Kentucky Hurdler Runs 12.36 Hurdles Time; Texas Women Torch 4x100 and 4x200 Records; Georgia Men Run 2:58.53 To Lead Three 4x400 Relay Teams Under 3 Minutes

By David Woods for DyeStat

Jamison Michael and Bert Richardson photos

AUSTIN, Texas – As a sun-baked Saturday turned to twilight, the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays were seemingly like a tired boxer who could no longer land a punch. Collectively, athletes had already run to three collegiate records, posted world leaders and revised all-time lists as temperatures climbed into the low 80s.

Nothing left?

Just like that, the Texas Relays pulled itself off the mat and boxed furiously.

Those leaving Mike A. Myers Stadium were as likely to recall Georgia’s epic run in the 4x400-meter relay or a riveting pole vault duel as they were anything else. Recency bias, of course, because those were nearly the last two events completed.

But that’s the kind of four-day feast of track and field this was.

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS

Georgia led an unprecedented trio of teams under 3:00, finishing in 2:58.82, or just off the collegiate record of 2:58.53 set by Florida last year. Branson Ellis of Stephen F. Austin and Zach Bradford of Texas Tech both vaulted 19-2.75/5.86m, with Ellis winning on the countback. They share the outdoor world lead.

In women’s relays, Texas set its second and third collegiate records over two days, lowering those to 42.00 in the 4x100 and 1:28.05 in the 4x200.

Most startling individual breakthrough was by Kentucky’s Masai Russell.

She lowered her time in the 100-meter hurdles by more than three-tenths to 12.36, smashing the 10-year-old collegiate record of 12.39 held by Olympic champion Briana Rollins-McNeal of Clemson. It was the fastest wind-legal time ever as early as April 1.

In an already crowded field of American hurdlers, the 22-year-old Russell has thrust herself into the conversation for 2023 World Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I always knew that I would be a part of the conversation when I put everything together,” she said. “So it’s great for it to finally be happening before my eyes.”

LSU’s Alia Armstrong was second in 12.57. Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, the 20-year-old Jamaican who beat Russell at indoor NCAAs three weeks ago, did not start.

Russell, of Potomac, Md., is from the prominent Bullis School program. Her previous PB was 12.71, although she set a collegiate record indoors. In last year’s outdoor NCAAs, she was third in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 400 hurdles. She said she is “still off the NCAA peak” and resolved to train harder.

“And then possibly drop some 12.20s later in the season,” she said.

The all-time collegiate top 10 features three Kentucky hurdlers: Russell; Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, third at 12.40; Olympic silver medalist and former world record-holder Keni Harrison, ninth at 12.50. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Abby Steiner have also been part of the Kentucky stable.

“If I do the same thing, follow the footsteps that these successful women took, then I’ll be just as successful and renowned as them,” Russell said.

She ran for the Kentucky team in the 4x100 that finished second in 42.81.

Texas’ Julien Alfred, Ezinne Abba, Lanae Thomas and Kevona Davis won in 42.00, breaking the collegiate record of 42.05 set by LSU in 2018.

Before that, in the 4x200 relay, Alfred (Saint Lucia), Rhasidat Adeleke (Ireland), Thomas (Henrietta, N.Y.) and Davis (Jamaica) clocked 1:28.05. That broke the collegiate record of 1:28.78 set by Oregon at the 2017 Florida Relays. It could not be ratified as a world record anyway – the four don’t represent the same nation – but the time compares favorably to the 1:27.46 by a U.S. team anchored by Marion Jones at the 2000 Penn Relays.

Texas won the 4x400 in 3:23.27, anchored by Adeleke’s 49.47. That collegiate record was out of reach: 3:21.93 last year by a Kentucky team featuring Steiner.

Alfred, the NCAA indoor champion and collegiate all-time best at 60 and 200, also ran on the sprint medley team setting a collegiate record Friday. Strikingly, she has nine collegiate records since Jan. 21: five in the 60, one in the indoor 200, three in outdoor relays.

Alfred said she wants to help deliver Texas its first NCAA team title since 2005. She is unworried about coach Edrick Floreal inducing the Longhorns to race too fast too early.

“I’ve said it before, and I think everybody knows. But ‘Flo’ knows, and I trust my coach enough,” Alfred said.

In the men’s 4x400, Georgia’s foursome had NCAA indoor champions on the first two legs, Elija Godwin and Matthew Boling, but entrusted the anchor to freshman Will Sumner. Sumner was passed by Alabama and UCLA but reclaimed the lead with a 44.80 carry.

Sumner was perhaps the fastest 400/800 combo runner in high school history, having arrived in college with PBs of 45.78/1:46.53.

“I just wanted to trust my strength at the end,” he said. “When those guys passed me, I just trusted I could pass them again. So that’s what I did.”

Alabama was second in 2:59.15 and UCLA third in 2:59.25. They climbed to Nos. 6 and 8 on the all-time collegiate list.

Earlier, Georgia set another Texas Relays record of 1:20.22 in the men’s 4x200 relay. It is the No. 6 time in collegiate history, behind four times by TCU, whose record of 1:19.67 has stood since 2000.

In the pole vault, Ellis and Bradford climbed into a tie for No. 6 on the all-time collegiate list.

After Bradford made his first attempt at 19-0.75/5.81m and Ellis missed, Ellis passed his next two attempts at that bar. Then Ellis made his second (and last) try at 19-2.75/5.86m, jostling the bar. Bradford made it on his third.

“I’ve never gotten any bar love my whole entire career,” Ellis said. “So it was nice to kind of hit one and it stay up.”

At indoor NCAAs, Bradford was second and Ellis no-heighted.

Ole Miss’ McKenzie Long wins 100 in 11.00

Elsewhere in women’s events:

>> Mississippi’s McKenzie Long, after a 10.80w in prelims, backed that up by winning the 100 in 11.00 (+0.2). Long, a transfer from North Carolina State, is less than three years removed from hip surgery. “Honestly, from my indoor season to outdoor season, I was completely nervous,” she said. “I added a lot of pressure on myself. I did such a good job indoors, I want to keep that momentum going. This just proved it.” Bahamian freshman Anthaya Charlton of Kentucky was second in 11.13.

>> Georgia sophomore Elena Kulichenko won the women’s high jump with an outdoor PB of 6-2.75/1.90m. She was third in the NCAA indoors. The Russia-born Kulichenko, 20, changed her affiliation to represent Cyprus.

>> LSU set a meet record of 8:20.69 in the 4x800 relay, thanks to Michaela Rose’s 1:58.40 anchor. The relay is 10th-fastest in collegiate history, behind two other times by LSU.

Texas Tech’s Terrence Jones runs 20.05 in 200

Elsewhere in men’s events:

>> Texas Tech’s Terrence Jones, the NCAA indoor champion at 60 meters, won the 200 in a world-leading 20.05 (+2.0).

>> Nebraska’s Darius Luff won the 110 hurdles over Tennessee’s Devon Brooks, 13.39 to 13.40. NCAA Division 2 indoor 60-meter hurdles champion Cordell Tinch of Pittsburg State was leading until he struck a barrier.

>> LSU won the 4x100 relay in 38.53. Iowa was second in 38.70, just .03 off the Big Ten record set by Ohio State in 2018.

>> South Plains (Texas) set a national junior college record of 7:15.66 in breaking the meet record in the 4x800 relay. Previous record of 7:19.24 by Blinn had stood since 1992. Mehmet Celik, a 21-year-old freshman from Turkey who won a JC indoor title at 1,000, anchored for South Plans in 1:45.57.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.