The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
New Mexico Classic
Worley Wins Mile at New Mexico Classic
02.03.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Field event athletes also shine for Longhorns
New Mexico Collegiate Classic
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Highlights
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A day after Lauryn Caldwell broke the school record in the weight throw at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic, the Texas Track & Field team saw more stellar performances from the Longhorns. No records were broken, but a number of Longhorns are now near the top of the national lists and in position to qualify for NCAA Championships.
Freshman Sam Worley had the performance of the day winning the men's mile with a time of 4:03.91. When the altitude conversion is applied to his time, he now has an NCAA time of 3:58.60. That time stands at No. 9 in the NCAA this season with the top 16 qualifying for the national meet. Junior Alex Rogers also clocked in at 4:05.74 to finish in third place. The combo of Worley and Rogers gives Texas a dangerous tandem with the conference championship three weeks away.
Head Coach Mario Sategna said overall he was pleased with the weekend as Texas notched a trio of wins on the men's side but more importantly a number of athletes moved up the Big 12 list to potentially make a bigger impact at the conference championship. He also knows there are bigger goals on the horizon for some and this meet helped those athletes.
"You're trying to really push and solidify some good conference marks at a meet like this, but at the same time you're looking at those national lists to try and get into the top 16," Sategna said. "In some events it's going to come down to the centimeter. On the track it's going to come down to the tenth or even the thousandth of a second."
The field events saw a good number of potential NCAA qualifying performances on Saturday with the top 16 athletes qualifying in each event for the championship meet.
Senior Kally Long posted a season-best height of 4.27 meters (14-0.00) to finish in fourth place in the pole vault. She was the top collegian in the field with a number of post-collegiate athletes in action, including an Olympian. Her vault ranks her ninth in the NCAA this season and 10 centimeters behind the Big 12 lead.
Sophomore Elena Bruckner put herself in a spot that could qualify for the national championship meet as well. With her third-place finish in the shot put at 16.78m (55-0.75) Bruckner now stands at No. 11 on the NCAA list. That mark could hold but throws coach Ty Sevin said he would like to see Bruckner improve over the next two meets to insure she keeps her spot in the field at the championship.
One more field event put another Longhorn in a good position at the conference level. Junior Georgia Wahl finished second in the triple jump with a new personal record distance of 12.56m (41-2.50). That puts her at No. 7 in the Big 12. She now ranks in the top eight in the conference in three events and can make an impact at the conference championship meet in the long jump, triple jump and pentathlon.
Back on the track, the men's hurdlers closed the New Mexico Classic with a strong showing. John Burt took second place in a new PR time of 7.81 seconds. That time helps him hold onto the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 so far this season. Sophomore Isaiah Lucas also posted two PRs on the day, improving in the semifinals and final round of the 60 meter hurdles. He finished fourth overall with his time of 8.12 seconds.
The women's hurdlers didn't post any PRs but still ran solid times as they are progressing through the season. Ariel Jones finished fifth with a time of 8.26 in the final and Mariam Abdul-Rashid was seventh in 8.34.
Mid-distance runners closed the day for the Longhorns with some solid times in the 800 meters.
Logan Emery finished eighth for the men and clocked in at 1:54.11. That time converts down to 1:53.47 from the altitude adjustment and puts him in contention to score at the Big 12 meet. Not far behind him was Jake McConnell at 1:54.69 in 10th place.
The women showed their potential to be a deep squad in the 800 with Gabby Crank clocking 2:09.77, just off her PR before the altitude adjustment. Sydne Fowler ran 2:12.01 and freshman Megan Rourke ran a new PR of 2:12.30 as she has improved steadily throughout the season.
Texas splits up for two meets next week. The distance runners head west to the Husky Classic hosted by Washington. That meet traditionally attracts top distance runners as they look to chase fast times on a flat, over-sized track. The rest of the team goes to Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational, a meet that is known for fast sprints and quality jumps competition.
Coach Talk
Head Coach Mario Sategna
On Elena Bruckner: We talked last night that Lauryn Caldwell breaking the school record in the weight throw was going to light a fire under Elena Bruckner in the shot put so that was great to see.
On Kally Long: Kally Long jumping 14 feet should solidify herself for the national meet and she's just doing a great job and pulling those other ladies along in her group.
On Georgia Wahl: I was really proud of Georgia Wahl in the triple jump, establishing a new lifetime best. She's been training as a multi a lot this year, so her strength levels are really high. I think once she times some things up we can see her jumping 42-mid if not 43-plus indoors.
On Sam Worley: Everybody was anticipating the mile. Sam Worley running 3:58 and some change. It's not an easy task running at altitude. I think the more races Sam gets on these banked 200-meter tracks the better. He's kind of a fish out of water. He didn't run on them in high school.
On hurdlers: John Burt running 7.81 against one of the top hurdlers in the nation right there next to him. On the women's side Ariel and Mariam are doing some wonderful things. My hat goes off to Coach Tonja and Coach Zach.
Associate Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
We need to step it up at this point of the season. I do feel that John Burt is getting consistently better each meet. He will eventually make another drop that hopefully gets him a spot in the NCAA meet.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin – Pole Vault/Throws
The thing that impresses me the most about Elena is the spin is something we started this year for her in the shot put and every time she goes out things are starting to click. She's starting to connect with the ball. I love it when people's eyes light up and you can tell they are enjoying competing and I'm really liking that about Elena right now.
Kally every year we feel like we're just trying to make sure we hit that mark that's going to qualify her for NCAAs. I'm excited now because we have that and she just go out and pole vault the rest of the year without the pressure of trying to qualify.
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster – Distance
The distance group moved in a better direction this weekend. Two Top 20 NCAA marks with Rogers and Worley. The important thing is the student-athletes competed and wanted to win races. Worley and Rogers worked through a good pace at altitude and finished up well. Logan was impressive in the 800 competing and almost negative splitting and getting the win. Gabby had a nice run in her 800. We need to continue to work on things for Seattle next week and the Big 12 Championship.
