The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Gordon makes history in NCAA Track & Field semifinals
06.09.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Mahler, Wasik keep Texas decathlon tradition alive
NCAA Championships
Complete Day 2 Results | Texas Meet Notes
USTFCCCA Championship Central | Meet Schedule | Live Results |
TV on Friday: 7:30 pm CT ESPN
TV on Saturday: 5:30 pm CT ESPN
EUGENE, Oregon – It was Texas Men's Track & Field's turn to put on a show during their first day of action at the NCAA Championships. A day after the men's Day 1 competition, the women had their go of it and the Longhorns qualified five of nine running entries through the semifinals on Friday night.
The men also had two Longhorns in action with Wolf Mahler and Steele Wasik completing the decathlon. Wolf finished eighth overall with his point total of 7,737 points over the 10 events. Wasik was 10th with 7,642 points.
Senior Chrisann Gordon had the top running performance on the day as she posted the fastest semifinal time in NCAA history. She clocked in at a new personal best 50.39 seconds. That time also moves her into third in school history and makes her the No. 7 performer in NCAA history.
Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said Gordon looked strong and she was pleased to see her run so fast and looking comfortable at it.
"She was like, 'Coach, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run that fast.'" Buford-Bailey said. "I said if it was that easy, that's how you should have run. Chrisann is ready. She had to get over a little mental hump earlier in the year, she had a ding injury indoor, but she's really ready and she's really confident right now. That's where we need her to be."
Sophomore Teahna Daniels showed she is in top form in the 100 meters as she blazed to the top time on the day at 11.17 seconds. She won her heat and cheered as she heard her time. She bested Texas A&M's Aaliya Brown and Oregon's Ariana Washington in that heat. Daniels was unable to advance to the final in the 200, finishing in 22nd place.
Moving to the final for Texas in the 100 meter hurdles was freshman Rushelle Burton. She entered the meet as the No. 1 seed and clocked 12.94 in her heat to advance with the No. 5 time on the day.
Junior Ariel Jones finished 18th in the 100 meter hurdles, but she was able to make her first NCAA Championship final in the 400 meter hurdles. She pushed through the final turn to take third in her heat with a time of 56.61 seconds. That was good enough to grab the top at-large spot to the final was the No. 5 time in the semifinals.
A big performance for the women came from javelin thrower Haley Crouser. The Oregon native returned to familiar territory and put together her best meet as a collegiate as she finished in eighth place. Crouser posted a throw of 53.09 meters (174-2) on her fifth throw to move from ninth to seventh but was immediately passed by one spot and she held that No. 8 spot to become the first woman to score in the javelin for Texas since 1988.
Crouser came up shy of her lifetime best throw but she did post three marks farther than her collegiate best and Assistant Coach Ty Sevin said the former American high school record holder showed confidence and stepped up on the big stage for the Longhorns.
"I think this is a pretty big deal for her coming back home, and I believe she felt like she had a lot to prove," Sevin said. "She came into the meet ranked 15th and has really struggled since high school. I think it really shows perseverance on her part and maybe this is a springboard to her taking a step farther next year."
The decathlon faced the toughest conditions of the day with a steady mist falling through much of the first three events of the afternoon. Mahler and Wasik steadily crept their way up the standings over the day and moved into the top 10 heading into the final event.
With Wasik in eighth and Mahler in 10th going into the 1,500 meters it was Mahler's moment to push through and make it to the podium for the second time in his career after finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships in 2015.
Mahler crossed the line in 4:24.15 to finish second in the 1,500 meters, where he was the No. 2-ranked decathlete in that event. That speed over the grinding final event helped shoot Mahler into the top eight like it did in 2015.
Wasik closed the meet with a time of 4:48.23 to put him in 10th place overall after the points were tabulated. It marked his best finish at an NCAA meet after he finished 12th in 2015 as a freshman at UCLA.
The decathlon has become one of the stronger events at the NCAA level with more and more athletes cracking 8,000 points each year, and multiple Olympians were in the field at this year's championship meet.
"You can never say enough about Wolf Mahler. Here's a guy who hasn't competed in over a month, but he's all guts," Sategna said. "He keeps his composure. He just battles and in this type of setting where it's a long two-day format you knew if he could get to the 1,500, which is one of his marque events, you knew he was going to put himself in position."
