Texas Track & Field, ranked No. 18/19 nationally, will resume outdoor postseason competition at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Fayetteville, Arkansas, starting Wednesday, May 27. The team has entered 35 student-athletes who will compete for spots at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The event is scheduled to take place from Wednesday through Saturday at John McDonnell Field and will be streamed live on ESPN+. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday and Thursday and at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Fans can follow live stats via Flash Results or get updates through @TexasTFXC on Twitter/X.
Several Texas athletes are entering the meet with top national rankings based on their performances this season. Kody Blackwood is ranked No. 2 nationally in the 400-meter hurdles after his SEC title-winning time of 48.26 seconds, which also tied the SEC Championship meet record and moved him to No. 2 all-time for Texas performers in that event. Kendrick Smallwood holds a No. 4 national ranking in the 110-meter hurdles after setting a new school record with a time of 13.12 seconds.
On the women’s side, Amelliah Birdow ranks third nationally in the 400-meter hurdles following her personal-best finish of 54.79 seconds at the SEC Outdoor Championships; Mackenzie Collins and Anouk Krause-Jentsch are also among the nation’s top competitors in that event at Nos. 11 and 14, respectively. Abigail Wolfe (No. 5) and Carleta Bernard (No. 10) are highly ranked nationally in the women’s 100 meters.
Both women’s relay squads are currently ninth nationwide: Bernard, Elise Cooper, Wolfe, and Naomi London form one of the country’s leading sprint relay teams; Birdow joins Cooper, Ramiah Elliott, and Bayleigh Minor for another top-10 group in the longer relay event.
The Longhorns’ contingent includes other standout performers such as Michael Pinones (No. 8 shot put), Giavonna Meeks (No. 11 hammer throw), Kelsey Daniel (No. 7 triple jump), Chris Brinkley Jr., Jayden Jones, Tabea Eitel (heptathlon), Jeanne Le Goff (triple jump), Sam Abati (pole vault), Isabel Conde de Frankenberg (1,500 meters), Sophie Atkinson (distance events), Hudson Bennett (steeplechase), as well as both men’s relay teams ranking inside or near national top-20 lists.
