OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 11-ranked Ole Miss men and the Rebel women are among the many elite track and field squads participating in this week’s 86th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.
One of the top outdoor track meets in the nation, the Texas Relays will host 874 teams and 6,407 total athletes during the week.Among the top men’s teams to participate are No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Oregon, No. 9 Florida State, No. 10 LSU, No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 12 UCLA, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 18 Indiana, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 23 Kansas State and No. 25 Iowa State.
Top women’s teams include No. 1 Kansas, No. 2 Oregon, No. 4 LSU, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Florida, No. 10 Clemson, No. 11 UCF, No. 12 Arkansas, No. 13 Baylor, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 21 Auburn and No. 24 UCLA.
Competition begins Wednesday with the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon and runs through Saturday.
“In the South, you have the Texas Relays and the Florida Relays, which are the best relays there are in the country,” head coach Brian O’Neal said. “They attract the best competition. We’re going to get in there and mix it up with them, and we’re hoping to come out with some favorable performances. It’s top-flight competition in every single event, so it’s going to be a lot of the same people you compete against at nationals. That gives our athletes a chance to see where they are.”
Some of the Rebels’ top athletes are expected to make their outdoor season debut in Austin, including 2012 Olympian Isiah Young in the men’s 100 meters and 2013 Indoor All-American Asia Cooper in the women’s 100 meters.
Rebels who rank highly in the nation after last week’s outdoor opener in Starkville include sophomore Haley Cutright in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (4th, 10:32.96), sophomore Shari Russell in the women’s long jump (10th, 19-11.75), senior Anne Threlkeld in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (16th, 10:48.10), junior Benjamin Lapane in the men’s javelin (26th, 216-5), senior Sofia Hellberg-Jonsen in the women’s 400-meter hurdles (29th, 1:00.63) and freshman Onyi Afoaku in the men’s discus (32nd, 177-8.25).
A few members of the Ole Miss team will also be competing at the UCA Open in Conway, Ark., on Saturday.