Texas Relays

The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays is an annual track and field competition held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas. The University of Texas serves as host for the event, held on either the last weekend of March or first weekend of April.

Events are held in High School, College, University, and Invitational divisions.

History

In response to cold-weather conditions at the Kansas Relays, ^[1] the Texas Relays was started as a men's-only competition in 1925 by University of Texas coach Clyde Littlefield and athletic director Theo Bellmont. ^[2] The Relays were held at Memorial Stadium until Mike A. Myers Stadium was opened in 1999. ^[3] The meet was not held 1932–1934 as a result of the Great Depression. ^[3] Women's events were added in 1963. ^[3]

To encourage attendance in the early years of the event, various publicity stunts were staged. The most successful was a 1927 stunt in which three Tarahumaras were invited to the Relays. These men were famed as runners who never stopped running. A race was staged between the men from San Antonio to Memorial Stadium. After 14 hours and 53 minutes, the 89 mile race ended in a tie. ^[1]

In 1977, electronic timing was introduced at the Relays, and Olympic gold medalist and Texas Longhorns football player John Wesley Jones recorded a time of 9.85 seconds in the 100 meter dash. This would have set a world record, but it was determined that the timer malfunctioned, and the time was unofficial. ^[1]

The Texas Relays are currently the second largest track meet in the United States, behind only the Penn Relays. ^[4] Today, approximately 50,000 spectators and 5,000 athletes attend the events. ^{[1] [5]}

Local impact

According to the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2007, the Relays generate US$8 million for local business. ^[6] Much of this traced to the fact that the event has become a social destination for young African-Americans. A number of groups organize networking and development events for African-Americans to take place in downtown Austin during the Relays.

Following alleged issues involving crime, some local businesses close for the Relays weekend. ^{[7] [8]} In 2009 Highland Mall closed several hours earlier than normal on account of the Texas Relays. ^[9]

Some advocates of the Relays state that there is not a significant increase in crime during the Relays weekend. Some businesses have nonetheless chosen to not operate or to close early. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

Divisions

The University Division is open to schools in NCAA Division I. The College Division is open to schools in NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, or NJCAA schools. The University/College Division is open to schools that qualify for either division separately. The High School Division is separated into two levels, Division I and Division II. Division I is open to schools in the University Interscholastic League classes A, AA, or AAA (or their interstate equivalents). Division II is open to schools in UIL classes AAAA or AAAAA. Schools that normally compete in Division I may compete in Division II if they wish. ^[14]

Events held

Event	Invitational Men	Invitational Women	University Men	College Men	University / College Women	High School Boys	High School Girls
100 m	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
1500 m			✓		✓
1600 m						✓	✓
Mile	✓
3200 m						✓	✓
5000 m			✓		✓
10,000 m	✓	✓
100 m hurdles		✓			✓		✓
110 m hurdles	✓		✓	✓		✓
400 m hurdles	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
2000 m steeplechase						✓	✓
3000 m steeplechase			✓		✓
High jump			✓		✓	✓	✓
Pole vault			✓		✓	✓	✓
Long jump			✓		✓	✓	✓
Triple jump			✓		✓	✓	✓
Shot put			✓		✓	✓	✓
Discus throw			✓		✓	✓	✓
Hammer throw			✓		✓
Javelin throw			✓		✓
Heptathlon					✓
Decathlon			✓
4 × 100 m relay	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
4 × 200 m relay					✓	✓	✓
4 × 400 m relay	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
4 × 800 m relay			✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
4 × 1500 m relay			✓
1600m sprint medley			✓	✓		✓	✓
Distance medley					✓	✓	✓

Source. ^[15] Note: Some men's events are combined for the university and College divisions.

