The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships
Track & Field eyes Big 12 indoor titles
02.22.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns take on conference rivals this weekend
Meet Info & Links
Big 12 Championship
Date: February 24-25 | Location: Ames, Iowa
Meet Central | Live Results | Twitter: Texas / Big 12
Live Video ($)
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field looks to come home with trophies and light the tower this weekend as the Longhorns take on their rivals at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship. The meet is slated to run Friday and Saturday from Ames, Iowa, where Texas hopes to win its fourth straight women's title and avenge a 1.5-point loss last year on the men's side of the competition.
The Longhorns have placed no worse than second on either side since 2012 and the women have won every Big 12 title since combining the men's and women's program into one coaching staff in 2014.
A win for the men would be their eighth indoor Big 12 title and put them one behind Nebraska for the all-time lead. It also would be their 15th combined with outdoor to tie the Cornhuskers for the most in Big 12 history. The Texas women already hold the lead for the most Big 12 titles indoor (8), out (10) and overall (18).
The Longhorns enter this weekend's action expecting another battle after the 2016 meet produced some of the best marks in Big 12 and collegiate history. The 1.5-point loss for the men was the second-closest margin of victory in Big 12 history.
A tight race for the team championship could come down on Saturday afternoon with the Big 12 boasting some of the top teams in the nation. Texas currently ranks No. 8 on the women's side with Baylor's women coming in at No. 7. Kansas State is No. 12 in the latest rankings and expected to make a push for the title as well. On the men's side Kansas is ranked No. 6 with the Longhorns close behind at No. 14. Texas Tech enters the meet at No. 16. Oklahoma State's men also are eyeing a repeat title and are No. 20 in the nation.
Action begins at 10 a.m. Friday from the Lied Recreation Center on campus at Iowa State. The pentathlon and heptathlon gets things started with preliminary heats of running events starting at 3 p.m. along with finals for three field events. The 5,000 meters and distance medley relay will run finals on Friday night as well. Day 2 of action starts at 11 a.m. and team champions will be crowned after the conclusion of the 19 events at approximately 5:30 p.m.
The Big 12 Conference has again partnered with FloSports to webcast the indoor championship meet live on FloTrack. The track and field dedicated site will provide the live streaming via FloSports' subscription service FloPro. The live stream will start at 10 a.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday to provide full coverage of the multi-events as well as field events and running events.
In addition to the live streaming via FloPro, fans can follow the action with live results provided by DeltaTiming.com. Updates also will be on the team's official Twitter feed @UTexasTrack. The Big 12 will be tweeting from @Big12Conference. Fans can interact and keep up with the meet by also following and using the hashtag #Big12TF.
Events to Watch
• Women's 60m Hurdles: Texas can grab momentum early in the meet if the Longhorns advance through prelims in bunches in this event. The women currently rank 1-2-3 in the Big 12 in the hurdles with another ranked No. 8. Potential for a huge point grab in this event could put Texas in the driver's seat early in the day Saturday.
• Women's 400m: Olympian Chrisann Gordon wants to keep Texas atop the Big 12 in this event. The senior ranks No. 3 in the NCAA this season and sophomore Zola Golden will join her in trying to give Texas big points in the 400m. A win for Texas would be its 10th in the 21-year Big 12 era.
• Men's 60m: Senoj-Jay Givans looks to become the first Big 12 athlete to win the men's 60m crown 3 times. Givans won as a freshman and sophomore and hopes to cap his career with another title. He currently is tied with a runner from Baylor for the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 this season at 6.65 seconds.
• Men's 600yd: Olympian Byron Robinson is the defending champion and school record holder in this event. He looks to give Texas at least 10 valuable points along with some mid-distance runners for the Longhorns. Robinson ran 1:07.99 last year and was just .56 off the Big 12 meet record.
• Women's Pole Vault: Texas has won 4 straight titles in this event. Kally Long currently leads the Big 12 in this event in 2017 but her status for the meet is still to be determined after an injury 2 weeks ago. It is still an event Texas can score big in with 4 vaulters ranked in the Top 10 of the conference. Last year, Texas scored 21 points in the event and could utilize that depth to score big again.
• Heptathlon: Wolf Mahler leads a trio of Longhorns looking to finish 1-2-3 in the heptathlon. The 2015 champion in the event is joined by UCLA transfer Steele Wasik has postseason experience, and freshman George Patrick was the No. 1 recruit in the nation for multi-events. This depth could give Texas a huge boost in the early team standings.
• Men's 400m: Aldrich Bailey Jr. leads the charge for Texas in this event as he hopes to make it 4 straight wins for the Longhorns in this event. After Zack Bilderback won 3 in a row, Bailey hopes to carry the torch and provide Texas key points.
• Men's 60m Hurdles: Texas has not won the men's hurdles event indoors since 2011. Spencer Dunkerley-Offor hopes to change that with a current time of 7.78 seconds this season. After redshirting 2016 with an injury, the junior is running strong and ranks No. 15 in the NCAA this season.
