The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Indoor Championship
Women's Track & Field secures Big 12 title
02.25.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns win fourth conference crown in five years
Big 12 Indoor Championship
Complete Results | Texas Post-Meet Notes: Day 1 | Day 2
AMES, Iowa – Texas Track & Field added to its trophy case on Saturday as the women's team rallied with 79 points on Day 2 at the Big 12 Indoor Championship to come home with the team title and a total of 117 points.
The win was the fourth in five years for the Texas women after Baylor ended UT's streak of three straight titles last year. Texas used its depth in the hurdles to score big points early in the day Saturday to give the team momentum the rest of the way to get the win and hold off the No. 13 Kansas Jayhawks by just five points.
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said the rankings and predictions heading into the meet motivated and carried the women on to their victory.
"A complete team effort. What's great is we came in here sitting anywhere from third to fifth but never gave up," she said. "The moment we saw that, we decided we were going to find a way to pull this off. It started with the pentathlon. It was just amazing how everyone rallied together for them and the way they stepped it up. It's just really fantastic to see everybody come together like that on both sides."
Senior transfer Pedrya Seymour lead the charge in that women's 60 meter hurdles as she crossed in first place with a time of 8.09 seconds. Close on her heels was sophomore Rushelle Burton in 8.13 and senior Ariel Jones in third at 8.25. Junior Mariam Abdul-Rashid finished in sixth at 8.36 seconds to bring the team's point total in that event to 27.
From there the Longhorns continued to grab points where they were available and eventually built a big enough lead to clinch the title before the 4x400 relay was even contested.
The men's team finished in second place with 129 points. The Longhorns gave the No. 1-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders a scare with Texas within striking distance with four events to go. But Tech was able to put the title out of reach after the 200 meters and high jump provided wins and major point grabs for the Red Raiders.
Texas won two events on the women's side, again using its depth to score in nearly every event in order to win the team championship. Joining Seymour atop the podium as a Big 12 champion was Ashtin Zamzow. She claimed gold in the pentathlon on Friday, becoming the first woman to win the event for Texas and breaking the school record in the process with 4,076 points.
The men's team was able to put pressure on the Red Raiders by winning a total of six events over the course of the meet.
Sophomore George Patrick made it a Texas sweep in the multi-events as he won the heptathlon with a point total of 5,552. He dominated the field on Day 1 to build a big lead and while battling through a minor injury was able to hold off the field. His win is the ninth time Texas has claimed first in the heptathlon in the Big 12's 19-year history to continue the program's dominance in the event.
"The hero of the group was George Patrick. He really fought hard," Buford-Bailey said. "He had an injury halfway through. He still came out and ran the hurdles final. He just pushed, pushed, pushed himself so hard and put himself in a position where he didn't have to do much in the 1,000 to win, which is great."
The Longhorns then put their distance talent on display for the men with Alex Rogers winning the mile. The junior stormed ahead early and ran solo the entire race and clocked in at 4:02.60. His victory was the first for Texas in the mile since 2008. Logan Emery also ran a strong race for the Longhorns finishing in fifth place to add four more points to the team's total. He clocked 4:10.97.
After Rogers won his race, freshman Micaiah Harris showed why he was such a highly touted recruit out of high school He ran his way to victory with a new personal best time of 46.33. That time also moves him to No. 6 in school history. Harris showed he will be a player in the Big 12 as the freshman also finished third in the 200 meters with a time of 20.95. Joining him on the podium in eighth place was Terry Brown Jr., who had his best meet as a Longhorn earning all-conference in the 400 and helping Texas win the DMR title on Friday night.
Another freshman became a Big 12 champion for the men as Tripp Piperi rallied from behind to win the shot put. He entered the meet ranked No. 7 in the NCAA and heavily favored. Piperi found himself in third place after the first three rounds of throws. He took the lead on his fifth throw and then extended that lead on his final attempt with a final measurement of 19.52 meters (64-0.50). Piperi helps continue the recent success Texas has had in the men's shot put claiming the team's sixth Big 12 title.