Meet records

Men

Men's meeting records of the Texas Relays

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref.
100 m	9.90 (+2.0 m/s)	Benjamin Azamati-Kwaku	Ghana	25 March 2022	[16]
200 m	19.81 (+0.8 m/s)	Terrance Laird	United States	27 March 2021	[17]
400 m	44.62	Bryce Deadmon	United States	27 March 2021	[17]
800 m	1:45.31	Oussama El Bouchayby	Morocco	30 March 2023	[18]
1500 m	3:41.15	Paul Larkins	Great Britain	1984
Mile	3:56.98	Leonel Manzano	United States	2008
5000 m	13:38.28	Ernest Cheruiyot	Kenya	28 March 2024	[19]
10,000 m	28:05.36	Michael Musyoki	United States	1984
110 m hurdles	13.13	Larry Wade	United States	2004
400 m hurdles	48.44	Michael Stigler	United States	27 March 2015	[20]
3000 m steeplechase	8:27.70	Henry Marsh	United States	1977
High jump	2.33 m	Mark Boswell	Canada	2000
		JuVaughn Harrison	United States	1 April 2023	[18]
Pole vault	5.92 m	Renaud Lavillenie	France	31 March 2018	[21]
		Shawnacy Barber	Canada	31 March 2018	[21]
		Armand Duplantis	Sweden	31 March 2018	[21]
Long jump	8.23 m	Richard Duncan	Canada	1997
Triple jump	17.09 m (+2.0 m/s)	O'Brien Wasome	Jamaica	30 March 2024	[22]
Shot put	21.54 m	Adrian Piperi	United States	26 March 2022	[23]
Discus throw	66.01 m	Julian Wruck	Australia	30 March 2013	[24]
Hammer throw	76.29 m	Denzel Comenentia	Netherlands	29 March 2018	[25]
Javelin throw	89.10 m	Patrik Bodén	Sweden	24 March 1990
Decathlon	8708 pts	Leo Neugebauer	Germany	27–28 March 2024	[26]
	100m (wind) Long jump (wind) Shot put High jump 400m 110m H (wind) Discus Pole vault Javelin 1500m 10.74 (+0.9 m/s) 7.81 m (+0.5 m/s) 17.26 m 2.05 m 47.99 14.51 (+1.0 m/s) 51.50 m 5.10 m 58.99 m 4:51.05
4 × 100 m relay	37.88	HSI	United States	2001
4 × 200 m relay	1:19.88	Austin All Stars	United States	1999
4 × 400 m relay	2:59.73	Tiger Olympians: Quincy Downing Michael Cherry Vernon Norwood Tyler Terry	United States	26 March 2022	[27]
4 × 800 m relay	7:15.66	South Plains College: Aron Tanui Trayquan Francis Chevonne Hall Kimar Farquharson	United States	1 April 2023	[28]
4 × 1500 m relay	15:08.67	Arkansas	United States	1999
Sprint medley relay (2-2-4-8)	3:12.13	Arkansas	United States	2000
Distance medley relay	9:29.40	UTEP	United States	1979

Women

Women's meeting records of the Texas Relays

Event	Record	Athlete	Nationality	Date	Ref.
100 m	10.93	Dawn Sowell	United States	1989
200 m	22.08 (+1.2 m/s)	Gabrielle Thomas	United States	30 March 2024	[29]
400 m	50.19	Shamier Little	United States	27 March 2021	[17]
800 m	2:00.25	Shafiqua Maloney	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	28 March 2024	[30]
1500 m	4:13.53	Dana Mecke	United States	31 March 2018	[31]
3000 m	9:13.90	Teena Colebrook	Great Britain	1991
5000 m	15:25.27	Elizabeth Leachman	United States	28 March 2024	[32]
10,000 m	31:28.92	Francie Larrieu-Smith	United States	1991
100 m hurdles	12.36 (+2.0 m/s)	Masai Russell	United States	1 April 2023	[18]
400 m hurdles	54.37	Britton Wilson	United States	25 March 2022	[27]
3000 m steeplechase	10:10.93	Trina Cox	United States	2006
High jump	1.95 m	Erin Aldrich	United States	2000
		Amy Acuff		31 March 2012	[33]
Pole vault	4.91 m	Jenn Suhr	United States	30 March 2019	[34]
Long jump	7.14 m (+1.0 m/s)	Tara Davis	United States	26 March 2021	[35]
Triple jump	14.48 m (+1.0 m/s)	Tori Franklin	United States	30 March 2018	[36]
Shot put	18.58 m	Laura Gerraughty	United States	2006
Discus throw	67.98 m	Valarie Allman	United States	29 March 2024	[37]
Hammer throw	74.18 m	Brooke Anderson	United States	28 March 2019	[38]
Javelin throw	60.82 m	Kara Winger	United States	27 March 2015	[39]
Heptathlon	6412 pts	Anna Hall	United States	23–24 March 2022	[23]
	100m H (wind) High jump Shot put 200m (wind) Long jump (wind) Javelin 800m 13.41 (+1.6 m/s) 1.77 m 13.45 m 23.81 (−0.1 m/s) 6.23 m (+0.9 m/s) 40.98 m 2:04.61
4 × 100 m relay	42.00	University of Texas: Julien Alfred Ezinne Abba Lanae Thomas Kevona Davis	Saint Lucia  United States  United States  Jamaica	1 April 2023	[40]
4 × 200 m relay	1:27.05 WB	Team International: Dina Asher-Smith Rhasidat Adeleke Lanae-Tava Thomas Julien Alfred	Great Britain  Ireland  Jamaica  Saint Lucia	30 March 2024	[41]
4 × 400 m relay	3:22.94	University of Texas: Rhasidat Adeleke Kennedy Simon Stacey-Ann Williams Davicia Patterson	Ireland  United States  United States  United States	25 March 2022	[27]
4 × 800 m relay	8:20.69	Louisiana State University: Lorena Rangel Batres Callie Hardy Cindy Bourdier Michaela Rose	United States	1 April 2023	[42]
4 × 1500 m relay	18:11.51	Arkansas: Paige Johnston Jillian Rosen Miranda Walker Kristen Gillespie	United States	8 April 2011
Sprint medley relay (2-2-4-8)	3:36.10	University of Texas: Julien Alfred Rhasidat Adeleke Kennedy Simon Valery Tobias	Saint Lucia  Ireland  United States  United States	31 March 2023	[43]
Distance medley relay	10:59.86	Louisiana State University: Cindy Bourdier Garriel White Michaela Rose Lorena Rangel Batres	United States	31 March 2023	[44]

