The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Worley named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year
11.21.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Freshman makes immediate impact for Longhorns
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas freshman Sam Worley became the fourth Longhorn to be named Big 12 Men's Cross Country Newcomer of the Year after his successful debut this fall.
Worley came to the Forty Acres as one of the top recruits in the nation and showed why he was so highly touted by immediately making an impact for the Longhorns.
In his first race wearing Burnt Orange, Worley crossed the finish line together with a pair of teammates to help the Longhorns win the Texas Invitational with a perfect score of 15 points. He was the top Longhorn at the Pre-Nationals Invitational, finishing in 31st place and leading the team to seventh overall while upsetting a number of ranked teams in the process.
At the Big 12 Championship, Worley finished third and was just an inch away from finishing second, which would have given the Longhorns their first-ever Big 12 Conference title in men's cross country. The Longhorns lost by just one point to Iowa State.
The league's coaches voted him the winner of the award in recognition of his work on the trails as a freshman. He is the fourth Longhorn to the win award for the men and the first since Mark Nichol in 2004.
In addition to the conference awards, the top 15 finishers at the Big 12 Championship earned All-Big 12 honors. Texas had seven runners named to the All-Big 12 Team. The men tied Iowa State with five members: Worley (2nd), Connor O'Neill (7th), Alex Rogers (8th), John Rice (10th) and Charles Mills (13th). The women had two honorees: Destiny Collins (7th) and Alex Cruz (12th).
The Big 12 also recognized the Runner of the Year and Coach of the Year for the men and women on Tuesday.
2017 Big 12 Conference Cross Country Awards
Men's Coach of the Year: Martin Smith, Iowa State
Women's Coach of the Year: Andrea Grove-McDonough, Iowa State
Men's Runner of the Year: Andrew Jordan, Iowa State
Women's Runner of the Year: Sharon Lokedi, Kansas
Men's Newcomer of the Year: Sam Worley, Texas
Women's Newcomer of the Year: Cailie Logue, Iowa State