The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track & Field ranked No. 2, No. 3 in preseason
01.06.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns among favorites to win NCAA titles
Links to USTFCCCA Rankings: Top 25 | By Team | By Event | Men's Release | Women's Release
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track and Field has established itself as one of the top programs in the nation and in 2016 both the men and women are among the teams considered one of the favorites to win NCAA titles. The USTFCCCA announced its preseason indoor rankings on Wednesday and the Longhorn men and women are both in the Top 5.
The Texas men enter 2016 ranked No. 2 in the nation as one of the favorites to win their first NCAA team championship in program history. The women are No. 3 in the preseason rankings and eyeing their first indoor title since 2006.
Last year, the men's squad finished sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships with 25 points and with all the student-athletes responsible for scoring those points returning to the team in 2016, "the Longhorns could also be poised for a title run," according to USTFCCCA.
Senior Ryan Crouser only has indoor eligibility remaining and hopes to win his fourth overall NCAA title and second indoors in the shot put after finishing second last year indoors and will be the heavy favorite to win in 2016. Zack Bilderback broke the school record indoors in the 400 meters and came away sixth at the NCAA meet. Senoj-Jay Givans finished fourth in the 60 meters and also broke the school record in the event. He is ranked fifth entering the year. They hope to improve UT's status in the sprints in 2016 with many of the major players from a year ago now in the professional ranks.
In addition to Givans and Bilderback in the sprints, transfer Aldrich Bailey, Jr. is ready for action after sitting out last season. The former Texas A&M Aggie is ranked No. 2 in the preseason rankings in the 200 and sixth in the 400, one spot behind Bilderback.
One event that saw a lot of talent graduate or turn professional was the men's pole vault. That could play to the advantage of Big 12 runner-up Reese Watson. He enters the season ranked No. 2 in the field with his personal best mark of 5.51 meters (18-1.00). Watson is one of only five athletes in the field this year to clear 18 feet in 2015.
Multi-events specialist Wolf Mahler had a breakout season last year and now is among the top in the nation in the heptathlon. He won the Big 12 title in the heptathlon in 2015 and then posted a personal best score at the NCAA Championships to finish sixth in one of the most tightly contested championships in some time for the event. His score ranks him eighth heading into the season.
With Bilderback and Bailey already among the nation's top 400 meter runners, the Texas men's 4x400 is also on the list of contenders in 2016. Last year, the Longhorns broke the school record en route to a surprising third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. With the addition of Bailey to the squad, the Longhorns could be ready to make more noise this year.
The Texas women finished sixth last year at the NCAA Championships with 33 points. Two of the four individuals who scored are returning along with two others who qualified for the championship meet.
Senior Courtney Okolo is the favorite to repeat as champion in the 400 meters. She also anchors a 4x400 meter relay team that looks to defend its title after posting the No. 5 time in collegiate history last year.
Senior Morolake Akinosun is one of the top short sprinters in the nation to watch. She narrowly missed making the final in the 60 meters last year, finishing ninth, and is ranked No. 3 in the event heading into the season. She also ranks ninth in the 200.
Former NCAA champion Kaitlin Petrillose looks to rebound in 2016. After breaking the collegiate record in 2014, she saw her mark fall in 2015 to a pair of pole vaulters. One graduated, leaving Petrillose at No. 2 in the rankings heading into the season in a field that will be hotly contested again.
In her first year as a Longhorn, Sandie Raines earned first team All-America status in the 5,000 meters. She finished eighth a year ago and hopes to improve on that ranking this year for Texas as the distance group continues to get stronger.
Joining Okolo in the Top 10 in the 400 meters is juco transfer Chrisann Gordon. The Jamaican has international experience, winning gold this summer as a member of Jamaican's 4x400m relay team at the IAAF World Championships. She is ranked No. 8 in the 400 entering the 2016 campaign for Texas.
Other Texas women ranked outside the Top 10 are: Caitland Smith (26th, 60m and 32nd 200m); Okolo (18th, 200m); Raines (12th, 3000m); BJ Adeokun (20th, 60m Hurdles); Kally Long (12th, Pole Vault); Calie Spencer (19th, Pole Vault).
Other Longhorns ranked among the best in their events for the men but outside the Top 10 are: Givans (18th, 200m); Spencer Dunkerley-Offor (18th, 60m Hurdles); Basil Fares (10th, Long Jump) and Nick Phynn (13th, Triple Jump).
The Big 12 Conference has five men's teams and three women's teams ranked in the Top 25. The Kansas State women join Texas in the Top 5, coming in at No. 4 in the preseason rankings. TCU's men are No. 7 to also stand in the Top 10 with Texas. Florida is ranked No. 1 for the men with defending champion Arkansas standing No. 1 on the women's side.
Texas opens its season next weekend at the Texas A&M 11-Team Invitational in College Station on January 16. Action starts at noon from the Gilliam Indoor Track and Field Stadium. Two distance events will be held the evening before.
Players Mentioned