Results by year

2020s	2010s	2000s	1990s	1980s	1970s	1960s	1950s	1940s	1930s	1920s
2029	2019	2009	1999	1989	1979	1969	1959	1949	1939	1929
2028	2018	2008	1998	1988	1978	1968	1958	1948	1938	1928
2027	2017	2007	1997	1987	1977	1967	1957	1947	1937	1927
2026	2016	2006	1996	1986	1976	1966	1956	1946	1936	1926
2025	2015	2005	1995	1985	1975	1965	1955	1945	1935	1925
2024	2014	2004	1994	1984	1974	1964	1954	1944	1934
2023	2013	2003	1993	1983	1973	1963	1953	1943	1933
2022	2012	2002	1992	1982	1972	1962	1952	1942	1932
2021	2011	2001	1991	1981	1971	1961	1951	1941	1931
2020	2010	2000	1990	1980	1970	1960	1950	1940	1930

References

General

• Texas Relays records 30 March 2019 updated

Specific

1. Holton, Avery (2001-04-05). "Texas Relays: History in the making". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2006-09-04.
2. "History of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays". Texassports.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
3. McMicken, Glen (2005-03-31). "Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays: A to Z". Texassports.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
4. Treon, Ricky (2006-04-07). "Five reasons to watch Texas' premiere track event". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30.
5. Rentfro, Daryl (2006-04-05). "Texas Relays 2006 Preview". The Daily Texan. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30.
6. Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau (2007-03-27). "March Madness Means Millions for Austin". Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on 2007-10-19.
7. "Austin businesses to close weekend of Texas Relays". Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
8. "Austin clubs, mall plan to close during Relays". Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
9. "Activists, residents protest outside Highland Mall". Archived from the original on 2009-04-15.
10. Austin welcomes Texas Relays visitors, officials say 30 March 2010.
11. Boarded-Up Bars During Texas Relays Raise Eyebrows 21 April 2011.
12. “Welcome” to the Police State of 6ixth 9 April 2011.
13. Austin, TX: Afraid of a lot of black people? 2009. ClutchFans.
14. "2005 Entries Information". TexasSports.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03.
15. "2006 79th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays schedule". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007.
16. Kofi Asare (27 March 2022). "Benjamin Azamati Sets New National 100m Record". kofiasare.com. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
17. Doug Binder (28 March 2021). "LSU's Terrance Laird Leaves Field in the Dust With 19.81 200 Meters at Texas Relays". dyestat.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
18. "Russell breaks collegiate 100m hurdles record at Texas Relays". World Athletics. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
19. "5000m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
20. "400m Hurdles Results". flotrack.org. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
21. Jon Mulkeen (31 March 2018). "Lavillenie, Barber and Duplantis vault 5.92m at Texas Relays". IAAF. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
22. "Men's Triple Jump Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
23. Jon Mulkeen (26 March 2022). "Thomas, Harrison and Barnes fly to speedy wind-assisted times at Texas Relays". World Athletics. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
24. "Discus Throw Results". www.texassports.com. 30 March 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
25. "Distance Events highlight Day Two of 2018 Texas Relays". texassports.com. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
26. "Neugebauer Shatters Texas Relays Decathlon Record with 8,708 Points". watchathletics.com. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
27. "2022 Texas Relays Results" (PDF). texassports.com. 26 March 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
28. "Men's 4×800m Relay Results". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). 1 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
29. "Women's 200m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
30. "800m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
31. "Texas Relays 2018 Results". tfrrs.org. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
32. "5000m Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
33. James Dunaway (1 April 2012). "Richards-Ross and Duncan impress at Texas Relays". IAAF . Retrieved 1 April 2012.
34. "Pole Vault Result". tfrrs.org. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
35. Tyler Mayforth (26 March 2021). "COLLEGIATE RECORD: Tara Davis Sets Outdoor LJ Standard". USTFCCCA. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
36. Adam Kopet (31 March 2018). "Tori Franklin Jumps to Second on All-Time American Triple Jump List at Texas Relays". dyestat.com. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
37. "Discus Throw Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
38. "Austin -TX- (United States), 27-30.3.2019 -Texas Relays-". trackinsun.blogspot.com. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
39. "Javelin Throw Results". flotrack.org. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
40. Rick Cantu; Danny Davis (1 April 2023). "Texas Relays notebook: Longhorns set meet record in 400-meter relay". statesman.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
41. "Women's 4×200m Relay Results". World Athletics. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
42. "Women's 4×800m Relay Results". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). 1 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
43. Rick Cantu; Danny Davis (1 April 2023). "Texas Relays notebook: Longhorns set meet record in 400-meter relay". statesman.com. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
44. "Women's DMR Results". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). 31 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

External links

• Texas Relays web site