Those four titles for the men add to the total with Steffin McCarter claiming first in the long jump and the men's distance medley relay team winning its first Big 12 title since 2009 on Friday night.
Back to the women's scoring opportunities, the mid-distance runners played a key role in the team's overall victory.
Freshman Megan Rourke finished in second place in the 600 yards with a new personal best time of 1:20.76. Sydne Fowler joined Rourke on the podium in third place. Fowler set the time to beat by winning the first heat of the finals with her time of 1:21.62. That mark helped her improve her finish from last year by four spots after she took seventh in 2017.
Then, it was Gabby Crank's turn to shine in a mid-distance event. The junior cut more than two seconds off her personal best time and finished in fourth place in the 800 meters. She clocked in at 2:07.24. Crank also stormed her way onto the all-time top 10 list at Texas, ranking No. 6 and ahead of senior Mary Beth Hamilton who holds the school record in the mile.
Sprinters Teahna Daniels and Serenity Douglas each played a big role in the championship as they each qualified for finals in two sprinting events.
Douglas had one of her best meets, posting multiple PRs during the prelims on Friday and backed that up with a fourth-place finish in the 400 and sixth in the 200. She crossed the line in the 400 in 53.65 to post back-to-back sub-54 times.
Daniels finished second in the 60 meters with a time of 7.37 seconds. She was just edged out at the line by Oklahoma's Leya Buchanan in 7.33. Daniels then came back and took seventh in the 200 meters.
Texas also got valuable points in the longer distance events. Junior Alex Cruz finished fifth in the mile to open things up on the track Saturday and earn four points. Sophomore Destiny Collins ran a new personal best time in the 3,000 meters to finish in eighth place.
Eight big points came to Texas in the women's shot put with sophomore Elena Bruckner finding big throws late in the competition after trailing. She ended the day with a throw of 16.58 meters (54-4.75), less than a foot shy of her personal best.
Georgia Wahl also scored for the women in the triple jump as she tied her PR distance of 12.56m (41-2.50). Her point in the triple jump brought her weekend total to seven points. Wahl had a busy weekend as she also finished fifth in the pentathlon and was seventh in the long jump.
It took more than those six event championships for the men's team to threaten the upset over Texas Tech as the Longhorns also used depth to score big in the hurdles.
Sophomore Medric Roberson was the top Longhorn on the day in fourth place. He and John Burt both clocked 8.10 to finish 4-5 but Roberson got the edge on the video tape. Patrick finished in eighth place, stepping onto the track to run while he was in the middle of the heptathlon pole vault.
O'Brien Wasome nearly made it a sweep for the Longhorns in the horizontal jumps. He would eventually finish second after he grabbed the lead on his first leap of the competition in the triple jump at 16.47m (54-0.50), only two centimeters short of his PR. He held that lead until the sixth and final round of jumps. TCU's Scotty Newman dropped a jump of 16.63 meters to break the Big 12 Championship record. To put that leap into perspective, Wasome's PR of 16.49m earned him third place at the NCAA Championships last year.
The men's distance runners also made their presence felt at the Big 12 Championship, scoring huge points when needed.
A year after not sending anyone to the final in the men's 1,000 meters, Jake McConnell finished in sixth place to grab three points for the team. Then, freshman Sam Worley finished in third place in the 800 meters. He clocked a new personal best time 1:48.71 to rank No. 4 in school history.
The longer distance runners also came up big when John Rice pushed the pace early in the 3,000 meters. He was just edged out at the line to finish in fourth place as he also cut lots of time of his personal best time. His time of 8:04.95 ranks seventh in school history.
Texas closed the meet with the 4x400 relay. The women, with the team title locked in, finished in eighth place. The men's relay squad took seventh.
Buford-Bailey said the women knew the uphill climb they had ahead of them and that any slipups could be managed if the Longhorns stepped up in other areas. They did just that, which has the men looking forward to outdoor season after nearly overcoming the 50-point projected victory for Tech.
"We knew we had to make sure that if we lost in one area that we had to make it up in another area. We weren't going to be down on ourselves if we lost in one event. We knew that now we just have to make it up somewhere else. And that was the goal.
