The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Preliminary Rounds
Track & Field punches even more tickets to NCAA Championships
05.28.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns display depth at NCAA West Prelims again
Complete Results | Texas Post-Meet Notes: Saturday | Friday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Texas Track & Field carried its momentum from Friday's action at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds into Saturday's action and came away with nine more tickets punched for the NCAA Championships in two weeks to. That brings the total spots in Eugene, Oregon, earned this week to 22, plus one more already in for the heptathlon means the Longhorns will have 23 entries at the championship meet.
Weather forced changes to the schedule and qualifying format of the meet earlier in the week and Texas Head Coach Mario Sategna said he was proud of how his team handled the unexpected difficulties.
"Overall as a program we were obviously thrown some curveballs here with the weather and having to completely revamp the schedule," Sategna said. "I think our staff did a great job of getting everybody prepared. It's about beating people head-to-head and they handled it first-class and things look really strong going into the national meet."
The Longhorns opened the day well on the track with both the men's and women's 4x100 meter relay teams advancing to the championship meet. Texas was one of only seven schools in the West region to qualify all four of its relay teams for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds.
Morolake Akinosun ran a strong anchor leg for the women in the first track event of the day to come from behind and finish third in the heat and secure an automatic bid to Eugene. The Texas team of Teahna Daniels, Courtney Okolo, Zola Golden and Akinosun ran 44.64 seconds.
The men followed suit by running 39.62 seconds and finishing third in their heat with Charles Anumnu, Senoj-Jay Givans, Zack Bilderback and Aldrich Bailey Jr. getting the baton around safely. That made Texas one of only four schools to advance both 4x100 relays to Eugene out of the West.
Texas closed the meet strong for the Longhorns as well with the women's 4x400 crew throwing down one of the fastest times in collegiate history. The team of Chrisann Gordon, Golden, Ariel Jones and Okolo crossed second in their heat behind Arkansas. The Razorbacks ran 3:25.48 for the No. 7 time in collegiate history and the Longhorns clocked 3:25.59 to rank ninth in collegiate history. That gives Texas five of the top 10 marks all-time, three of which have been run with Okolo on the squad.
The men's 4x400 was in a strong position throughout the race with the top three finishers of each heat earning automatic bids. Texas was in fourth at the start of the anchor leg and saw Bailey quickly move into third. He then pulled up with an apparent injury on the backstretch heading into the final turn and the Longhorns were unable to qualify in the event.
Mid-distance runners continued to make an impact on the meet for Texas after two advanced in the 800 meters on Friday. Freshman Alex Rogers ran his way to a ticket to TrackTown USA with his time of 3:43.77 in the 1,500 meters. That placed him eighth overall in a loaded field as the West has some of the top runners in the NCAA in this region. Senior Brady Turnbull took 33rd in the event.
Sategna said Rogers showed he has what it takes to be elite at this level and reminded him of another 1,500 meter runner that made a name for himself at Texas.
"I was excited for freshman Alex Rogers getting through in the 1,500. He's a gamer. He has the mindset that he is going get it done," Sategna said. "I think the last person I saw that had that attitude that he wasn't going take no or wasn't going take losing, was Leo Manzano, one of our all-time greats that competed in the Burnt Orange."
The final individual event of the meet for the Longhorns was the women's 5,000 meters and Big 12 Conference champion Sandie Raines will return to Eugene. She finished in 12th place, grabbing the final qualifying spot in 16:25.87.
Sategna had high praise for his distance coach after the meet. The Longhorns had seven competitors in the distance events this week and advanced four of them to the championship meet, an accomplishment that did not go unnoticed by Sategna because of the potential impact it has for the team now and long term.
"I have to be sure to complement Brad Herbster. That was great to see our mid-distance people come through and Sandie Raines come through. He's a well-rounded coach and he believes in those athletes, and the ones that have trusted the system and stayed the course have gotten through, and it's not by chance," Sategna said. "I think people can see where this program is heading whenever now you're qualifying not just a select few but it's across the board. Then with what we have coming in with our recruiting class, the future years are going to be very right for The University of Texas."
Sandie Raines is headed to Eugene! 2nd heat was a bit slower and she grabs the final spot. #HookEm #NCAATFWest pic.twitter.com/8vlqmGszUz
— Texas T&F/XC (@UTexasTrack) May 28, 2016
Texas displayed its depth in the women's hurdles with four Longhorns qualifying for this meet and fighting for a spot in Eugene in the 100 meter hurdles.
Freshman Ashley Miller clocked a new personal best time of 13.29 seconds to take third in her heat and grab the final qualifying spot based on time.
Miller was in the final heat and which bumped two other Longhorns out of the top 12. Ariel Jones also ran 13.29 seconds to finish 13th with Mobolaji Adeokun running 13.30 to finish 14th. The timers had to go down to thousandths of a second to determine who would finish 12th between Miller and Jones. Their official times were 13.285 and 13.286, respectively. Freshman
Sategna said he was pleased with Miller's performance against the nation's best when she should be finishing her senior year of high school right now rather than running in the NCAA Championships.
"I was really happy for Ashley Miller get through. Foremost, she graduated early from high school. This is her senior year and here she is getting out of the toughest region in the nation," he said.
Another true freshman showed their stuff in the men's hurdles as freshman John Burt put his return to football practice on hold by qualifying for the national championship. Burt sped across the finish line in a new personal record of 13.91 seconds to finish in 11th overall and punch his ticket to Eugene. Afterward, Sategna said Burt is helping carry the flag for great two-sport athletes in UT history.
