The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track and Field Sweeps Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors
02.17.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Crouser, Women's 4x4 proving to be national forces
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field saw great success over the weekend at two different meets and came away with a Big 12 Conference Athlete of the Week award from each.
Senior thrower Ryan Crouser put himself among the top 10 best collegiate shot putters of all time at the Husky Classic on Saturday. Crouser's toss of 21.28 meters (69-9.75) broke his own school record by five centimeters and puts him at No. 10 on the all-time NCAA performers list. He is the first men's shot putter to crack that list since 2008 when current collegiate record holder Ryan Whiting and Russ Winger, No. 9 on the list, both did so. Crouser's mark ranks him No. 3 in the world so far this season and gives him a lead on the current NCAA season by just under two feet.
For the women, the Longhorns' 4x400 meter relay team was recognized as the women's recipient of Big 12 Athlete of the Week.
The tandem of Chrisann Gordon, Morolake Akinosun, Ariel Jones and Courtney Okolo blazed their way to No. 1 in the world so far this year with a time of 3:27.94 to win the Tyson Invitational. That time ranks No. 4 in collegiate history and gives Texas six of the best 11 performances ever by a college 4x4 team. That time was just .52 off the school record and .54 off the collegiate record. Okolo ran the anchor leg with a split time of 50.59 seconds.
This is the second Big 12 Athlete of the Week honor for Crouser this season. This is the first group win of the season for one of UT's relay teams. Last week Okolo received the women's honor individually for her world-leading time in the 400 meters at the Husker Invitational.
Texas is taking this weekend off from competition in order to rest and prepare for next week's Big 12 Conference Championships. The Longhorns look to defend both their men's and women's titles in Ames, Iowa, Feb. 26-27.
Players Mentioned
