The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track & Field gets 12 entries into NCAA Championships
03.01.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Longhorns to face nation's best in College Station
NCAA Indoor Championships
Meet Headquarters
Accepted Entries: Men | Women
Meet Schedule | Live Results | Tickets | Parking
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Track & Field has 12 entries accepted to the NCAA Indoor Championships next week, represented by 10 individuals and one relay team. Action is set to start Friday, March 9 from Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M and run through Saturday night.
The men's squad has seven entries with sixth student-athletes headed to the meet while the women have four individuals and their 4x400 relay going to compete at the national championship meet.
Sophomore O'Brien Wasome is headed to NCAAs in two events as he qualified in both the long jump and the triple jump. He finished third in the triple jump a year ago and then finished sixth in the long jump outdoors as a freshman. He enters the meet ranked No. 3 in the triple jump after his leap of 16.47 meters (54-0.50) to finish second at the Big 12 Championship last week. He also is ranked No. 13 in the long jump.
Big 12 champion Steffin McCarter joins Wasome in the field for the long jump. His jump of 7.97m (26-1.50) ranks him No. 7 in the nation and makes this event one of the deepest and most competitive in the meet.
Senior Alan Zapalac qualified for his first NCAA Championship in the weight throw. He ranks No. 15 in the field and finished second at last week's Big 12 meet. His best throw of the season measured at 21.80m (71-6.25). The last time Texas had an entry in the men's weight throw was Dylan Armstrong in 2001 when he finished fourth and set the school record at 22.12m.
Sophomore George Patrick hopes to continue the success Texas has had in the heptathlon as he makes his first NCAA appearance indoors. Patrick won the Big 12 title last week with a score of 5,552 points and qualified for the national championship with his score of 5,657 at the Texas Tech Classic in January. He enters the meet ranked No. 14 in the field.
Two freshman made it to NCAAs for Texas and look to show the future is bright for the Longhorns.
Tripp Piperi ranks No. 9 in the shot put. He has made the switch to the 16-pound shot and transitioned well surpassing 65 feet already as a true freshman. He also has been close to cracking the 20-meter mark, not done by freshman very often.
Sam Worley qualified for the national meet in the mile after he broke the school record at the Husky Classic. His time of 3:58.04 stands at No. 15 in the field. Texas has had success in this event with Leo Manzano winning back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. Joe Stilin was the last Longhorn to run the mile at NCAAs in 2013 when he finished 11th.
The women hope to make an impact on the national meet in the 60 meter hurdles where Texas has two entries. Senior transfer Pedrya Seymour ranks 12th in the field and has a season-best time 8.09 seconds. She finished third at this meet a year ago for Illinois. Sophomore Rushelle Burton finished fifth last year for the Longhorns. The pair finished 1-2 at the Big 12 meet last week.
Junior Teahna Daniels has an NCAA championship to her credit, winning the 60 meters her freshman year in Birmingham, Alabama. This year she enters the meet with a seed time of 7.24 seconds.
Senior Kally Long is a two-time All-American indoors and looks to make her way onto the podium for the first time indoors. She has a season-best mark of 4.29 meters (14-0.75).
The women's 4x400 relay was a late addition to the meet after the NCAA announced it extended the field in the event from 12 teams to 16 after a miscommunication on a rule interpretation for over-sized tracks. That change bumped the Longhorns into the meet where no school has won more 4x400 titles than the Longhorns.
NCAA Indoor Championship Texas Entries
Men
Steffin McCarter | Long Jump
George Patrick | Heptathlon
Tripp Piperi | Shot Put
O'Brien Wasome | Long Jump & Triple Jump
Sam Worley | Mile
Alan Zapalac | Weight Throw
Women
Rushelle Burton | 60m Hurdles
Teahna Daniels | 60m
Kally Long | Pole Vault
Pedrya Seymour | 60m Hurdles
4x400m Relay
Players Mentioned
