Kentucky track and field shone brightly in Austin, Texas, during the Texas Relays with multiple event wins, consistently remaining strongest in the women’s hurdles.
Emmi Scales led the pack, landing herself in 11th place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles on her first day of the event, then winning both 100-meter races the following two days.
The junior has stacked on breakthrough races the entire season, and continues to do so with just three events left in the regular season.
Scales’ weekend began on day two of the event, with her first event not panning out as expected.
With an 11th place finish, Scales ran 1.79 seconds back from the event winner, running a 58.17.
Right in the vicinity of her final time was her freshman teammate, Vanice Kerubo Nyahisera, who came in second, running a 56.73.
Scales, a consistently fierce competitor, took the adversity from a double-digit placing to triumphing to the top in the 100-meter races..
She’s proven that throughout her three years with Kentucky, from posting multiple UK and personal records to her Second Team All-American honor in 2025.
As one of the most influential hurdlers amongst this women’s track team, the fierce leader and competitor stood out the rest of the weekend.
The second and third days of events brought Scales’ specialty in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and the women’s 4×100 relay, where she shone both days alongside her teammates.
In the relay, Scales aided her team in a fourth place finish with a time of 44.20.
Winning both hurdling events and qualifying in three of the four events she ran, Scales made a lasting impact during the road trip to the Lone Star State.
She was set for the 100-meter hurdles not even an hour after finishing the relay, where she proceeded to win first place, setting a personal record for herself at a time of 12.75 – an NCAA No. 1 time for 2026.
The time also moved her into fourth all-time at Kentucky.
Scales repeated the quick turnaround after a fifth-place finish and a 43.98 time in the following day’s 4×400 relay.
Mirroring the day prior, her name topped the leaderboard 40 minutes later as she got another first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
Running a 12.82, just 0.07 seconds slower than the time she set the day prior, Scales posted two of the fastest times in NCAA history.
Scales is closing in on the Kentucky and national record set back in 2023 on the very same track in Austin, Texas, with a time 12.36 which was set by Olympian Masai Russell.
Scales’ 12.75 sits as a 0.26 second increase from what she ran in the national championship race last year.
The leadership and work ethic surrounding the entirety of Kentucky track has made the team a force to be heard as it makes its way towards the postseason.
Kentucky track and field will stay on the road to take on the Wake Forest Invitational in North Carolina. The invitational is set for Thursday, April 16, for distance runners only.
