The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Women's Track & Field finishes fourth at NCAA's
06.11.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Okolo closes career as champion
Complete Results | Texas Post-Meet Notes
EUGENE, Ore. – Saturday marked the end of another strong season for Texas Track & Field as the women's team finished in fourth place at the NCAA Championships from Hayward Field while also posting some of the best marks in school history and winning a pair of event titles.
Texas scored 36 points over the 21 events contested this week to make it on the podium and receive a team trophy. The Longhorn women also finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships this year.
Highlighting the meet for Texas, senior Courtney Okolo won her fourth individual NCAA title and second outdoors in the 400 meters as she cruised to victory in her final individual race as a Texas Longhorn. Okolo clocked in at 50.36 seconds for the No. 10 time in collegiate history.
During her four years on The Forty Acres, Okolo has rewritten the NCAA record books for the 400 meters. This year she broke her own collegiate record from 2014 and she now owns four of the top 10 times in collegiate history.
"It hasn't sunk in yet with everything," Okolo said. "I'm just tired. I think I need to sit down for a second and then everything will sink in."
The win by Okolo gives Texas a total of six titles in the outdoor women's 400 meters, three more than the next program on the list.
Another senior was closing her collegiate career for the Longhorns on Saturday. Morolake Akinosun finished third in the 100 meters with her time of 11.07 seconds. She came into the meet with the fastest time in the nation but was unable to repeat her top performance from earlier in the season.
Akinosun then turned her attention to the 200 meters where she was still eyeing her first career individual title. Akinosun crossed the finish line in 22.54 seconds, just .02 off her own school record, to finish in fourth place.
She will go down as one of the most decorated athletes in program history as she will earn three first-team All-America honors this year when those awards are announced next week to go along with her four awards outdoors in 2014 and 2015, plus her handful of indoor All-America honors.
"It's been amazing. I really fell in love with The University of Texas," Akinosun said. "I'll be sad to leave when the dust all settles and I realize my time here really is done."
Texas completed the indoor/outdoor sweep in the 4x400 meter relay with Chrisann Gordon, Akinosun, Zola Golden and Okolo besting the field with a time of 3:27.64. The Longhorns were in third place when Golden handed the baton to Okolo for the anchor leg. With 150 meters to go, Okolo still trailed the leader by approximately 20 meters, but that lead would not last.
Okolo began her kick midway through the final turn and swerved out into lane two in order to get around South Carolina's anchor leg while Arkansas made the move, too. Okolo was able to hold off the Razorbacks as the crowd gave her a standing ovation in recognition of the come-from-behind win for the Longhorns.
After the race, Okolo was relieved to get the win. She was confident she would be able to catch the leader on the final homestretch but getting the win was important because of the tradition Texas has in the event with 10 titles outdoors now.
"I'm glad we won because we're Texas. We have to win the 4x4," she said with a smile.
Gordon joined Okolo in the final for the 400 meters and she finished in fifth place in her first NCAA Outdoor Championship meet. The 2015 NJCAA champion clocked 51.72 to add four points to the team scoring with her placing.
Sophomore Ashtin Zamzow completed the heptathlon on Saturday with the final three events of the seven. She posted one of the best javelin throws in the competition to move up in the standings heading into the final event. Zamzow had a throw of 44.31 meters (145-4) to rank fifth. She was unable to move up the standings following the 800 meters as she finished the heptathlon with a two-day total score of 5,443 points for 17th place.
Zamzow clocked 2:21.88 in the 800 meters, approximately one second off her personal best time. Her mark of 5.54 meters (18-2.25) in the long jump was 7.50 inches short of her personal best as well.
Her score of 5,443 points ranks as the No. 3 performance in school history after she broke the school record this season at the Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays with a tally of 5,829 points.
In the 5,000 meters Sandie Raines represented the women's team and finished in 21st place for the Longhorns.
Also in action for the women on the final day of the meet, freshman Asa Garcia competed in the triple jump in her first year in Burnt Orange. The jumpers had to deal with strong tailwinds throughout the early portion of the competition and Garcia was unable to get a safe mark as she fouled her three attempts.
With the conclusion of the collegiate season the Longhorns will now turn their attention to the global stage. A handful of current team members are qualified for Olympic Trials for their respective home countries as they will attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games this summer in Rio de Janeiro.
This year will also mark a junior championship year. Athletes under 19 years old will head to qualifying meets at their home countries as well for the IAAF World Outdoor Championships later this summer in Poland.
More Quotes
Courtney Okolo, Senior (400m, 4x400m)
On looking toward the Olympic Trials: Of course it's going to be the hardest meet I've ever competed in. So for now, I'm going to go home, relax for tonight and it's back to getting prepared for the Trials tomorrow.
Morolake Akinosun, Senior (100m, 200m, 4x400m)
On weather conditions Saturday: It was a little bit chillier than I would have liked but compared to Thursday during the semifinals it's gorgeous out there today.
On winning the 4x400m relay: I saw Courtney's run and I saw the last 100 meters and knew we got the win. It's always nice to pull out a win and it happens often whenever Courtney's on anchor.
On having a strong team performance at NCAA Championships: I said before that we have kind of mastered the Big 12 meet, and to come here and put on a show at the NCAA meet it means a lot.
