The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Clemson Opener
Zapalac, Wasome crush competition at Clemson Opener
12.09.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns among national leaders to start season
Complete Results | Texas Post-Meet Notes
Clemson, S.C. – Indoor track and field season started on Saturday for the Texas Longhorns and the small group competing at the Clemson Opener did not disappoint.
Senior Alan Zapalac started the day off for Texas with one of the most impressive showings of the day in the weight throw. He started with a new personal best on his first throw and backed that up with four more new personal records. He muscled a throw of 21.80 meters (71-6.25) on his final attempt to win by more than 16 feet.
Zapalac's win was his third season-opening of his career. It also established him as one of the national leaders early on in the year. His distance of 21.80m sits at No. 2 on the NCAA list so far just two weeks into the season. It also moves him closer to the school record, which now stands just 13 inches away.
"I think it was important for him to get that mark that traditionally would qualify for the national championship meet," said Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin, who coaches Zapalac. "I'm so happy he decided to come back for his fifth year. Anytime we can have somebody that can come in as what we would define as a developmental athlete and continually put in the work and effort through the years to put himself in this position now is phenomenal. I couldn't be more happy for him. I'm proud of all the work he's done. He's a good representation of our team."
The men's squad kept bringing in wins in the field events with sophomore O'Brien Wasome leaping to victory in the long jump with a national-leading mark. Wasome leapt 7.82 meters (25-8.00) for a new personal record to rank No. 6 in school history. It also was a new Clemson Opener meet record and Clemson Indoor Track facility record.
Head Coach Mario Sategna said Wasome and Zapalac both made big statements with their performances on Saturday to start the 2017-18 indoor season so well.
"It really set the tone for the others," Sategna said. "For them to be hitting those types of jumps and performance this time of year it shows not only their hard work but also as we make the turn after Christmas break they're going to do some great things for us at the conference and national level."
Junior Barrett Poth grabbed a win in the men's pole vault with his clearance of 5.25 meters (17-2.75). Sophomore Nick Meaders finished second at 5.10m (16-8.75) to improve his indoor PR. Sevin said his vaulters were competing on a short approach and will be jumping from a full approach soon.
Sophomore Elena Bruckner opened her indoor season with a victory for the women as well. She claimed the top spot in the shot put with her measurement of 14.98m (49-1.75). Bruckner also debuted a new throwing technique on Saturday going with the spin method versus the slide step approach she used last year.
Another thrower had a strong start to the year with freshman Tripp Piperi finishing second in the men's shot put. He registered a mark of 18.44m (60-6.00). No. 2 recruit in the nation out of high school was the top collegiate athlete in the field.
Fresh off cross country season, junior Alex Rogers transitioned from the trails to the track well with a runner-up finish in the mile. He clocked in at 4:04.65 to finish behind a post-collegiate runner.
Texas returns home to finish the semester in the classroom with finals next week before the Longhorns head to Lubbock for the Texas Tech Corky Classic on January 13. This will be the first meet held at Texas Tech's newly completed Sports Performance Center. The meet is named after Gerald "Corky" Oglesby, a longtime coach and administrator at Texas Tech who lost his battle with cancer in November.
Texas Quotes
Head Coach Mario Sategna
On Tripp Piperi: I was happy with Piperi in his first collegiate meet throwing over 60 feet. He obviously wants to perform and do better, but that's why we needed to get him here so he could compete and see what it's going to be like at the collegiate level.
On Alex Rogers: Alex looked good. When you couple that with Sam Worley and the rest of that distance group in the individual events and the DMR, it's going to create a lot of potential for us.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin – Throws/Pole Vault
On Tripp Piperi: Really pleased with Tripp in the shot. It was his first time throwing a 16-pound shot. It puts us in a position to see some things that came up during the meet. Our goal for him is 19.10 meters. I think this showing definitely puts him at a spot where that's an achievable goal where he could compete for the title at Big 12s and qualify for NCAAs.
On men's pole vaulters: Nick had an indoor personal best. Barrett jumped 5.25, which is a really good start for him. I think those guys are looking forward to getting back to full run and having a go at it.
On Elena Bruckner and her new throwing technique: Elena debuted in rotational shot. Throwing 49 feet she's just shy of her indoor personal best spinning. She learned a lot from this meet. There's a couple things we can work on and I think she can come out and set an indoor personal best soon and try to challenge for that indoor Big 12 title.
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster – Distance
On Alex Rogers: Alex was looking good through 1K, he was in control and doing the work and we will work on finishing strong. Being able to adjust pace or mindset in the middle of the race is important. Alex did open up four seconds faster than he ever has but we need to make sure he is at the NCAA Championships this year.
Players Mentioned
