The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Four future Longhorns sign with Track & Field
11.09.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns welcome powerful recruiting class
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field has signed four future Longhorns to National Letters of Intent with the men's team pulling in a trio of recruits who rank among the best of the best in the U.S. for the respective events.
Co-Interim Head Coaches Tonja Buford-Bailey and Ty Sevin said this year's signing class may be smaller in size compared to previous years, but this is one of the top classes to sign with the men's team as all three signees were highly recruited across the nation and can make an immediate impact for the Longhorns.
"We are excited about the quality of athletes we have added to our program with these signings, especially on the men's side," said Buford-Bailey and Sevin. "This is the best signing class in the last four years for the men based on where these athletes rank in terms of athletic ability and academics.
"It also must be noted and recognized the work that went into this class from Assistant Coaches Zach Glavash and Brad Herbster. They worked hard to not just identify the best athletes in the nation in their events but also find athletes who have good academics and have a balance that will help them at The University of Texas. All of these future Longhorns are student-athletes who will live up to the legacy of UT Track & Field."
Adrian Piperi signs with Texas out of The Woodlands High School where he has been the nation's top thrower. He ranks No. 2 in the 2017 signing class in the shot put and No. 5 in the discus. He held the No. 1 spot in his class until the IAAF World Junior Championships this summer where he finished fifth for Team USA. Piperi is one of two recruits nationally to rank in the top five in the shot put and discus. He has a personal best throw of 73-5.25, which ranks him No. 8 on the all-time U.S. high school list.
Micaiah Harris signs with the Longhorns out of Chesapeake, Virginia. He comes from the same high school as Olympian Byron Robinson and won the Virginia state title this year in the 100 and 200 meters. He ran a personal best time of 20.77 in the 200 meters at the USATF Junior Championships to finish second and earn a spot on Team USA for the IAAF World Junior Championships.
Texas closed the recruiting season strong with Sam Worley verbally committing to Assistant Coach Brad Herbster over the weekend and signing his NLI on Wednesday. Worley was one of the most sought-after distance recruits in the nation, ranking No. 1 in the 1,600 meters, No. 4 in the 800 and No. 5 in the 3,200. He turned down offers from distance powers Stanford and Oklahoma State. He is the former teammate of current Longhorn Alex Rogers at New Braunfels Canyon where Worley took first in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200 this year at the state championship meet. The San Antonio Express-News named Worley its 2016 track athlete of the year.
For the women's team, Camille Johnson signs as the No. 2 javelin thrower out of California this year. She also comes from a family of Longhorns. Her brothers Collin and Kirk are currently on the UT football team and her father Johnnie was an All-American defensive back for the Longhorns in the late 1970's. Her uncle Bobby Johnson also played football for Texas.
Piperi and Johnson will join Texas next fall and will meet up with current freshman Elena Bruckner, who was the No. 1 girls thrower out of high school last year.
Texas has had success on the recruiting trails recently as Track & Field News ranked UT's women's signing class of 2016 the No. 1 class in the nation.
2016-17 Texas Track & Field and Cross Country Signees
Men
Micaiah Harris | Chesapeake, Va. | Western Branch| Sprints
Ranked No. 3 in Class of 2017 in 200m, Team USA at IAAF World Jr. Championships
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash: "We have been extremely excited about Micaiah's abilities since the very beginning of recruiting. He has International experience having been on the U.S. Junior Team, which will be a huge advantage to him at this level. Micaiah is incredibly talented physically but also has the mindset and passion that you find in the most successful student-athletes. He will be an immediate impact for us but we are most excited about his long term potential."
Adrian "Tripp" Piperi III | The Woodlands, Texas | The Woodlands | Throws
Ranked No. 2 in nation in shot put, No. 5 in nation in discus, No. 8 in U.S. high school history in shot put
Co-Interim Head Coach Ty Sevin: "I'm glad that we can continue to build off the success of Ryan Crouser, who set the standard for throws at the collegiate level as a Longhorn. His Olympic record is something all throwers will aspire to now, and bringing in what we viewed as the best overall thrower in this recruiting class will help keep Texas among the leaders in this event group. Trip is an athlete that will be able to contribute immediately for us at the conference and NCAA level."
Sam Worley | New Braunfels, Texas | Canyon | Distance/XC
Ranked No. 1 in Class of 2017 in 1600m, No. 4 in 800m, No. 5 in 3200m
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster: "Sam is a tremendous addition to the longhorn family. Sam is an impact distance runner who I feel has the best range among any high school distance runner in the country, and we are elated to add him to our distance group. Very few people have the academics and athletics that Sam has. Sam's family has done a tremendous job in developing him as a quality student-athlete but also an incredible individual."
Women
Camille Johnson | San Joes, Calif. | Valley Christian | Throws
Ranked No. 2 in California in javelin, 5th place at USATF National Junior Olympics
Co-Interim Head Coach Ty Sevin: "Camille will play a large role in our throws group when you add her to Haley Crouser in the javelin. She also has the fortune of being a born and raised Longhorn. With her father, uncle and brothers playing football at Texas, the recruiting process was an amazing experience with her family and she is just as likely to have success wearing Burnt Orange. We are excited to add another legacy Longhorn to our program."
Players Mentioned
