The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
USATF Indoor Championships
Mahler shines at USATF Indoor Championships
02.17.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Fifth-year senior makes statement in heptathlon
USATF Indoor Championships
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Texas Track & Field senior Wolf Mahler went up against some of the top professionals in the U.S. this weekend and came away with a silver medal at the USATF Indoor Championships.
Mahler, who only has outdoor eligibility for Texas this year, competed unattached in Albuquerque and put together the best indoor meet of his career as he amassed 5,923 points over the seven events and two days to finish in second place and only 12 points behind winner and Olympian Jeremy Taiwo.
Mahler posted personal records in five of the seven events and also had his best Day 1 and Day 2 point totals of his career. If his score were eligible for the Texas record books, he would move up from sixth all the way to third in school history.
"Wolf had a tremendous meet. He PR'd in almost every event and that is hard to do as an unattached athlete, especially at a meet of this caliber," said Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey. "The thing that excites me about Wolf is he is such a team leader. With him only having outdoor eligibility for us this year, I hope his teammates are home watching this performance and get inspired by how hard he worked at this meet and by what he was able to accomplish at such a tough meet. I can't wait to see what he can do for us outdoors."
After the first day of action Friday night, Mahler found himself in third place overall. He posted a huge PR in the long jump, leaping 7.24 meters (23-9.00), improving on his previous best of 6.99m. He followed that up with a PR of 13.07m (42-10.75) in the shot put. Mahler closed Friday night's events by tying his best mark in the high jump, clearing 1.92m (6-3.50).
Day 2 started strong for Mahler as he took second in the 60m hurdles with a PR time of 8.18 seconds. He then won the final two events of the competition.
Mahler cleared a new personal best in the pole vault at 5.15m (16-10.75). That put him in contention for the win as he and Taiwo were in a battle with another Olympian and former NCAA champion Devon Williams heading into the final event.
The final event of the heptathlon was the 1,000 meters, one of Mahler's strengths in the multi-events. He stormed from the back of the pack to the lead with 200 meters to go and clocked 2:40.43. It was not enough to overtake Taiwo in the overall point total, however.
Mahler had gold in his sights as another clearance in the pole vault or the high jump could have given him the victory. Each clearance in the high jump was worth 26 points and bars in the pole vault went up 31 points with each rise in height.
A handful of other Longhorns, both current and former, were in action on Saturday at the USATF Indoor Championships.
Olympians Courtney Okolo and Ashley Spencer were attempting to make Team USA for the IAAF World Indoor Championships in the 400 meters. Okolo advanced through the first round and Spencer finished 11th in the prelims. Okolo clocked 51.75 for the No. 2 time in the first round and Spencer ran 53.21.
On the men's side former Longhorn Aldrich Bailey Jr. ran a personal best time 45.93 to advance out of the first round of the 400m and make Sunday's final. His time ranked fifth in the prelims.
"Courtney had a breakthrough," Buford-Bailey said. "After her injury last year, this was the first time she really put it together on the track. I saw the old Courtney today. That excites me and I am confident that she can make the team.
"AJ had a great day and PR'd from a tough lane draw. This was a breakthrough for AJ in a different sense in that he is still vying for a contract and this is the best he has run on the senior level. Making the final at this meet and competing in a hard men's 400 field is the kind of breakthrough that could help him get signed."
Current sophomore Elena Bruckner went to Albuquerque looking to improve her mark on the season and move up the NCAA performance list to solidify a spot at the NCAA Championships in three weeks. She was unable to improve her mark but still had a strong showing at 15.85m (52-0.00) to finish in 10th place.
Olympic silver medalist and Lifetime Longhorn Leo Manzano dropped down from his usual 1,500 meters to the 800 looking to make Team USA. He was unable to advance out of the first round and finished in 19th with a time of 1:52.28.
The final Longhorn of the night to compete was Olympian Marielle Hall. She ran the women's 3,000 in what ended up being an exciting battle, but she came up short in fifth place. Hall clocked 9:15.19 and held second place with 1,000 meters to go. That's when a charge from eventual winner Shelby Houlihan and Olympian Emma Coburn pushed Hall down to fifth as they each climbed three spots in one lap on the 200-meter track.
Texas returns to action for the final day at the USATF Indoor Championships. Three current Longhorns are slated to compete with Kally Long and Shay Petty taking on the field in the pole vault. Teahna Daniels will run the 60 meters. Lifetime Longhorn Kyle Merber will run the 1,500. Okolo and Bailey will run the respective finals in the 400.
Spots on Team USA for the IAAF Indoor World Championships are up for grabs. USATF announced it will only travel two athletes for each individual event, given they have achieved the IAAF qualifying standard. Mahler, however, will have to await a ruling from the IAAF as it has different qualifying standards for the heptathlon. He could be eligible for a special invitation based on the IAAF's standards on its website.
Action begins Saturday at 1 p.m. Central. NBCSN will provide live television coverage from 4-6 p.m. and NBC Sports Gold, an online subscription-based channel, will have live coverage beginning at 1. Live results from the meet are available online provided by FlashResults.com.
Players Mentioned
