Track & Field grabs eight spots at NCAA Championships

Friday, May 29

Austin, Texas

Noon

University of Texas

NCAA West Preliminary Round

Meet Information Schedule of Events

Track & Field grabs eight spots at NCAA Championships

05.29.2015 | Track & Field / Cross Country

Longhorns shine in sprints on Day 2 of NCAA West Preliminary Rounds

AUSTIN, Texas – It was another good day at the track for the Texas Longhorns as the men's and women's teams combined to advance eight student-athletes to the NCAA Championships during the second day of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.

Texas ran a number of season-bests in the sprints and advanced the key athletes Head Coach Mario Sategna said his teams needed in order to be a force in Eugene, Oregon, in two weeks.

"We're advancing the people we need to," Sategna said. "To come out of this and feel like all the starts are aligned for us, that's not our sport of track and field. We're in a region where if you get out of this, you have a great chance to be one of the top eight at the national meet and be on that podium."

The women advanced two runners in the 400 meters and the 400 meter hurdles to make an early impact on the day. Morolake Akinosun also advanced to the championship site in the 100 meters.

Zack Bilderback moved on in the 400, and Senoj-Jay Givans ran his way to Oregon as well in the 100.

The other member of the team to advance through the West Preliminary Rounds was Ryan Crouser. The back-to-back NCAA champion won the shot put to put himself in position to go for a third straight title.

Texas also advanced seven runners to Saturday's quarterfinal rounds at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Action begins for the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at noon with the men's javelin. Other field events start in the afternoon and the running events are slated for a 6 p.m. start as the final spots at the NCAA Championships are on the line Saturday.

"The key going into the final day is to make sure we get all four relays through," Sategna said. "This is where this coaching staff along with our support staff has done a great job all year."

Crouser Ready to Defend Title
Senior Ryan Crouser has won back-to-back NCAA titles in the shot put. On Friday, he won the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds to try and make it three straight for the Longhorn. He won the competition with a mark of 20.03 meters (65-8.75). Fellow senior Will Spence took 24^th place in his final competition as a Longhorn.

"It doesn't matter who it is, when you only get three attempts in this new format, you can't take anything for granted," Sategna said. "You could tell he was pleased with his performance and he's close to hitting something big. Even though he'll be back for indoor season next year, this being his last outdoor season with us and going back to his home state for the championship meet, I think there are some great possibilities for him in both his throwing events."

Baisden, Spencer, Bilderback Poised for NCAA's
Texas advanced three of its four runners in the 400 meters on Friday evening as the women showed their depth with Ashley Spencer and Kendall Baisden moving on to Eugene, Oregon. Zack Bilderback took second in his heat to advance in the event for the men as well.

Baisden won the event in 51.31 seconds, and Spencer won her heat in 51.88 seconds. Spencer's time was a season-best and her first sub-52 time of the year.

"Ashley's getting better race by race. It wouldn't have mattered if she ran 51.99, still she's in the 51's now," Sategna said. "Kendall had a great performance coming off of the conference championship so that was great to see."

Bilderback finished second in his heat to grab an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships. He crossed the line in 45.91 seconds and finished second overall. Carlton Anumnu finished 16^th to miss out on a top 12 spot and advance to Eugene.

Givans, Akinosun Run Strong to Advance in 100
It was all business for a pair of All-Americans in the 100 meters for Texas. Morolake Akinosun won her heat to qualify for the NCAA Championships and Senoj-Jay Givans took second in his to also advance.

Akinosun ran a wind-aided 11.16 seconds to finish third behind the duo of Jasmine Todd and Jenna Prandini from Oregon. Freshman Caitland Smith finished 21^st with her time of 11.52 seconds.

Givans ran side-by-side with Baylor's Trayvon Bromell until the last few steps when the Bear edged him out for the win. Givans ran 10.05 and finished fifth overall on the night.

Also running for the men in the 100 was Charles Anumnu. He finished 22^nd with a time of 10.38.

"When you get out of our region in the 100, you're going to be a force at the national scene," Sategna said. "You've got the nation's best in the men's right here on our home track, but guess what? So, do we in Senoj-Jay Givans. He ran a great race against the fastest guy in the country, and he was very pleased with his performance. He's right on the brink of running sub-10 seconds, and that's a huge barrier for any collegiate runner to break."