"I was super-excited to see John Burt. He's a competitor," Sategna said. "He runs through those hurdles like he's running across the middle to catch a pass. And that's really important because we pride ourselves over the years in having some really good two-sport athletes. We've had some great ones and he's continuing that tradition."
Hey @Strong_TexasFB we're gonna keep John Burt around for a couple more weeks. He's headed to Eugene! #HookEm pic.twitter.com/dHq7QXfsqc
— Texas T&F/XC (@UTexasTrack) May 28, 2016
Freshmen qualifying for the NCAA Championships became a trend for the Longhorns on Saturday with another rookie getting the job done in the triple jump. Asa Garcia finished eighth with her mark of 12.93 meters (42-5.25), just one centimeter shy of her PR. Fellow freshman Georgia Wahl finished 35th in the competition and Nick Phynn was 34th in the men's triple jump.
With Garcia qualifying, two freshman jumpers are in after Steffin McCarter qualified in the men's long jump on Friday.
After seeing freshmen steal the show for a while, Akinosun won her heat of the 200 meters to advance. She clocked 22.81 seconds for a new season-best. By advancing in her two individual events and both relays qualifying, Akinosun will attempt to make history in Eugene. She is one of only two women to score points in four events at back-to-back NCAA Outdoor Championships. If she can repeat the accomplishment, she will separate herself from track and field legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
Sophomore Caitland Smith ran hard but was unable to advance in the 200 as she finished 19th in 23.41 seconds, just missing out on a repeat appearance at the national meet.
On the men's side of the 200, Senoj-Jay Givans ran 20.78 seconds to finish in 14th place and miss advancing by a very small margin. Charles Anumnu finished in 35th place.
Sategna said Givans showed spirit all weekend with how he ran the 100 meters on Friday and helped the 4x100 relay qualify.
"Senoj-Jay did a nice job getting through in the 100. It's hard whenever it's cold and early in the morning with this new schedule," Sategna said. "Today, he gave his all in that 200. There were some great times. It comes down to the tenth and sometimes even the thousandth. He's primed and ready to do some great stuff in the 100 meters. Any time you get to the final in these championship meets, I think anything is possible."
Also competing in field events for Texas on Saturday was a pair of redshirt freshman, again showing the youth movement within the team.
Brian Peterson finished 28th in the men's discus with his toss of 52.65 meters (172-9). N'Dia Warren-Jacques came in 35th in the women's shot. She tallied a mark of 14.48 meters (48-8.25). Lauryn Caldwell threw discus on Friday evening but had to wait until today for her result as the third and final flight was pushed to Saturday due to weather. She finished in 35th place as well.
Texas now turns its attention to training and preparing for the NCAA Championships hosted at Hayward Field at Oregon. The four days of competition are set to begin on June 8. This year's meet will keep the new schedule from last year with the men's and women's events being held on separate days to increase the drama of the team scoring.
"This group has a lot of pride and I know they will go out there and represent The University of Texas to the fullest," Sategna said. "On the women's side, there's obviously strength in numbers. I think if we get there and do what we're capable of I think we'll be more than satisfied as a team, as a program and as a university of what the possibilities might be."
Volunteer Pole Vault Coach Brian Elmore celebrates Kally (3rd) & Ali (t-7th) on getting to NCAAs! #NCAATFWest ?? pic.twitter.com/jERWCR8kca
— Texas T&F/XC (@UTexasTrack) May 28, 2016
Texas Track & Field NCAA Championships Qualifiers
^ denotes held on Friday | # denotes no regional qualifying for event
Men
4x100m Relay
Senoj-Jay Givans: 100m ^
Zack Bilderback: 400m ^
Robert Uhr: 800m ^
Alex Rogers: 1500m
John Burt: 110m Hurdles
Steffin McCarter: Long Jump ^
Barrett Poth: Pole Vault ^
Reese Watson: Pole Vault ^
Women
4x100m Relay
4x400m Relay
Morolake Akinosun: 100m ^, 200m
Courtney Okolo: 400m ^
Chrisann Gordon: 400m ^
Mary Beth Hamilton: 800m ^
Sandie Raines: 5000m
Ashley Miller: 100m Hurdles
Ariel Jones: 400m Hurdles ^
Asa Garcia: Triple Jump
Kally Long: Pole Vault ^
Ali Uhle: Pole Vault ^
Ashtin Zamzow: Heptathlon #
Head Coach Mario Sategna Quotes
On Rock Chalk Park sports complex opened in 2014 and host staff of Kansas: Kansas did a great job of putting the meet on at a first-class facility. It's not just great to see a facility like this for track and field but you can see the importance that another conference school puts into this and the resources they put into it.
On pole vault advancing four athletes through the West regional: The pole vault, year in and year out, this is the toughest region in the country. Ty Sevin did a phenomenal job. He had a great gameplan for what they needed to do, because you come in at a bar or two lower so you can get a rhythm going and he did a great job of coaching them through it.
On Aldrich Bailey: My heart goes out to AJ Bailey. Having to sit out last year, that takes a toll on a kid. He's always kept his head up. He felt his hamstring tighten up on the backstretch and he did the right thing. None of those other runners on the 4x4 will question that because they know what he's about. We hope with our great medical staff they will work to get him back on track so he could possibly anchor the 4x1 in Eugene.
Players Mentioned