"To be able to do that and keep fighting and never ever give up the whole time is what is really going to bode well for us in the outdoor season because the men want it now. For them to battle like that with a team that's ranked No. 1 in the nation. They grabbed points everywhere they could to close that 50-point deficit."
The Longhorns will now await to see the results from other conference championship meets to see how many of the athletes rank in the top 16 in the NCAA to qualify for the national championship meet. The top 16 individuals and top 12 relay teams make it to the national meet, making it one of the most difficult meets to qualify for.
Prior to the conference championships, Texas had seven potential spots for the men and four for the women. The NCAA Championships will be held March 9-10 and hosted by Texas A&M.
Coach Talk
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
On Gabby Crank: Really impressed with Gabby Crank in the 800. Huge PR. We were yelling Texas Fight, and she always has a smile on her face, but this time she looked like she had the eye of the tiger so we were like, uh oh. She's ready. She's not smiling.
On Adrian Piperi: Adrian Piperi coming through in the last two throws to put it out there for the team. We were rallying around him and he got himself hyped. He even said, "I'm sorry it took me so long to get going."
On key performances from Micaiah Harris, Sam Worley and Tripp Piperi: Our three freshman guys all went home with a Big 12 championship, with the 400, the DMR and in the shot put. It was really great.
On the team's mentality: I told them to put the T back in Texas. They want a T Ring. They want a T Jacket. This is what we're doing this for. It was just so passionate and so fun and exciting to see them enjoying themselves.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin – Pole Vault, Throws, Multi-Events
On women's championship: Our entire team really came together this weekend to win the women's team championship. I'm proud of how everyone competed and liked the fight I saw from the athletes in my event group.
On Tripp Piperi: Tripped stepped up in a big way late after trailing. To win a conference title in shot put as a true freshman is an amazing accomplishment. He has a bright future in this event and can help carry on the tradition Texas has in the throwing events.
On George Patrick: George Patrick showed a lot of grit and character in how he competed and won the heptathlon the last two days while battling an injury. Texas has a long history of success in the multi-events and George has begun to make his impact in that area with this win.
On Elena Bruckner: Elena had her back against the wall and stepped up big time in the finals of the shot put today. She really showed poise today under pressure. Her last few throws were all close to her personal best and that is a good sign as we head to nationals and begin outdoor season.
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster – Distance
On women's distance: The women as a group stepped up. Alex Cruz had a tremendous meet as did Destiny scoring in two events, and Meghan Lloyd was awesome in the 5k Friday night. Gabby Crank showed that Texas Fight and had a productive weekend. The points this group produced were important and we knew after last year we felt it was extremely important to step up and contribute in a big way.
On men's distance: The men competed well. Alex Rogers had a huge weekend and became a Big 12 champion running away in dominating fashion in the mile. John Rice was awesome, competing and winning battles for spots in the 5k and 3k. Charles Mills was tough and Logan Emery had a productive weekend placing well in the mile. Jake McConnell in the 1,000 and Sam Worley running the fourth fastest 800 in school history both scored valuable points. I felt the distance group stepped up and performed at a level that was important for the team's success.
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash – Sprints/Hurdles
On overall performance: I was very pleased with the efforts today. We fought and we fought hard.
On Men's 400m: Micaiah showed how much of a gamer he is and won the 400 meters as a freshman. That is amazing to step up and win a race like that. Terry Brown did a great job in his first conference final. He had a great meet.
On the team: All in all it was an amazing atmosphere for our team to come together and be a family and compete together. It was truly inspirational. Tonja did an amazing job bringing the morale of the team together and it truly showed in their performance and enthusiasm.
On O'Brien Wasome: O'Brien put a great jump out in the triple jump. He knew he could do it on the first jump, so he did. He's a great competitor and it will be fun to watch him at the NCAA meet in two weeks.
Assistant Coach Ben Dalton – Sprints/Hurdles
On overall performance: I'm very excited for all of our athletes. They came together as a team and showed true Texas Fight helping to raise every individual performance. It was a great indoor championship for both the men and the women.
Players Mentioned
