The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech Corky Classic
Track & Field heads to inaugural Corky Classic
01.11.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns to compete in Texas Tech meet to honor former coach
Texas Tech Corky Classic
Meet Notes | Meet Schedule | Live Results | Live Stream ($)
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AUSTIN, Texas – Track & Field season is upon us as the Texas Longhorns head to Lubbock this weekend for the Texas Tech Corky Classic. This will be the first meet for the bulk of the team after a handful of Longhorns competed once in December. It also will be the first meet held in Texas Tech's newly completed Sports Performance Center.
This meet holds a special significance for the Red Raiders with it named after a longtime coach and administrator, Gerald "Corky" Oglesby, who recently lost his battle with cancer.
"We're very excited to get our season rolling this weekend, but even more so we are humbled to be invited to the inaugural Corky Classic," said Head Coach Mario Sategna. "Corky Oglesby made a significant impact on our sport with decades of service and coaching at Texas Tech. His presence at meets like this will be missed and we are happy to see Coach Wes Kittley and Texas Tech name a meet to honor a great man like Corky."
Oglesby also has connections to the Longhorns having served as an official at Texas Relays in the past. He also often was a juror at Big 12 Championships and dedicated years to improving the sport of track & field.
Action begins at 11 a.m. in the field events with running events firing off at 1 p.m. The Longhorns will take on the hosting Red Raiders as well as Baylor, Houston, LSU and Oklahoma State. Fans can keep up with the action from Lubbock online with live results provided by PTtiming.com. A link is available at TexasSports.com and TexasTech.com.
There are multiple payment options for the live stream. A $6.95 rate is good for 24 hours. Tech also offers a $9.95 per month rate. Texas does compete at another Texas Tech home meet later in January.
Texas is coming off performances at the Clemson Opener from a handful of athletes in December. Five men posted marks that currently rank in the Top 10 in the NCAA so far this season, including O'Brien Wasome at No. 1 in the long jump and Alan Zapalac ranking No. 2 in the weight throw.
Texas Track & Field Notebook
4 Longhorns Inducted into TTFCA Hall of Fame
• The Texas Track and Field Coaches Association inducted its 9th Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last weekend and the Longhorns were well-represented.
• Michelle Carter entered the state's coaches association hall of fame as the best female shot putter in U.S. history. She became the first woman to gold in her event for Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games and holds the American record both indoors and out.
• Trey Hardee is one of the most decorated decathletes in U.S. history with a pair of IAAF World Championships and an Olympic silver medal. He won an NCAA title and broke the collegiate record as a Longhorn.
• Former Texas Men's Athletics Director DeLoss Dodds was recognized for his contributions to the sport.
• Former Assistant Coach Rose Brimmer was honored for her success with the Longhorns and as a high school coach.
Zapalac Dominates Clemson Opener
• Alan Zapalac started his senior season off for Texas with the best performance of his career, dominating the weight throw competition at the Clemson Opener.
• Zapalac posted 5 personal records on the day and won with a distance of 21.80 meters (71-6.25). He was more than 16 feet better than the competition and was just 13 inches shy of the school record.
• Zapalac's distance currently sits at No. 2 on the TFRRS descending order list for the season and leads the Big 12 by nearly a full meter.
Wasome Leaps to NCAA Lead
• Sophomore O'Brien Wasome opened his 2018 season with an impressive win in the long jump at the Clemson Opener, leaping 7.82 meters (25-8.00). That mark currently leads the nation and ranks No. 6 in school history. It also was a new Clemson Opener meet record and Clemson Indoor Track facility record.
• Wasome finished 3rd in the triple jump as a freshman last year at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He also finished 10th outdoors in the long jump.
Cross Country Shines in Fall
• Texas qualified its men's and women's cross country teams for the NCAA Championships again in 2017.
• Texas came inches away from winning its first Big 12 Championship on the men's side. Freshman Sam Worley finished in 3rd place with the same time as the runner-up. Had Worley gotten the edge, Texas would have tied with Iowa State for the lead and defeated the Cyclones on a tiebreaker.
• For his efforts all season, Worley was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. It marked the first time a Longhorn had won the men's award since Mark Nichol in 2004. He is the first Texas freshman to win since Ben Dawson in 1998.
• Junior Alex Rogers led the way for Texas at the regional championship finishing in 3rd place and all 6 runners who finished the race earned all-region honors in the Top 25. Joining Rogers were: John Rice (12th), Jacob Pickle (19th), Eric Kroon (20th), Garek Bielaczyc (22nd) and Charles Mills (23rd).
• The women's team finished 3rd at the Big 12 Championship for its best finish since 2012. Destiny Collins finished 7th at the conference championship to lead the all-Big 12 honors for Texas. Alex Cruz joined her in 12th place.
• At the regional meet, the women took 2nd place to qualify for NCAAs and again Collins paced the team. She took 10th. Abby Guidry (16th), Cruz (17th) and Meghan Lloyd (24th) joined Collins on the all-region team.
• Collins had an impressive sophomore season on the trails registering 2 wins to start the season. She dominated the field at the Aggie Opener and the Texas Invitational to earn Big 12 Runner of the Week each time.
