She became the first-ever Longhorn to champion the 100m twice and just the sixth in NCA history to win consecutive 100m titles.

She later completed the sprints double with her time of 21.73, which was the fastest all-conditions mark in collegiate history. Her part in the 4x100 gold medal relay team pushed Alfred to be the first women's sprinter to complete the feat at the same NCAA Championships since Carlette Guidry did in 1991 and just the fifth woman in NCAA history to do the triple.

The 4x100 relay completed its historic season and defended its title with a time of 41.60. The team of Alfred, Ezinne Abba, Rhasidat Adeleke and Kevona Davis broke the collegiate record three times this season, most recently during the semis with a time of 41.55. It's the eighth time in program history the Longhorns have won and third time they repeated as champions.

Davis also added four points from the 100m finishing fifth with her time of 10.98, while Abba added two with her seventh-place finish at 11.07. Davis continued to score after earning the bronze medal in the 200m with a season best time of 22.02, while Lanae Tava-Thomas finished fifth with a time of 22.36 to score four points.

Adeleke stunned the crowd with a dominant run in the 400-meter with her time of 49.20, setting the second-fastest time in NCAA history and the Texas program record. Adeleke is the eighth Longhorn to win the 400m title and first since Chrisaan Gordon in 2017. She now has three of the five fastest outdoor times in school history.

Ackelia Smith returned to the runway in the triple jump and was the national runner-up with her personal best jump of 14.54m (47-8.5). The mark also improved her previous Texas program record mark and gives her the top eight marks in Texas history. Smith accumulated 18 points over the weekend and was the second-top scorer for the Longhorns behind Alfred.

Valery Tobias added three points from the 800-meter with her time of 2:02.39.

Kristine Blazevica put the icing on the cake for Texas after finishing third in the heptathlon with 6,058 points. The score ranks as the fifth-best performance in Texas history. Blazevica now owns five of the top-10 scores in school history.