After the decathlon concluded, it was time for the women's 4x400 to make its statement in the semifinals. The team of Jones, Zola Golden, Gordon and Serenity Douglas combined to run 3:30.79 to win their heat and advance to the final. The Longhorns led comfortably throughout most of the race with Golden pulling Texas into the lead on the second leg and Gordon pushed it further before handing the baton to Douglas.
The women's 4x100 relay was unable to advance to the final, finishing instead in 11th place with a time of 44.47 seconds. A trio of disqualifications nearly bumped Texas into the final with some of the nation's top teams not advancing to the final as a result of exchange zone violations.
"Tomorrow we kick things off with the men's 4x100. I know they're excited about setting the school record during the semifinals, but all that's not going to matter. It's about getting the stick around and we'll build from there."
Friday will be men's championship day with the finals in all remaining running events and field events. The only women's event slated for Friday is Day 1 of the heptathlon, which Texas does not have an entry in this year. The men's championship day is set to start at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Texas Quotes
Head Coach Mario Sategna
On the decathlon tradition at Texas as the event grows nationally: We continue on with our tradition in the decathlon and knowing we have both these guys back next year. Even with the conditions today, you have a guy break the NCAA meet record and four guys over 8,000 points. To have our two guys finish in the top 10 at this meet, it's a testament to the history that we've had at Texas. But it goes to the coaching staff and the people behind the scenes, our strength coaches and medical staff, that make this happen. It's nice definitely knowing they're back next year and we've got George Patrick in the mix as well.
On building to next year in the decathlon: It doesn't leave them satisfied. Even though Wolf adds another All-American plaque on the wall, at the same time they both want to achieve greatness. They both want to be on top of that podium.
On Chrisann Gordon: Chrisann is the savvy veteran. I was at the top of the turn watching her and not just how smooth she was, but you could see her confidence. It helps for the rest of the group. When you have somebody that's dropping a 50-point-low, and I'm sure she can go faster in the final.
On Teahna Daniels: I was really proud of Teahna to put up a great time. She was able to execute her race plan and that really helps with her confidence going into the final.
On Rushelle Burton: It's big for her as a freshman coming into this setting. It's not just about the time here. You're up against the best in the country and you still have to go out there and execute the race.
On Ariel Jones: I thought Ariel stepped up and even though she didn't make the final in the 100 hurdles, I think it helped her to get a race under her belt and get it going in the 400 hurdles semifinal. Then she led off out of the hole in the 4x400.
On Haley Crouser: I was really proud of Haley Crouser to be a first-team All-American. She was just inside the top 20 coming in and it was tough coming out of the first flight. Coming back to her home state, I thought that was a phenomenal performance, and really I think it wasn't so much about the distance as it was that she finished in the top eight and scored. That's going to help her confidence for her senior year next year.
Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
On Ariel Jones: Ariel looked great in the 400 hurdles. This is a great breakthrough for her because this is her first individual final. And I'm loving the way that she's running the race now. She's a little bit conservative at the beginning and she's got a finish because usually she was struggling at the finish. Her having that kind of finish gives her that confidence so she's finishing a lot stronger.
On Teahna Daniels: She came to be mean today, and that's what she's needed to do. After she won that national title indoors last year and then the injury right after that, kind of put her in a slump. But today, that was the old Teahna.
Assistant Coach Ty Sevin – Throws/Pole Vault
On Haley having success and fun on the runway: I think that's something you learn over time as a coach is you have to let them find their own way. That wasn't the way I competed, I was a bit more intense. For her it's finding that balance between aggressiveness and getting comfortable in her own skin, and she did a great job.
On Haley advancing to the final out of the first flight: It's really a hard thing to do to be stuck in that first flight and then sit around for an hour-and-a-half and come back. That first throw in the finals wasn't what we were looking for, but I was happy to see it on that second throw that she did what I was trying to get her to do. What a huge accomplishment today for her to come back from everything that she's been through.
Assistant Coach Seth Henson – Combined Events/Jumps
On the decathlon: It was a fight. It was a tough 10 events and to be able to grind it out and end up eighth and 10th shows those guys are mentally tough. They were all close to season bests and lifetime PRs.
On what it means to have two finish in the Top 10 during a decathlon renaissance: I think we have a history and tradition in the decathlon at Texas. The vision of Mario and with what he was able to do as a decathlete himself I think attracts good decathletes to our program and then we're able to help them develop.
Players Mentioned