• Cross Country runners got it done in the classroom as well with a total of 22 selections to the Academic All-Big 12 Teams. The men had the most honorees in the conference with 11 overall selections. 17 of the Longhorns earned first team status and Mary Beth Hamilton was recognized with a 4.0 GPA.
• Rogers and freshman Connor O'Neill each earned Big 12 Runner of the Week once during the season. Rogers for winning the Texas Invitational and O'Neill for finishing 13th at the Notre Dame Invitational to help the team take 6th.
Texas Inks 15 Recruits During Early Signing Period
• Head Coach Mario Sategna announced the signing of 15 future Longhorns to National Letters of Intent during the fall's early signing period.
• This year's class features 5 men and 10 women, including 3 high school athletes ranked No. 1 in their events and a pair of junior college transfers among the best in the NJCAA.
• Texas native Kynnedy Flannel is among the top athletes in the nation. The combo sprinter/jumper claimed Texas 6A state titles in the 100, 200 and long jump as a junior and broke the state record in the long jump. She ranks No. 1 in the 200 and No. 2 in the 100 and long jump.
• Kennedy Simon of Georgia ranks No. 1 in the 400m and looks to carry on the tradition in the 400 meters at Texas.
• Jamaican hurdler Sanique Walker is the No. 1 recruit in the world for the 400m hurdles. She took silver at the IAAF World Jr. Championships this summer.
• The elite JUCO transfers headed to Texas are Nelda Huggins from the British Virgin Islands by way of Iowa Central and Shian Hyde of Jamaica, who starred at New Mexico JC.
• The Longhorns also signed a number of star distance runners from the state of Texas, many are state champions.
• Sategna added the No. 4 long jumper in the state in Alex Loving from Amarillo with plans to convert him into a multi-events athlete.
• The pole vault group added a top male and female from the state to join the ranks next year as well. Both Warren Miller and Olivia Buntin rank in the Top 10 nationally.
Sategna Hires Dalton as Assistant Coach
• Head Coach Mario Sategna announced the hiring of Benjamin Dalton to his staff as an assistant coach on Sept. 26. Dalton comes to Texas after serving 3 years as head coach at the University of New Orleans and 2 years as an assistant coach under then-head coach and current Texas Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin.
• Dalton will assist Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey and Assistant Coach Zach Glavash with the sprints group and will also work with the mid-distance runners. Dalton also will assist Sategna with the multi-events in the sprints and hurdles.
• During his time at UNO, Dalton's athletes broke school records 35 times. He also coached Michael Nicholls to a pair of Southland Conference titles in the hurdles and to 20th place at the NCAA Championships.
Reid Joins Texas Staff as Director of Ops
• Head Coach Mario Sategna announced the hiring of Ashley Reid in December as the program's new director of operations. Reid joined the Longhorn staff after serving in multiple roles at her alma mater Colorado State.
• Reid will handle the day-to-day operations of the program working closely with the coaching staff on scheduling as well as organizing and planning team travel during the season and other administrative duties.
• Most recently Reid assisted the football coaching staff at CSU as the director of football administration and community relations. She was the direct assistant to head coach Mike Bobo and managed all aspects of the program's budget, culture of compliance, touchdown club discretionary fundraising and various administrative duties, including travel reconciliation and camps.
• Before working with the football team at Colorado State, Reid was director of operations and assistant coach of horizontal jumps for the Rams. Reid managed the team budget and assisted head coach Brian Bedard with the day-to-day operation of the program in addition to her coaching duties.
Texas Welcomes Elite Freshman
• The Longhorns signed some of the best talent in the nation to join the team last year and are ready to see them don the Burnt Orange uniforms.
• The men's team brings in elite student-athletes in the sprints, distance and field events.
• Sam Worley ranked No. 2 in the nation in the mile. The product out of New Braunfels wowed the crowd at the Texas Relays last spring when he won the Jerry Thompson Invitational Mile against collegiate and professional runners. He missed becoming the first high schooler from Texas to ever run a sub-4 mile by less than a second.
• Micaiah Harris was among the top sprinters in the nation in high school last year. He ranked No. 15 in the 400m and qualified for Team USA in the 200m and went on to finish 10th at the IAAF World Jr. Championships in 2016.
• Tripp Piperi ranked No. 2 in the nation in the shot put in high school. His best throw of 74-11.50 from last season ranks him No. 7 in American high school history just behind former Longhorn Hayden Baillio.
Olympic Hurdler Transfers to Texas
• Texas already has one of the deepest groups of hurdlers in the nation with All-Americans Rushelle Burton and Ariel Jones on the squad. Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey added to her hurdle unit this summer with a key graduate transfer. Pedrya Seymour from Illinois moved to the Forty Acres this fall to trade her bright orange and navy blue for the Burnt Orange of Texas.
• Seymour finished 6th at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the 100m hurdles for her native Bahamas. She also owns her national record with a time of 12.64 seconds during the semifinals in Rio.
• In 2017, Seymour finished 3rd at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles and owns a PR time of 7.97.
Players Mentioned
