Longhorns advance through rain at Olympic Trials

Friday, July 8

Eugene, Ore.

3:00 p.m.

University of Texas

U.S. Olympic Trials

Longhorns advance through rain at Olympic Trials

07.08.2016 | Track & Field / Cross Country

Texas hurdlers, mid-distance runners steal show in poor weather conditions

EUGENE, Ore. – Rainy conditions could not stop the Texas Longhorns from having another bright day at the U.S. Olympic Trials for track and field. Texas nearly hit on every semifinal and preliminary heat, advancing six of nine runners on Friday.

The Longhorns proved to be a tough unit in the 400 meter hurdles with Texas Ex Ashley Spencer and Byron Robinson both advancing to the final in the event.

Spencer had the tough draw of Lane 1 in the rain after she ran the slowest qualifying time in the semifinals. She did not let that hinder her, however, as she ran 55.41 seconds storming out of the blocks to move up among the leaders early. Her time ranked No. 4 in the semifinals.

Then, Robinson overcame the conditions to finish fourth in his heat and advance to the final. From Lane 7, Robinson clocked 50.26 seconds. The time was not ideal, but Robinson said he was happy to be moving on and be the only collegiate runner in the final.

"Just to be here and know that I belong with these guys, it feels good," Robinson said. "I know I can run a whole lot faster than I did today. It just wasn't there for me, but I made it to the finals. That's all I needed to do. Even if it's by one-hundredth of a second, I'll take it."

That one-hundredth of a second was exactly the difference between he and NCAA champion Eric Futch of Florida. Robinson held off a strong charge from Futch over the final 20 meters of the race to best him by .01 and get the final spot in the final.

Texas Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey is a three-time Olympian in the 400 meter hurdles and coaches the event for the Longhorns. She said she was proud of the efforts by both Spencer and Robinson and to see Longhorns representing the men and women in the final.

"It was so exciting to see Byron make the Olympic Trials final," she said. "This is his first major championship that he's ever competed in and to be able to continue to advance and earn a lane says a lot about his future. The other finalists are all veterans and Byron is barely 21 years old. This is a race of experience so it's very exciting to see him make the final at such a young age.

"Ashley put herself in a bad spot after having a slow start in the prelim round yesterday. She ran like a true champion today out of Lane 1. She is lacking a lot of experience in this event but she has given herself a shot at making the team just by getting a lane in the final. It's anyone's race now."

Anyone's race is a valid assessment after the No. 1-ranked runner in the world, Shamier Little was unable to advance to the final, showing the depth of the field. Also, No. 3 Moline did not run the prelims due to an injury. The top three spots are truly up for grabs to make Team USA with four of the top eight times in the world this year still represented in the final of the U.S. Trials.

Advancing through to the semifinals in the women's 200 meters was Morolake Akinosun. After finishing fourth in the 100, she opened the 200 with a time of 22.99 seconds to finish 10^th overall while grabbing an automatic spot to the next round. Alumna Alex Anderson ranked 21^st overall, but she did not advance to the semifinals due to the qualifying rules.

Also running well on the track for the Longhorns again on Friday was a trio of mid-distance alumni.

Leo Manzano and Kyle Merber both advanced to the men's final of the 1,500 meters after they finished fourth in their respective heats to automatically advance. Manzano clocked the No. 4 time overall in 3:44.57. Merber crossed the line in 3:48.30.

For the women Sara Sutherland had to sweat out the final heat after she ran 4:11.92 to finish seventh in her heat. With only two at-large spots available to the final, she watched to see if the second heat would be faster or slower. It ended up being a more tactical race and she grabbed the final spot into the final, making Texas again perfect in the distance events advancers a second day in a row.

"Leo Manzano was definitely in the toughest heat. You can never count him out," Head Coach Mario Sategna said. "I'm super-excited to see him advance. Sara Sutherland getting through was great to see as well as Kyle Merber. Our distance alums are really running well here this week."

In the women's 100 meter hurdles, Morgan Goodwin-Snow was up against an impressive field. Seven of the top 10 times this year have been run by Americans in the event, and she entered the semifinals not far behind their times, making this one of the most difficult events of the meet to qualify in. She finished in 14^th place overall in the semifinals after clocking 13.21 in the rainy conditions.

The Longhorns closed the day with Aldrich Bailey in the men's 200 meters. He finished 15^th overall with his time of 20.82 seconds in the rain to miss out on reaching the final. He ended his season with semifinal appearances in both the 200 and 400 to show he is heading into his senior year with momentum.

Pole vaulter Kaitlin Petrillose struggled in the rain as the weather affected many of the competitors in her event as well as the men's high jump qualifying round. Petrillose was unable to clear the opening height of the qualifying round.

Sategna said he has been pleased with the performances so far at the Trials by the all the Longhorns, old and young. He added that it proves the experiences they get at UT help lay a foundation that can lead to success on bigger stages in life athletically and professionally.

"This meet shows with our current student-athletes as well as our Texas Exes what the University of Texas provides," Sategna said. "It doesn't matter if it's the Ryan Crouser's or the Michelle Carter's, the support they receive when they come through those doors, it's like an Olympic Training Center on the way to not only elevate yourself to the Olympic Games but also most importantly to getting a great degree that can take you anywhere in America and provide you opportunity."

Texas will be in action in only two events on Saturday with Haley Crouser throwing in the final of the women's javelin, and Akinosun will run the semifinals of the 200 meters.

Action begins at 12:30 p.m. PT with the start of the heptathlon. The first event for Texas is slated to start at 4 p.m. Fans can watch the action with TV coverage provided by NBC and NBC Sports Network. A live stream is available online at nbcolympics.com as well as on your smartphone or tablet via the LiveExtra app.