Every spring since 1925, the Texas Relays have drawn the fastest runners, strongest throwers, and boldest jumpers from across the South of the U.S. to Austin. Originally established as a male-only meet, the event now stands as one of the premier showcases for both collegiate and high school athletes of all genders. It’s a place where state champions and Olympic potentials line up side by side. This year, LASA juniors Anna Ugarte and Eva Cragnolino stepped onto the track to test themselves against the best

Competing in front of packed stands at Mike A. Myers Stadium, Ugarte and Cragnolino joined a long legacy of athletes chasing fast times. However, this year’s roster highlighted how much the sport has evolved. When the Relays began 100 years ago, there were no womens races, and winning times were modest by today’s standards. The top 1600-meter time in the early decades hovered around five minutes for boys. Today, athletes like Cragnolino are shattering those barriers, running sub-five-minute miles and doing so in a girls final.

Ugarte, who competes in the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, and 4×400 relay, trained intensely leading up to the meet. She spent five days a week working out with a club team, splitting her sessions between hurdle-specific drills and sprint work. She explained that she knew it was worth it the moment she stepped into the starting blocks alongside some of the best hurdlers in the country. 

“Seeing everyone there helped me be motivated to keep going,” Ugarte said. “In the warmup area, you see everyone doing all their drills, and it’s such an inspirational environment to be in. Honestly, I was really scared because I was racing with these professionals and amazing runners, but I was just trying to stay in my zone and focus on myself, not anyone else.” 

Despite the pressure, Ugarte finished strong with a time of one minute and two seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. While she walked away feeling proud of her effort, she was already looking for ways to improve. 

“It’s exactly what I was looking for, but I know I can do better,” Ugarte said. “I have a certain rhythm that I’m supposed to do, so focusing on holding that rhythm and then at the end just kicking it as hard as I can and giving it everything I have. I try to tell myself, just don’t be scared. Once you get over it, you got it.” 

Ugarte’s journey with hurdles began in seventh grade, and her success this season is the result of years of hard work and patience. She emphasized that her success has not been instantaneous and credited her improvement to consistent training and advice from her coaches.

“Keep trying, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate progress,” Ugarte said. “I’ve been training pretty hard since freshman year, and I was struggling with my times then, but now I’m definitely improving. So, it’s taken a while, but I’m seeing progress.”

John Goodell, the head coach of LASA’s track and field program, accompanied Ugarte and Cragnolino to the Relays. To qualify them for the Texas Relays, he submitted their times from MileSplit, a site that records U.S. track and field meets. 

“Anna and Eva immediately said they wanted to compete,” Goodell said. “They are so serious that if anything, I try to provide some levity.”

Goodell emphasized his pride for the athletes and explained that he focused on calming them down instead of riling them up. He cheers them on when he can, but believes it’s more important to ease their nerves before a race, focusing on easy subjects like what music they’re listening to.

“Eva ran her fastest two-mile time this Friday, so she’s still got time to improve,” Goodell said. “They’ve worked most of their lives. They’ve both been given tremendous physical gifts, but those gifts are just one part of the equation.”

Cragnolino competed in the 1600 meters, facing a field filled with national-level distance runners. Leading up to the meet, Cragnolino maintained the same training base she had built during cross country season, running 40 to 45 miles each week. Her training’s structure balances different types of workouts, including circuits, where she fluctuates the intensity every few miles; and tempo runs, where she runs at a comfortable, sustained pace for a long period of time. 

“Every day I’ll run around seven to eight miles,” Cragnolino said. “I usually do an easier workout on Monday, something with circuits. Then on Tuesday, I’ll do a longer tempo workout. Wednesday and Friday are for speed, and the rest are just long runs. You have to make sure you have a good schedule. I always train in the evening or early morning and really just try to fit school work and studying around that. Because you can do work any time, but especially being in Texas with the weather, it’s better to run at certain times.” 

During the race itself, Cragnolino found herself with the top pack of runners. The first few laps went smoothly and consistently, but midway through the race, the leaders sped up, and she found it difficult to stay attached. 

“This race was pretty hard,” Cragnolino said. “Around the third lap, they really put in a surge, and I couldn’t quite stick with it, so I just tried to close out the last 200 strong.” 

Despite the difficulty, she finished sixth in the girls 1600-meter finals with a time of four minutes, 53 seconds. Cragnolino described the overall experience as both exciting and motivating. 

Their fast performances show how modern track and field has changed. Success now demands more from athletes, both in training and mentality. With “track inflation” pushing times lower every year, simply staying competitive requires relentless consistency, smart preparation, and a willingness to embrace challenges. Yet for Ugarte and Cragnolino, their Texas Relays debut showed that they are more than ready to meet the moment, and to keep chasing even faster times ahead.

“Track’s not like any other sport,” Goodell said. “What I saw on track this season–this is my first year as the head coach–was such a small sliver of what they do.”