The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Howie Ryan Invitational
Track & Field sends groups to Houston, Seattle
01.29.2015 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns split for action at two meets
Howie Ryan Invitational
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UW Invitational - Meet Central
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The Texas Longhorns split up again this week to compete at the Howie Ryan Invitational in Houston and the UW Invitational on the West Coast. Both meets will be two-day meets and feature some of the nation's top athletes in a few of the events.
Texas will send a small group of mostly sprinters to the meet hosted by the Houston Cougars where the Horns will see competition from a number of regional schools. Some top 25 talent in the men's and women's hurdles will be on display in Houston to give the meet a top end event.
At the UW Invitational in Seattle hosted by the Huskies, Texas will have its pole vaulters and throwers in action. The men's pole vault will feature three athletes currently ranked in the top 10 this season as Reese Watson faces a pair of Huskies in that group.
Action in Houston begins at 10 a.m. Friday but the Horns will not see the track until late afternoon when running events begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday's schedule begins at 9 a.m. and running events start at noon.
The UW Invitational will feature a pentathlon and heptathlon starting at 1 p.m. Pacific on Friday. The Horns' first event will be at 5:30 p.m. with the women's and men's pole vault. Saturday, Texas will compete in the shot put at 1 p.m. local time, 3 p.m. CT.
Fans can follow the action of both meets online with live results provided by flashresultstexas.com in Houston. A link to live results at Washington is available at gohuskies.com as well as at texassports.com.
The UW Invitational will be webcast live online by FloTrack. Subscribers to the site's FloPro service can watch the meet. Links will be provided online by UW and Texas. Updates from both meets will be available on Twitter by following @UTexasTrack.
Events to Watch
UW Invitational
• Men's Shot Put: NCAA defending champion Ryan Crouser will see BYU's Zach Stetler in the field. Stetler is currently No. 35 in the nation.
• Men's Pole Vault: All-American Reese Watson will be up against some of the top vaulters in the country. Washington has Jax Thoirs and Lev Marcus currently ranked in the Top 10 along with Reese. UT senior Mark Thomas also is ranked No. 16 on the TFRRS list.
• Women's Pole Vault: Four women ranked 37th or better will be in action. UT's Kaitlin Petrillose is ranked No. 9 so far this season clearing 4.22 meters and is the defending NCAA champion. Washington's Diamara Planell Cruz is 22nd in the country at 4.05 meters.
Howie Ryan Invitational
• Women's 60m Hurdles: Mobolaji Adeokun ranks No. 24 so far this year with her time of 8.42 seconds. Danielle Demas ran the same time at altitude last week at the Lobo Collegiate Open for Sam Houston State.
• Men's 60m Hurdles: Spencer Dunkerley-Offor is No. 31 this year with his time of 7.95 seconds. He will be one of the top runners in the field in Houston and could potentially see No. 1 Isaac Williams of Houston (7.72 seconds) in a semifinal or final heat.
Texas Track & Field Notebook
400m Depth
• The women's team boasts three returning first team All-Americans in the 400m
• Based on last year's fastest times, Ashley Spencer leads the group as the No. 2-ranked runner and time of 51.54.
• Courtney Okolo is ranked 3rd in the event with an indoor best of 51.56.
• Kendall Baisden is No. 7 according to USTFCCCA after finishing 5th last year.
• Spencer and Okolo represent the last three NCAA outdoor titles in the 400m.
• Spencer and Okolo are yet to run a 400m race this season.
• Baisden has run the fastest 400m so far this year, clocking in at 51.81 seconds to win at the Rod McCravy Memorial against an NCAA caliber field.
Top 10 Expectations
• Texas is again among the best of the best so far in the 2015 season. Seven teams currently have their men's and women's teams ranked in the Top 10 of the USTFCCCA Rankings. Texas was one of five schools to boast that in the preseason rankings as well.
• Texas currently ranks No. 7 on the women's side and No. 10 for the men.
• The Big 12 Conference is well represented in the Top 25 with five men's teams and five women's teams ranked this week. Three on each side are No. 13 or better.
Akinosun Winning in Style
• Sprinter Morolake Akinosun has opened the season with a pair of wins in the 60 meters. She recently did it against a field of NCAA title contenders at the Rod McCravy Memorial with a time of 7.22 seconds.
• Akinosun bested three runners who were in the NCAA final last year in that win.
• Akinosun opened the year with a win at the Arkansas-Texas Dual in 7.27 seconds.
• She ranks No. 4 in the nation so far this season in the 60m.
• "It was like a national final and Morolake came out victorious. I'm very proud of her. She's the consummate team player. You talk about a utility type person, and she fits the bill, doubling in the 60 and 200 meters and also running on the 4x4." - Head Coach Mario Sategna
Bilderback Ranked No. 2
• Sprinter Zack Bilderback finished second at the McCravy Memorial with his time of 46.70 seconds. He finished behind post-collegiate runner Bryce Spratling. Bilderback's time puts him No. 2 among the college ranks so far this season.
Pole Vaulters Soar in New Mexico
• Reese Watson finished second at the Lobo Collegiate Open, clearing 5.45 meters (17-10.50) for a new indoor personal best. He ranks eighth in the nation so far this season.
• NCAA champion Kaitlin Petrillose finish third with a clearance of 4.22 meters (13-10.00). Freshman Kally Long took fourth with fellow freshman Shay Petty tying her height of 4.02 meters (13-2.25) to finish fifth. Petty along with Anne Harwig both set indoor PR's.
Freshmen Throwers Dominate for Texas in Opener
• Redshirt freshman Alan Zapalac posted a win in his first competition as a Longhorn. He registered a throw of 18.56 meters (60-10.75) for the victory and ranks as the No. 3 Longhorn in UT history. His throw also is the No. 8 performance of all-time by a Longhorn.
• N'Dia Warren-Jacques and Lauryn Caldwell finished 1-2 in the weight throw at the Arkansas-Texas Dual. The pair then reversed their order and took the top two spots in the shot put.
• Caldwell and Warren-Jacques also rank No. 9 and No. 10 in school history in shot put.
Givans Doubles in Sprints
• Sophomore sprinter Senoj-Jay Givans came away with two upset wins at Arkansas. After winning the 60 meters in a photo finish in 6.70 seconds, he backed that up with a win by just .002 of a second over Arkansas' Jarrion Lawson in the 200 in 21.18.
• Givans' time in the 200 ties his with teammate Zack Bilderback for No. 5 in Texas history and it is the No. 11 time in the nation so far this season.
2015 The Bowerman Watch List
• 3-time NCAA champion Ryan Crouser is on the men's preseason watch list.
• NCAA indoor champ and NCAA record holder Kaitlin Petrillose is on the women's list.
Golden Kendall
• Sophomore Kendall Baisden won two gold medals this summer at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships. She won the 400m and ran a leg of the victorious 4x400m relay for Team USA.
Standard Bearers
• Texas currently holds eight collegiate records combined among the men and women. The nearest competitor is Arizona and Colorado with five.
Players Mentioned
