The Texas A&M track team will make the short trip to Austin to compete Wednesday in the Texas Relays, a unique event that draws athletes from the high school, collegiate and professional ranks. 
More than 6,625 athletes are slated to compete over the four-day schedule of events. That includes representatives from 687 high school squads, 208 college teams and 134 invitational athletes, making it likely the only event of the season to see competitors from Southlake Carroll and the Japanese national team running on the same track. The massive field encompasses 34 states and over eight countries.
The Aggies debuted at No. 1 in the men’s and women’s divisions in the first set of outdoor track rankings released Tuesday. The outdoor season is still in its infancy, but the Aggies are already well represented on the collegiate leaderboard with the top marks in three individual events and two relays.
Senior Olabanji Asekun leapt to the No. 1 spot in a very literal manner last week in Tempe when he recorded a mark of 24 feet, 9 inches in the men’s long jump. That distance was 1 1/4 inch better than anyone else this season.
Junior Lathone Collie has also found himself atop the early season standing in the men’s triple jump after recording a mark of 52 feet, 4 3/4 inches. But the most dominant individual performance from last weekend’s opener belongs to Junior Shelbi Vaughn, who now holds the top three spots in the women’s discus with spins of 195-2, 195, and 187-5. Her best toss of 195-2 is the seventh-best in school history.
The Aggie men also lead the country in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Fresh off a new indoor collegiate record for the mile relay at the NCAA championships, the quartet of Josh Hernandez, Bralon Taplin, Deon Lendore, and Hector Hernandez wasted no time setting the pace again last weekend with a time of 3:06.67. Taplin and Lendore also had their hands in the 4×100, joining Devin Jenkins and Shavez Hart to post a nation-leading time of 38.98 seconds.
The event will be televised exclusively on the Longhorn Network. General admission for Friday and Saturday is $10. Onlookers can take in Wednesday and Thursday’s competition free of charge.