The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Track & Field finishes 26th at NCAA Outdoor Championships
06.09.2017 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Givans notches trio of All-America performances.
NCAA Championships
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TV on Saturday: 5:30 pm CT ESPN
EUGENE, Oregon – Texas Men's Track & Field registered 10 points at the NCAA Championships this week at Historic Hayward Field to finish in a tie for 26th place. The Longhorns closed the meet strong with three events on Men's Championship Day at the meet with shining performances in the 4x100, 100 and 200 meters.
Head Coach Mario Sategna said the team's finish was not what he and his staff had hoped for but there were still positives to take away and it provides a learning experience and something build on for next season.
"We'll look to regroup. It goes without saying based on some of the great things we had happen, I felt like we didn't capitalize on some things," Sategna said. "That's track and field. It's not going to always go your way."
The men's 4x100 meter relay squad of Carlton Anumnu, Aldrich Bailey Jr., Charles Anumnu and Senoj-Jay Givans tied the best finish in program history to open the meet for the Longhorns.
The team comprised of all seniors crossed the finish line in 38.73 seconds to finish in fifth place, tying the best finish from 2006. The seniors close their careers at Texas by posting the only two sub-39 times in school history after breaking the school record in the semifinals on Wednesday with a time of 38.68.
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash said it was special for the group of seniors to end their careers with such strong showings at the national championship meet. They had a goal in mind and achieved it.
"When it came down to it, especially the Anumnu's, they were looking for a way to etch their name in the history book. And for those twins to be able to do that together along with Senoj-Jay and AJ on the last meet, last time, it was pretty cool," Glavash said. "That's a fast time. It took a long time for 39.08 to go down. It's going to take a long time for that one to be broken, too. This group left a legacy."
Givans was the only other Longhorn in action on the final day of the meet as he took on the best of the best in the 100 and 200. He was one of six runners who qualified for the final in both events, the most in NCAA history to attempt that double.
In the 100 meters, Givans and the field faced off with each other and a strong headwind. The senior from Jamaica finished seventh with a time of 10.29 seconds to add two more points to the team total.
Givans returned to the track less than an hour later to run the final of the 200, his first career appearance in the final for that event. The wind picked up even more for the 200 final with an even stronger headwind in the runners' faces. Givans crossed the finish line in 20.76 seconds to place sixth and earn three more points for the team. It marked the best finish for a Longhorn in the event since 2006 when Jamaal Charles took seventh place.
"It was a tough field all around and he went out there and competed," Glavash said. "He's had a great career and he has rewritten the record books here at Texas, and he should be very proud of himself."
By making the final in the 100 and 200, plus running on the 4x100 relay in the final and scoring points in all three events, Givans will earn a trio of first-team All-America statuses next week when the teams are announced by the USTFCCCA.
Sategna said Givans has had a significant impact on the program and he was happy to see how Givans closed his collegiate career with three All-America performances.
"At the end of the day I was proud of how he stepped up. It goes back all the way to the conference championship. We don't win the conference championship without efforts like that," Sategna said. "I was very proud to see him write his final chapter the way he did."
Texas finished the meet with 10 points as a team with Wolf Mahler scoring one by finishing eighth in the decathlon on Thursday. Those 10 points were enough to put the Texas men just outside the top 25 in 26th place overall as a team at the NCAA Championship.
Sategna said the strength of the top teams was on display and the blueprint to win a national title has been shown. Teams in the top five of the final standings took advantage of having more entries at the championship meet to score points and finish the season strong.
"You just cannot get enough bodies to this meet because it can't just be reliant on a handful," Sategna said. "You have to have a complete team across the board, not just in the sprints and the relays but also in the distance and field events as well. I know that we're going to be fine, but there are some things to be learned. It starts with us as a staff. It starts with me as a head coach. I think the great thing is that starting tomorrow we get to wipe the slate clean and get ready for the women."
Saturday will be women's championship day with the finals in all remaining running events and field events. Action starts at 1:30 p.m. CT with the conclusion of the heptathlon. The ESPN broadcast is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT with online coverage beforehand on espn3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Texas Quotes
Head Coach Mario Sategna
On Senoj-Jay Givans: He's going to go down to the Jamaican Championships, and making that team is the toughest in the world in the 100 meters. He's going to do some great things.
On the Anumnu twins: The twins, you talk about guys that through and through just showed up and whatever the role was going to be if it was just being in the relay group or in the mix. But what better way for them as seniors to go out, be All-Americans, to have their names on that wall at the fieldhouse? They're now a part of history as school record holders. That's been a long-standing record for many years.
On the 4x100 and Aldrich Bailey Jr.: I was proud of the 4x100. I know it was kind of bittersweet for AJ not making the final in an individual event. For him graduating a couple weeks back and just what he's meant to our program. It's not been an easy road for any of those guys.
On the sprinters overall: We went to the well with all of them at the conference meet, and that's very important. We talk about that being the first step. I felt like coming into this meet we were poised to do some great things. That doesn't take away from the effort that those guys have brought to our program
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash – Men's Sprints
On his group overall on Friday: That's the first time he had made the NCAA final in the deuce. He started out with the 4x100 relay and that was fun. That was a blast. These guys went out there they had good exchanges. It was really cool. They're the only two teams to run 38 seconds in Texas history. It was fun to watch.
