Two-hundredths of a second separated Texas sophomores Bayleigh Minor and Elise Cooper in the women’s 400-meter race at the Texas Invitational last spring. Six Longhorns finished among the top seven.
For Texas women’s track and field, that serves as a glimpse of the depth that could define its upcoming season. Across the 400-meter, 400-meter hurdles and the 4×400-meter relay, the Longhorns are returning multiple national qualifying runners and a school record holder.
Minor said the group’s strength goes beyond time on the track.
“I think we have a really good bond because we’re always practicing together, lifting together,” Minor said. “So always just being around each other really helps our bond.”
She won the Texas Invitational 400-meter with a time of 51.22 seconds, just ahead of Cooper’s 51.24. Longhorn seniors Amelliah Birdow and Ramiah Elliott and juniors Anouk Krause-Jentsch and Mackenzie Collins also all finished amongst the top seven.
Minor later ran a personal-best time of 51.12 at the NCAA West Preliminaries to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she placed 14th.
Her success during her freshman season also came with a growing sense of confidence in herself. Minor said one of the biggest lessons that she learned that season was learning to believe in her own potential.
Assistant spring coach Keilah Tyson, who joined Texas in 2025, has also stressed the importance of helping athletes recognize their potential, both on and off the track.
“My goal is to pour into our student-athletes not just physically, but mentally to realize their full potential,” Tyson said in a Texas Athletics release.
In addition to gaining confidence in her own ability, Minor said she has taken on a larger leadership role with the team, encouraging her younger teammates just as older runners encouraged her during her first year with the program.
This group’s depth also extends to the 400-meter hurdles. Birdow, a senior who transferred from Texas Christian University, broke the program’s 400-meter hurdles record in June while finishing second at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 53.60 seconds. Krause-Jentsch also reached the national meet in the same event.
Texas’ roster includes runners who are capable of competing across multiple spring distances, giving the team flexibility when assembling its relay teams.
“Our 400 has definitely grown,” Minor said. We have a bunch of hybrids who can (run) from the one (hundred-meters) to the four (hundred-meters).”
That versatility helped Texas win the Sanya Richards-Ross 4×400-meter relay at the Texas Relays in April. Birdow, Cooper, Elliott and Minor combined for a time of 3:27:74.
Minor said the relay group entered that race with something to prove after they came up short, finishing second in the 4×200-meter relay earlier in the same meet.
“We were like, ‘okay, we got to come back and win this 4×400,’” Minor said.
With both returning runners and new additions, the Longhorns hope their depth can translate into even stronger team results after finishing tied for 20th at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“We definitely want to place at (SECs), as a team,” Minor said. “We just want everybody to do well, we want to see (personal-bests) across the board.”
