The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Indoor Championships
Wasome wins NCAA Championship
03.10.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Triple jumper claims first men's title in event, Zapalac breaks school record in weight throw
NCAA Indoor Championships
Complete Results
Texas Post-Meet Notes: Day 2 | Day 1
Meet Headquarters | Meet Schedule | Live Results |
TV: ESPN2 (tape delay) Sunday, 6 p.m.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – One national championship and two school records. That was the kind of day the Texas Men's Track & Field team had on Saturday to close out the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Sophomore O'Brien Wasome made history for the Longhorns on Saturday in the triple jump by winning the first men's title in the event at Texas. His jump of 16.82 meters (55-4.25) also broke the school record in the event.
"I've been working so hard. I'm just really happy to have this right now," Wasome said. "I hit each phase of my jump and my body reacted the way I wanted. As soon as I hit the pit, I was like, 'Yes! I finally put a good one out there.'"
Wasome finished third at this meet last year as a freshman and he said that performance motivated him and gave him confidence that he could come back and win this year.
He opened the meet with three big jumps and found himself in second place behind the defending national champion through the first three jumps. After a foul in Round 4, Wasome lined up the best jump of his career on his fifth attempt. He measured at 16.82m to take the lead from Florida's KeAndre Bates by six inches, and that difference would hold through the final round of jumps.
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash said the win was huge for Wasome because it validates the hard work he has put in and the confidence he has in himself. It also sets the bar for the rest of the team.
"He kept himself calm. He has found a good rhythm of staying calm in the moment and of making sure he's not forcing something. He's really found his composure, which to go to the next level is what you have to have," Glavash said. "Just hearing the people in the stands and the amount of texts we've gotten, this is big. Texas Track & Field needs to set the bar and we need to vie for national championships."
The other school record on the day went to fifth-year senior Alan Zapalac in the weight throw.
Zapalac waited a long time for Saturday to come. The senior in his first NCAA Championship appearance closed his indoor career as the best Longhorn in school history.
On the final throw of his career, Zapalac hurled the 35-pound weight 22.15 meters (72-8.00) to break the school record.
"I don't know what to do. I've never been so happy to finish in eighth place," Zapalac said beaming after the competition. "A few days ago, I told you don't sleep on us. Four years of work and it all pays off in the end. It was worth it. The four years was all worth it. All the late nights, the early mornings and the aching backs and weekends I could have had fun but instead decided to stay home, rest and work out. It's crazy what can happen with a little bit of time and dedication."
Zapalac posted two personal bests on the day putting the school record on notice with his first throw of 21.40m and then a PR of 22.06m. His mark of 22.15m surpasses the previous school record held by Canadian Olympic thrower Dylan Armstrong. He set the school record at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships at 22.12m when Armstrong finished fourth as a freshman.
"This has been a long time coming for Alan. To break the school record on his last throw of his senior year is a testament to his hard work and dedication," said Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin. "I told him before his last throw that this is why he stayed in Austin every summer to work out and get stronger. This is your last throw and your chance to write your legacy yourself instead of having it dictated to you. I'm so proud of him."
Zapalac's performance helped fuel the Longhorns for the remainder of the day with Wasome's national championship coming later in the evening. Then, the women's 4x400 meter relay closed the night with their best performance of the season to make the podium in eighth place.
The relay team of Serenity Douglas, Zola Golden, Mariam Abdul-Rashid and Ariel Jones combined to run 3:33.06 to win their heat. That time would hold up through the other three to take eighth place after the Longhorns entered the meet ranked 16th and were the last team to qualify.
In the women's pole vault, senior Kally Long cleared two bars to register a height of 4.21m (13-9.75), but that was not enough to make the podium as she finished in 13th place.
Also competing on Saturday was sophomore George Patrick in the heptathlon. After the first day of competition, Patrick stood in 15th place through four of the seven events. Patrick climbed up the overall standings after the 60m hurdles, the first event on Saturday, into 12th place but then fell down to 14th after the pole vault portion of the heptathlon. After the 1,000 meters, George finished in 14th place overall with his point total of 5,398 points through the seven events.
With the results from Friday's action, the men's team racked up 17 points to finish in 12th place. The Longhorns were one point outside of a Top 10 finish. The women finished in a tie for 54th place, keeping their scoring streak alive at the national championship dating back to 1984.
The Longhorns gear up for outdoor season now with the UTSA Invitational first on the schedule next week. Texas is expected to take a small group to the meet.
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said the team will take the experiences from the NCAA Indoor Championships into the outdoor campaign to build on the successes and use the downs from indoor to grow.
"It was a little rough for us there even as a team and I think that we came together really well," Buford-Bailey said of the indoor season as a whole. "I think people are excited going into Spring Break and we're going to do a lot of team comradery stuff next week and I think in the next few weeks going into Texas Relays we're going to have some fun."
Coach Talk
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
On women's 4x400 and overall team: We have to really get a lot better. I'm glad those ladies had a season-best and I'm glad that they were able to score but as a whole the team has to get a lot better.
On the men overall: The men were awesome. Two school records for O'Brien and Alan Zapalac.
On Alan Zapalac: It was really great to see Alan become an All-American. I told him that this is something that can never be taken away from him – that All-American status. For him to do that in his last season is really awesome.
On O'Brien Wasome: He and Steffin were talking smack to each other the whole time coming into the meet, so I think that comradery there and that push with them in training helped. And Coach Zach Glavash has done a really good job with them the last couple of weeks and getting their sprits high and motivating them. I think it's going to be really good for them moving forward.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin: Throws/Pole Vault/Multi-Events
On Tripp Piperi (Friday Shot Put): For Tripp to come out as a true freshman and make the podium in the shot put is a tremendous accomplishment. I'm proud of how hard he worked to get better and buy into our system. He has so much room to continue to grow in this event and he has a very bright future here. To win a Big 12 Championship as a freshman and then come to the national meet and have the same type of performance is amazing and a huge step for him as a competitor.
On Kally Long: Kally was a little banged up and had an up and down season. She really had some good practices leading into this meet so I'm excited to see what she can do outdoors for her senior season.
On George Patrick: George had a solid meet in the heptathlon. That is such a grueling event and for him to fight through some injuries and see what it's like to compete against the best of the best is a great experience for him that he can use moving forward in his career.
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster: Distance
On Sam Worley (Friday Mile): It was good having Sam get the experience at NCAAs. He has had a strong season. Big things are planned for the outdoor season and we look forward to building off this indoor season.
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash: Sprints/Hurdles
On O'Brien Wasome: O'Brien is an incredibly motivated kid. Since the summer moving in, he put a lot more work into the weight room. He was diligent and he knew his body this year, so he knew when to take a step back to let himself recover and to put himself in a good position. He's still got more in the tank. He's got more clubs in the bag that we haven't seen yet. Once you figure those things out, he's going to press some limits.
On the men's team overall: We came in here and we were ranked 19th and to come out of here 12th and knocking on 10th's door, it was really good for the guys. Outdoors is going to be something special for us.
On the jumps group: You could see it people's eyes like Steffin McCarter, his training partner, this is excitement for the team. You have to rally around these things and take advantage of them to move forward. O'Brien winning his title has really fired of this jumps group. To see him pull something out, now Steffin is motivated to go after the outdoor title in the long jump.
Players Mentioned
