The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Long scores in NCAA Outdoor debut
06.09.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Seniors lead way on track during semifinals
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Remaining Television Schedule (times Central): Friday 7:30-10 p.m. ESPN | Saturday 5:30-8 p.m. ESPN | Live Video (also exclusive online content of field events, heptathlon)
EUGENE, Ore. – On the first day of action for the women at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships it was a pair of seniors who helped put the Texas Longhorns in contention after the semifinals as the team battled cold and rain at Hayward Field on Thursday night.
Courtney Okolo cruised to a win in her heat of the 400 meters, clocking in at 50.48 seconds. That time ranks as the fastest semifinal time in NCAA meet history.
Morolake Akinosun will go for the 100/200 double as she advanced to the final in both of her individual events. Akinosun crossed the line in 11.23 seconds in the 100 meters to post the No. 6 time on the day. She also ran 22.94 in the 200 to qualify based on time and rank seventh heading into the final.
Junior Chrisann Gordon will join Okolo in the final of the 400 meters. The 2015 NJCAA champion in the event ran 51.82 in her semifinal heat to post the No. 5 time of the day. She and Okolo will team up to attempt to give the Longhorns a point grab in the event in Saturday's final.
"It was a great day. I was proud of the athletes dealing with the elements, off and on cold rain," said Head Coach Mario Sategna. "Seeing our veterans with Morolake advancing in the 100 and 200, Courtney and Chrisann both in the 400 is great and a key for us this week."
Texas scored its first point of the meet with sophomore Kally Long finishing in the top eight in her first NCAA Outdoor Championship. Long cleared 4.20 meters (13-9.25) on her first attempt, which proved to be the difference in scoring for the Longhorns.
Three other vaulters cleared 4.20 on their first attempts while also having one miss at the opening height. That put the trio of Long, Alyssa Applebee of Missouri and Akron's Caroline Hasse in a three-way tie for seventh to each earn one point. A miss at 4.20 would have put Long in ninth as she and four others were eliminated at 4.30 meters (14-1.25).
"I was super-proud of Kally Long, All-American in her first trip to Eugene for this meet," Sategna said. "She did a great job. My hat goes off to Coaches Ty Sevin and Brian Elmore in that regard."
Redshirt freshman Ali Uhle was unable to clear 4.20 meters in the pole vault and posted a mark of 4.05 meters (13-3.50). A miss on her first attempt at 4.05 put her in a tie for 15th place.
The day started off on the track with the 4x100 meter relay team just getting edged out of the final. The team of Caitland Smith, Okolo, Zola Golden and Akinosun timed in at 43.85 seconds to finish fifth in its heat. The time was the ninth fastest on the day, but the Longhorns were credited with a 10th-place finish after a team grabbed an automatic spot in the final with a time just .01 slower.
"We ran a great time in that 4x100 relay and just missed out," Sategna said. "But we were in a tough heat, and if anything I think that set the tone for Courtney and Zola and even for Morolake to come back later in the day and do what they needed to do in their other races."
In other semifinal action for the Texas women on Thursday night at Hayward Field, junior Mary Beth Hamilton finished 18th in the 800 meters in her first NCAA Championship appearance. She ran a new personal best of 2:06.16 to show strong on the big stage in Eugene.
Sophomore Ariel Jones was unable to advance to the final in the 400 meter hurdles for the Longhorns. She finished 19th with a time of 58.92.
One more freshman was in action for the women with Ashley Miller qualifying for the championship meet in the 100 meter hurdles. Miller ran 13.38 seconds in her semifinal heat and finished in 21st place overall. She entered the meet ranked 24th in the field and also as the youngest competitor after graduating high school a year early to enroll at Texas for the fall semester.
"Again just like the men, we have some youth out there this week with Ashley Miller in the 100 hurdles and she's going to learn from this experience," Sategna said. "Also, a first-time NCAA qualifier in the 800, Mary Beth, is going to gain tremendous experience."
Texas closed the night with the fastest time of the semifinals in the 4x400 meter relay. Golden, Gordon, Jones and Okolo combined to cross the line in 3:28.37 and hold off the Arkansas Razorbacks in what was a rematch of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. This time around it was the Longhorns getting the win instead of Arkansas as Texas never trailed in the race and each leg was able to hold onto its small lead, setting up what could be a dramatic final event of the championship meet on Saturday afternoon.
Friday's action for the Longhorns will include junior Senoj-Jay Givans in the final of the 100 meters and Ashtin Zamzow as she begins the first day of the heptathlon. Givans ran the fastest time in the semifinals as he broke the school record and ran the No. 9 time in collegiate history at 9.96 seconds.
Action starts at 2:30 p.m. CST with the heptathlon. Givans will run at 8:22 p.m. Fans can watch the action live online on espn3.com and via the WatchESPN app on their tablet or smartphone with live TV action on ESPN. Heptathlon action will have exclusive feeds and cameras dedicated to each of its events via espn3.com throughout the competition.
Players Mentioned
