After breezing past the competition in easy victories the first few weeks of the outdoor… After breezing past the competition in easy victories the first few weeks of the outdoor track and field season, the Panther track team was due for a serious test. They got just that at the Texas Relays this past weekend in Austin, Texas.

However, it wasn’t just the other athletes testing the strength of this Panther squad.

“Our biggest enemy out there was the weather,” Pitt head coach Alonzo Webb said. “We expected to run faster, but the weather wasn’t conducive, and actually, there were not a lot of great performances in general.”

According to Webb, the athletes had to contest with high winds and freezing rain. The weather was so bad at certain points that some coaches chose not to race their athletes, even though they had made it to the finals. Some finals races were cancelled altogether.

In addition to battling the elements, the meet featured some of the best track and field athletes in the country and, because of its selectivity, only about 14 Pitt athletes made the trip. The rest of the team remained home.

Pitt was well represented in the 1,500-meters race, earning two excellent performances from junior Sam Bair and senior Tim Konoval.

Bair, an All-American in the mile, came in second place in the 1,500- meters with a time of 3:48.85. Konoval finished in fourth the event at 3:50.5.

“Sam ran when it was probably the coldest and windiest, and distance runners in general are most affected by wind,” Webb said. “Even the winning time was not that great but he performed well considering.”

Pitt’s stud hurdler, junior Mike Wray, ran in the 100- and 400-meter hurdle event. Wray is the back-to-back Big East indoor 60-meter hurdle champion and an All-American, but that event does not exist in outdoor track. Therefore, Wray is using these first few weeks to transition to outdoor track’s version of the 60-meters, the 100-meter hurdles.

In Texas, Wray ran in the preliminary races and finished with a time of 14.31 in the 100-meter hurdles, and 55.54 in the 400-meter hurdles.

“Unfortunately, Mike [Wray] locked arms with a guy in his race, which knocked him off-balance, but he still only missed the final by one-hundredth of a second,” explained Webb. “He was disappointed, but it was only his first race of the outdoor season.”

The Pitt women dominated the field in the early meets of the outdoor season and thus entered more athletes in the Texas Relays.

The standout performer was senior Julianna Reed who led the team with a regional qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles. Reed’s time of 1:00.08 placed her second overall. Also competing in the 400-meter hurdles, but in the preliminary round, was Selena Sappleton at 1:03.24, Patricia Anyanwu at 1:04.5 and Brianna Broyles with a personal-best time of 1:02.88.

“Juliana hit the regional qualifier for the second straight week, this time in the rain,” Webb said. “She still wasn’t satisfied with her time, however.”

Pitt also had five competitors in the 100-meter hurdles with Shanea Calhoun leading the way with a time of 11.84. Her sister Shantea was a hair behind and finished at 11.89, followed by Raquel Bender (12.05), Janessa Murphy (12.31) and Mycaiah Clemon, who ran a personal-best 14.21.

The Panthers also competed in the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays, as well as the 1,600-meter sprint medley.

“We had a couple of good performances in the relays from some of our younger girls,” Webb stated. “Katelyn Brown, Brianna Broyles and Raquel Bender [two freshmen and a sophomore respectively] ran particularly good races. All in all, I thought we competed the best we could under those conditions.”

The Panthers’ next competition will be the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. The meet will run from April 11-14.

Like the Texas Relays, the Sea Ray meet is by invitation, meaning only those athletes with qualifying times can compete.