• Women's 60m: Teahna Daniels is the defending NCAA champion in this event and hopes to keep UT's streak going. Morolake Akinosun won the Big 12 title all 3 years she was at Texas. Daniels currently leads the conference with a time of 7.21 seconds.
Texas Track & Field Notebook
Rogers Wins Mile at Alex Wilson
• Sophomore Alex Wilson enters the conference championship with a steam of momentum after winning the mile at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
• Rogers ran a new personal best time of 4:02.54 to rank 11th in school history.
Hamilton Breaks School Record
• Senior mid-distance runner Mary Beth Hamilton set the standard for Longhorns in the future at the Husky Classic, breaking a 17-year-old school record in the mile at the Husky Classic.
• Hamilton ran 4:39.11 to finish 9th in the invitational section at the meet and shaved just over a second off the previous mark held by Liz Diaz since 2000.
• The time ranks Hamilton No. 2 in the Big 12 with the conference championship meet coming up next week.
• Hamilton stands at No. 28 on the NCAA list and with another second or two faster in her next two meets could climb high enough up the rankings to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
4 Meets = 4 PRs for Poth
• In 4 meets this season, redshirt sophomore Barrett Poth has posted 4 personal records and 3 victories.
• Poth started the 2017 season with an indoor PR of 5.23m (17-1.75) from the 2016 Husky Classic.
• His progression this season has been:
> Texas A&M Team Invitational: 5.32m (17-5.50) – 1st place
> Cherry & Silver Invitational: 5.35m (17-6.50) – 2nd place (top collegiate)
> New Mexico Classic: 5.40m (17-8.50) – 1st place
> Husky Classic: 5.50m (18-0.50) – 1st place
• Poth currently ranks No. 8 in the NCAA this season and No. 2 in the Big 12. He stands at No. 3 in school history.
Burton Debuts in Hurdles
• Freshman hurdler Rushelle Burton made her collegiate debut in the 60m hurdles at the Tyson Invitational and left the competition behind in her preliminary heat, clocking 8.06 seconds in her first run ever at the distance.
• Burton's time ranks her No. 8 in the NCAA this season and leads the Big 12 by .18.
• Burton came to Texas after winning silver in the 100m hurdles at the IAAF World Junior Championships this summer for Jamaica.
Longhorns Among NCAA Favorites
• Texas is among the elite programs in the NCAA again in 2017 and the women are eyeing their first NCAA indoor title since 2006 as they stand at No. 8 in the USTFCCCA Indoor Rankings heading into this weekend's action. The men's team is No. 14 in the rankings after finishing 5th at the NCAA Championship last year.
• Texas began the season with both teams in the Top 10. It was 1 of 7 schools to have its men's and women's teams ranked in the Top 10 in the preseason.
• The Big 12 Conference has 3 other men's team ranked in the Top 25: Kansas (6), Texas Tech (16), Oklahoma State (20).
• The Big 12 has 2 other women's teams ranked in the Top 25: Baylor (7), Kansas State (12).
• Last year at NCAA Indoors the women won 3 events with Teahna Daniels claiming the 60m with an American Junior record time of 7.11 seconds. She is back for her sophomore season. Courtney Okolo won the 400m and anchored the victorious 4x400m relay and has graduated, but half of the champion relay squad is back in 2017. For the men, Zack Bilderback became the first Longhorn to win the men's 400m, but the then-senior graduated. Ryan Crouser also won his fourth overall NCAA title in the shot put to close his collegiate career.
• The men finished the indoor season in fifth place at the NCAA Championships with 25 points.
• The women finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a total of 44 points.
2017 Bowerman Watch List
The most prestigious award in collegiate track and field, The Bowerman, is awarded by the USTFCCCA annually to the top male and female track and field star annually. Since its inception in 2009, the winners gone on to win multiple Olympic medals. One Longhorn is on the February Watch List among those up for the award.
• Senior Byron Robinson won the 400m hurdles at the Big 12 Championship in May, posted the fastest time in the NCAA and ran for Team USA in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to help garner his spot on the list.
> This year Robinson currently ranks No. 9 in the 400m with a time of 43.64
> At the Tyson Invitational, Robinson ran the opening leg as the Longhorns posted 3:04.95 to rank No. 3 in the NCAA this season and No. 2 in school history.
> Robinson ran No. 1 time in collegiate season last year in 49.10 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold
> Claimed Big 12 Conference title in 49.39 seconds
> Ran personal best 48.79 to finish 2nd at U.S. Olympic Trials and qualify for Team USA
> Advanced through prelims at the Olympic Games with time of 48.98
> Improved his PR in the semifinals to 48.65 for the No. 8 time but missed advancing to the final by .01.
> During 2016 indoor season, Robinson broke the school record in the 600 yards to win the Big 12 Championship.