Texas Two-Step in 400 meter Hurdles
The Texas women are set to send two runners to the NCAA Championships in the 400 meter hurdles as freshman Ariel Jones and junior Melissa Gonzalez continued to ride their success at the Big 12 meet two weeks ago into the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.

Jones ran a new personal best time in the quarterfinals on Friday evening as she crossed the line in 57.48 seconds. She finished second in her heat to grab an automatic qualifying spot at the NCAA Championships in Oregon in two weeks.

Gonzalez set the tone for Jones as she also finished second in the first quarterfinal heat of the 400 meter hurdles running 58.08 seconds.

"Melissa Gonzalez was going to do whatever it took to qualify with an automatic spot," Sategna said. "She wasn't leaving anything to chance. She came out of that final turn like gangbusters. And for a true freshman like Ariel, that's what you want in this program are people who are willing to take chances, they trust in their coach, they trust in the process and she's getting better and better."

Texas, Southern California and Washington State all advanced two runners to Eugene for the championship meet out of the West region.

Longhorns Move Through in Hurdles
Texas had a great day on the track in the hurdle events. The women's squad opened the running events for the day with two of three runners advancing out of the first round to the quarterfinals of the 100 meter hurdles.

Morgan Snow won her heat with ease while clocking in at 12.91 seconds. Her heat was wind-aided, but her time is the fastest she has run this season in all conditions. Joining Snow in the quarterfinals tomorrow will be BJ Adeokun. The sophomore transfer ran 13.31 seconds to finish third in her heat and grab an automatic spot in the next round. Freshman Ariel Jones ran 13.66 seconds and finished 34^th.

Spencer Dunkerley-Offor then made it to the next round for the men in the 110 meter hurdles by winning his heat as well. He crossed the line in 13.65 seconds.

"It was great to see Morgan Snow being the senior she is to set the tone and come out and run sub-13 seconds. That's what you have to run to make the national final," Sategna said. "BJ was better. She knows what she needs to do to solidify that top 12 spot, and that's why she transferred to The University of Texas.

"I remember vividly sitting in the stands at this meet last year with Spencer at Arkansas and telling him he can be a major force at the national meet. And he had to have that experience so he could go out there today and do his thing and put up a really nice time."

Freshman Follows Veteran Lead
Sprinters ran well for Texas in the 200 meters as well on Friday evening as Morolake Akinosun did what it took to run tomorrow night. She finished second in her heat to advance to the quarterfinals with her time of 22.99 seconds. Freshman Caitland Smith grabbed an at-large bid running 23.44 seconds to also move onto Saturday's quarterfinal.

In the men's 200 meters Charles Anumnu clocked in at 20.77 seconds to finish second in his heat and automatically qualify for the quarterfinals as well. Senoj-Jay Givans capped off his night by running 20.81 seconds and advancing through the first round after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100 earlier in the day.

Longhorns Can't Advance through Deep Pole Vault
In a year that has seen collegiate records broken multiple times, the women's pole vault proved to be one of the deepest fields in the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. Texas had four athletes competing and none were able to advance through to the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top 12.

It took a clearance of 4.24 meters (13-11.00) to get into the championship meet as 11 competitors cleared in competition and a 12^th did in a head-to-head jump-off for the 12^th spot at the national meet.

The height sets a new NCAA West Preliminary Rounds record and displays the strength of the event from a national perspective. Last year, a clearance of 13-3.00 would have locked up a top 12 finish to advance to Eugene. A clearance of 13-7.00 would have qualified each of the last four years. This year, 21 athletes cleared that height, plus two more athletes passed that height to clear 13-11.00.

Kaitlin Petrillose tied for 17^th place clearing 4.14 meters (13-7.00) on her third attempt. Freshman Shay Petty tied for 28^th place as she went over the bar at 3.99 meters (13-1.00) on her second attempt. A third-attempt clearance for freshman Kally Long tied her for 34^th.

Moore, Hamstra Close Season with Steeplechase
Nate Moore finished 22^nd for the men's team in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. He finished sixth in the first heat to hold onto the last at-large spot for the national meet with his time of 9:03.39. He could not keep his hold, however, as the second heat went out with a faster pace and he was ousted from the spot and would eventually finish in the 22^nd spot. Zach Hamstra closed his season for Texas in 46^th place, crossing the line in 9:27.57.