Texas hurdler Emilia Chatfield leads Longhorns contingent at Texas Relays

Emilia Chatfield arrived in Texas from her Florida home four years ago, but the jury is still out on whether she's a true Texan.

"Well, I don't own a pair of cowboy boots," Chatfield conceded after running at the Texas Relays on Friday at Myers Stadium. For that matter, she doesn't own a cowboy hat either, but is considering buying both items before she graduates with a degree in applied movement science in May.

Chatfield was one of Texas' brightest stars on the third day of the Relays, capturing her heat in the 100-meter hurdles to qualify for Saturday's final. Her time of 13.06 seconds was the third-fastest among the qualifiers.

The senior began her track career at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale but wanted to leave Florida for college. She said she chose Texas because of its tradition of track and field excellence. She won the 60-meter hurdles in the Big 12 Indoor Championships earlier this season in Lubbock, a race she calls her best memory of her four years in Austin.

She plans to remain in Austin after she graduates to continue training with Longhorns head coach Edrick Floréal with hopes of earning a spot in the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 21-30 in Eugene, Ore. Her goal is to compete in this summer's Olympics in Paris or in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

Around the Texas Relays

Foster takes the long jump: Texas freshman Aaliyah Foster captured the women's long jump, finishing with a leap of 22 feet, 1.75 inches. She narrowly defeated Oklahoma's Jasmine Akins, who finished at 21-5.5.

Horns sprint the finish: In the night session, Texas made an early impact, taking first in the men's sprint relay. The team of Nolton Shevlin, John Rutledge, Brian Herron and Yusuf Bizimana won the race in 3:15.03. TCU (3:17.88) and Texas Tech (3:18.92) came in second and third, respectively.

Red Raiders impress: Texas Tech, which has a large contingent at the Relays, was the top qualifier in the women's 400-meter relay. The team of Rosemary Chukwuma, Success Umukoro, Alyssa Colbert and Serena Clark crossed the line in 44.02 seconds. Howard and UTEP finished second and third, respectively, with identical times of 44.78.

Speaking of Texas Tech, sophomore Antoine Andrews had the fastest time in the men's 110 hurdles, finishing in 13.55 seconds to beat Northeastern's Exilhomme's time of 13.56.

On to Saturday's final: In perhaps the day's most competitive event, Cal State Fullerton and Ohio State were on top of the leaderboard in the men's 400 relay, posting identical times of 39.88 seconds. That sets up an exciting final Saturday with Arizona State (39.90) and Cal (39.91) in the mix.

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Neugebauer wins the decathlon: As expected, Texas senior Leo Neugebauer outclassed the field in the decathlon, winning the event with a total of 8,708 points. He took first place in six of the 10 events — the long jump, high jump, 400 meters, pole vault, discus and shot put. Washington State's Lee Walburn was second with 7,694 points.

A heptathlon bronze: Texas senior Kristine Blazevica earned a bronze medal in the heptathlon, finishing with 5,662 points in the seven-event competition. The winner was Ball State's Jenelle Rogers, who earned 5,825 points.

Jess wins bronze: Texas junior Eva Jess earned a bronze medal in the 5,000 meters, crossing the line in 16:04.83. The winner was high school sensation Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion, who competed in the college event with an invitation. She finished with a blistering time of 15:25.27, a meet record.

Men's 1,600-meter relay: Oklahoma State edged Texas for the fastest qualifying time in the men's 1,600-meter relay. OSU's team of DeJuana McArthur, Jordan Smith, Caia Alemeida and Darian Tarver finished with a time of 3:08.29. The Texas team of Kendrick Smallwood, Logan Popelka, Caleb Hulbin and Elijah Mosley were a step behind at 3:09.59.

Women's 1,600 relay: Arkansas posted the fastest qualifying time in the women's 1,600-meter relay. The team of Amber Anning, Rosey Effong, Nickisha Pryce and Sanu Jallow crossed the finish line at 3:35.08. Northwestern State was second at 3:35.50.