During the Ole Miss Open track meet in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, March 22, 2014. (Photo/Thomas Graning)
AUSTIN, Texas – Several members of the Ole Miss track & field teams are competing at the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays this week, while some other Rebels will take part in the Memphis Invitational on Saturday.
The 87th version of the annual Texas Relays is taking place Wednesday through Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas. A total of 6,552 athletes from 32 states and nine countries are expected to compete in the four-day meet, which features some of the top talent from the professional, collegiate and high school ranks.
Athletes from 15 nationally ranked men’s programs and 13 ranked women’s teams will compete in Austin. The men’s teams include No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida State, No. 8 LSU, No. 9 UCLA, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Ole Miss, No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 17 Baylor, No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Penn State, No. 20 BYU, No. 21 Cornell and No. 24 California.
Ranked women’s teams include No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Florida, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 8 LSU, No. 10 Kansas, No. 12 Florida State, No. 13 UCLA, No. 14 Arkansas, No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 17 Penn State, No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 25 Baylor.
“We look forward to representing the Ole Miss Red and Blue in Texas,” said head coach Brian O’Neal. “There will be a lot of good competition, but we’ll be more focused on the Rebs and what we can do to improve and compete at our best. This kind of meet will only help us get ready for the SEC and NCAA championships down the road.”
Ole Miss senior Mary Ashton Nall got the Rebels started on Wednesday in the heptathlon. After the first four events (100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters), she sits in 20th place with 2,880 points. She recorded a season best of 14.26 in the hurdles on the first day of the meet.
The heptathlon will finish Thursday with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.
College field events on Thursday begin at 12:30 p.m., with running events starting at 4:30 p.m. The competition heats up on Friday with events starting at 9:30 a.m., while Saturday’s finale begins at 10 a.m.
Among the Ole Miss athletes who already rank highly in the NCAA outdoor rankings are junior Sam Kendricks (No. 1 pole vaulter, 18-2), senior Ricky Robertson (No. 1 high jumper, 7-5), junior Phillip Young (No. 4 long jumper, 24-9.75), freshman Jalen Miller (No. 6 in 100m, 10.29), senior Mike Granger (No. 9 in 100m, 10.42), the 4x400m relay (No. 7, 3:10.66) and the 4x100m relay (No. 8, 40.22).
For the third year in a row, Longhorn Network will provide extensive coverage of the Texas Relays. ESPN’s Dave LaMont will provide play-by-play throughout the meet, with Larry Rawson and Dwight Stones serving as analysts. Sean Adams will serve as a reporter.
Saturday’s Memphis Invitational will get underway at 10 a.m. and run through the afternoon.