> His time of 1:07.99 also was about half a second off the Big 12 meet record.
Texas Track & Field Quotes
Head Coach Mario Sategna
On the women and men team motivating each other: Early on when we first combined the programs, the women really hit the ground running. We almost won the national indoor, we only lost by half a point. I think that the guys didn't want to take a back seat. They wanted to share in that success. So they too have really fed off each other. I would say that initially it was definitely led by the women's side.
On the message to his team before conference championships: It's going to be, obviously, if you are a field eventer, you have to make the finals. If you are in a running event, it's about being in the top eight and advancing. It's really not so much about times and performances. It's more about head to head competition and beating people.
On Byron Robinson: Byron is an Olympian and to have that type of experience, not just being in Rio but what it took to get to that, especially making the U.S. team, we're so fortunate to have him still with eligibility. But at the same time, he may be just a little bit behind but that's ok. Here you've competed all the way through August, you're delaying your fall training just a little bit with so much needed rest. So each race he's getting better and better and better. At the end of the day he is a 400 hurdler. With outdoors being around the corner, he's going to be a force to be reckon with. It doesn't matter you can line him up in the 800 or you can line him up in the 60 meters. All he knows is he wants to get to the line first. I love his passion. I love his drive. We're glad he's back for his senior year because like I said he brings so much to our program. We're very excited about his future.
Senior Chrisann Gordan
On competing this weekend: I think we are really ready. We've been putting in a lot of work over the week and this week we have to show up with what we have been doing over the last few months. I think we can regain our title again but this year I don't see the team as strong as last year. We miss Courtney [Okolo], we miss Morolake [Akinosun]. They were flexible athletes. They could do more than two events and score a lot of points for us. So we just have to fill in those gaps and if we do that, we will be fine.
On her season after coming from the Olympics: I had a rough start but then I picked up. I didn't really run as I wanted to for my first meet but then the second meet I found myself. I think I'm where I want to be. I think I'm in better shape this year, this time than I was last year. So I'm excited to see what I'm going to run this week at NCAA indoors.
On her leadership role this season: It's fun to do but at the same time there is a lot of pressure because there is a lot expected of me. I have to set an example for my other teammates for them to follow. This is my last year and I'm going to miss competing for UT. It's been a great experience for me.
Senior Byron Robinson
On training and getting back to full speed after the Olympics: Don't tell my coach, but I started the week I came back. I had to do some hurdle drills. Losing like that on a stage like that is either going to kill you or make you stronger.
On how 600 prepares you for 400 hurdles in outdoor: It's really similar to the 400, as far as stride pattern and rhythm. It's the closest thing to it.
On thinking about breaking the Big 12 record in 600 yards: It'd be nice. I try not to run with numbers in my mind. If I break it, though, I will be extremely happy. I can't lie to you.
On what it would mean to win this year after coming close last year in team battle: It'd mean a lot because I do want to go out with a bang. Even if it might not mean as much, I know 20 years from now when I'm talking with my kids, hopefully my sons, and showing them the rings and the trophies from conference from when I was in college. I know it'll mean a lot to them so that's why it means a lot to me now.
On how important having a conference title is heading into NCAA season: Everything. Track is really all momentum. All it takes is one good race to get you in the swing and one bad to take you out. So if we're able to go into this meet and pull away a conference championship and then go into the NCAA indoors like that, it'd be big going into outdoors. Outdoors is really what matters. But it's just a stepping stone to really accomplish what you want to outdoors.
Junior Wolf Mahler
On competing this weekend: I'm excited. This is the time of the year where the whole team really comes together and supports each other. It gets really intense. We expect to see a lot of marks this weekend.
On his favorite and least favorite event: I think the answer to that is the same event: The 1,000. It's my least favorite because it hurts the most but it's my favorite because I can usually go out there and win a race for the University of Texas. So I'm looking forward to lining up and showing what I got.
On getting ready for the outdoor season: We're always excited for the outdoor season. It's what we did in high school. It's what we expect to do when we come here. The indoor season is usually just a prep for that. We have such a good team this year. We've made a lot of national marks indoor. We're hoping to put up a good fight indoor and finish out the season.
Sophomore Zola Golden
On being excited for Big 12 championships: We're very excited. We've been training really hard all year so this is something I'm looking forward to.
On confidence level going into championships/team performance all winter: I feel like we've been doing really well. We've been working really hard so you always have to be on the lookout for other teams. Everyone's coming to win, but we just have to fight harder than everyone else and just do what we do best.
On being the team that other teams look out for: It kind of pushes you at practice to know that people expect great things of you. That's part of the reason I came to Texas. It's such a big school in track and field.
On feeling differently as a sophomore than a freshman: I definitely feel like I got a lot of things together as far as knowing what's expected and being disciplined, eating right, sleeping, and that type of thing, which is difficult when you're a freshman to know what to do.
Players Mentioned
