The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track & Field wins four USTFCCCA Regional Awards
03.04.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Crouser, Okolo, Buford-Bailey recognized by coaches association
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field has had a strong indoor season this year and the coaches across the nation have recognized it. On Friday, the USTFCCCA announced its regional awards and Texas came away with four awards for the South Central region.
Ryan Crouser was honored as the 2016 South Central Men's Field Athlete of the Year. Courtney Okolo received the Women's Track Athlete of the Year. Texas Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey was recognized for her work on the track as both the Men's and Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Crouser tied the indoor shot put collegiate record of 21.73m (71-3.50) at the Big 12 Conference Championship. It marked his eighth career Big 12 title in the event as he dominated the field. He threw 21.28m (69-9.75) at the Husky Classic earlier this year to break his own school record at the time and rank No. 10 in collegiate history while setting a meet record. Had four throws of 21 meters or better in his collegiate record series at the Big 12 meet. He has set four meet records and two facility records in four meets this year. Crouser leads the NCAA by more than 3 feet this year heading into next week's NCAA Championships.
Okolo proved to be the best in the Big 12 again as she won an impressive 200/400 double at Big 12 Championships. She set meet records in both, clocking 22.79 and 51.06. Her 51.06 is a world-leading time, improving on her own time of 51.19 from the Husker Invitational earlier this year. At the Tyson Invitational, Okolo split 50.59 on the 4x400 relay that clocked 3:27.94 to win a loaded race and rank No. 4 in collegiate history. She also split 50.77 at the Power Five Invitational to win in 3:34.36 and ran the 800-meter leg of the DMR in 2:07 at the same meet to finish 5th, her only loss this year.
Buford-Bailey coached her women's sprints group to a dominant performance at the Big 12 Championship. The Longhorns advanced multiple runners to the final in the 60, 200, 400 and 60m hurdles while scoring 15 or more points in all four events. On the men's side she coached Zack Bilderback to an amazing 200/400 double as well. He shattered the school records in both events, clocking 20.79 in the 200 and set the Big 12 Championship meet record in the 400 at 45.53. She also saw her men's 4x400 relay team of Bilderback, Chris Irvin, Byron Robinson and AJ Bailey break the school record at the Tyson Invitational in 3:04.41 to rank No. 7 in collegiate history. The trio of Bilderback, Bailey and Robinson also qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400, making Texas the only school with more than two entries in the event.
Crouser, Okolo and Buford-Bailey have been honored by the USTFCCCA multiple times before. All three won USTFCCCA national awards for their respective areas outdoors in 2014.
Texas heads to Birmingham, Alabama, next week for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The women's team has eight entries and the men have six as the Longhorns look to prove they are among the best track and field programs in the nation.
Players Mentioned
