The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Michael Johnson Classic
Throwers dominate at Baylor
04.22.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Sprinters tune up at LSU
Results: Michael Johnson Invitational | LSU Alumni Gold
Texas Post-Meet Notes
WACO, Texas – Texas Track & Field was in action at a pair of meets on Saturday with the throwers dominating at the Michael Johnson Invitational and the sprinters tuning up for the conference championship at the LSU Alumni Gold.
The Longhorns won four of the six men's throwing events at Baylor's Michael Johnson Invitational and added another win in the women's invitational shot put.
Texas swept the invitational shot puts with freshman Tripp Piperi continuing his dominant outdoor season and sophomore Elena Bruckner getting her first win of the season.
Piperi's win was his third win in three meets. He registered a winning toss of 19.54 meters (64-1.25). All three of his wins have had throws over 64 feet as he continues to flirt with breaking the 20-meter barrier as a true freshman. Bruckner had a season-best throw of 16.54m (54-3.25) to just miss her personal best and now rank second in the Big 12 Conference this season.
The dominance continued for the throwers with Brian Peterson winning the open division of the men's discus. He muscled a throw of 53.28m (174-10) for his best performance of the season and to rank in the top eight in the conference.
Senior Fabian Dohmann had yet another win where he left the competition far behind. He marked his third win in four meets and threw the javelin over 71 meters again. He dominated the Michael Johnson Invitational with a throw of 72.31m (237-3) to win by more than 35 feet.
UT's other win for the men's throwers went to senior Alan Zapalac in the hammer throw. He posted a measurement of 61.90m (203-1) to win the competition by nearly eight feet.
While the throwers were piling up the wins at Baylor's final home meet of the season, the sprinters and hurdlers took on a strong field at the LSU Alumni Gold. Texas sent their top speedsters to the meet to face elite competition in order to prepare for the conference championship in three weeks.
The Longhorns again got an impressive showing from its women's hurdlers with Rushelle Burton grabbing the win this week. She clocked in with a wind-legal 12.89 seconds to win the 100m hurdles. Senior Pedrya Seymour was not far behind in third place as the pair lead a group of Longhorns looking to score big points at the Big 12 Championship.
Senior Ariel Jones had her fastest run of the season in the 400m hurdles, clocking at 57.92 seconds to finish in fourth place. She was the top collegiate runner in the field with Lifetime Longhorns and Olympic bronze medalist Ashley Spencer winning in 56.44 seconds. Another Lifetime Longhorn training professionally ran strong as Melissa Gonzalez took third place in 57.64.
On the men's side of sprints, Terry Brown Jr. had the best meet of his career with PR's in both the 200 and 400 meters. He clocked 46.90 seconds to finish in third place. That's a time that puts in him the top five of the Big 12 this year with the conference championship meet approaching. Brown then ran another personal best in the 200, running 21.50.
The top field event performance of the day at LSU came from Georgia Wahl. The jumper turned multi-event athlete took on a strong field in the invitational long jump and tallied the first 20-foot jump of her career.
Wahl leapt 6.16m (20-2.50) to finish in third place. Her mark was one tick too high on the wind meter with a tailwind of 2.1 meters per second, but it does move her up to No. 3 in the Big 12 this season as she prepares to compete in the heptathlon, long jump and triple jump at the conference championship meet. She scored in all three of her events at the Big 12 Indoor Championship in February and will be called upon again to score big points for the Longhorns.
Back in Waco on the track, the distance crew sent a small group to the Michael Johnson Invitational and grabbed some wins as well.
Freshman Jake Johnson won the men's 3,000m steeplechase and senior Chris Ibarra crossed first in the open 800m with Jake Johnson right on his heels in second. Fellow senior Connor Hendrickson ran a new PR time in the 5,000m and finished second in that event and Wesley Ward won his heat of the 1,500m to finish fourth overall.
Isaiah Lucas had his best day in Burnt Orange as he post personal best times in both his hurdle races at Baylor on Saturday. He clocked in at 14.81 seconds to win the open 110m hurdles early in the day and then backed that up with a running of 52.86 seconds to finish third in the 400m hurdles. He now ranks in the top 12 in both events in the conference with Big 12's next up on the schedule.
Pole vaulters also had a big day at Baylor with Kally Long getting her first win of the season outdoors and Barrett Poth tying his best performance ever to finish in second.
Long, back on the runway after a lingering injury from indoor season, posted a clearance of 4.18m (13-8.50). Her height moves her to No. 5 in the Big 12 this year. Shay Petty also had a good day to finish in third place for the Longhorns at 4.03m (13-2.50). The women's pole vault competition was moved indoors due to inclement weather in the area during that part of the meet schedule.
The men's pole vault was held outdoors and Poth was able to repeat his best performance with a clearance of 5.41m (17-9.00). His jump puts him at No. 2 in the Big 12 and on the same runway that will host the conference meet in three weeks.
Texas is headed to Arkansas next week for the National Relays Championship. The Razorbacks will play host to a number of traditional powers in track & field for a full slate of events on Friday followed by a series of relay events, including non-traditional events, to see which team is the best overall relay team in the nation. The meet will be streamed online via SEC Network+.
Coach Talk
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
On women's hurdlers: Our hurdlers are really starting to get in their groove as we get deeper into the outdoor season. Rushelle and Pedrya are showing why they were All-Americans, and when you add Mariam and Ariel to the mix it really does give us one of the deepest hurdle groups in the country. I'm excited to see them working together and hope to see that continue as we get ready for the conference championship in a few weeks.
On Terry Brown Jr.: I'm so proud of Terry Brown and the improvements he has made this year. To see him help the distance medley relay win the Big 12 title indoors and then use that to springboard to more success outdoors individually shows the rest of the team what hard work can do. He is getting better every week because of what he does in practice every day.
On seeing results from other meets this week: I'm was very excited to see how well our distance runners did at their two meets in California. Those were some very competitive meets and Coach Herbster's group put together a lot of impressive performances and times. Coach Sevin and his group have been consistently putting big throws out there all season and they did it again at Baylor. It was great to see so many wins against teams and athletes we will see again in three weeks at the conference championship meet. That should give them all a lot of confidence.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin – Throws/Pole Vault/Multi-Events
On throwers: We had a great meet at Baylor this week. I'm really proud of how they all competed and did what it took to win. Getting wins is always great, but to see the distances they put out there in the process was encouraging. Fabian has been very consistent this year now that he is healthy and is showing the form he did when he won conference his freshman year.
On pole vaulters: Kally Long returned to form after battling back from her minor setback. She has been one of our most consistent vaulters throughout her career and it was good to see her clearing a high bar again. Barrett has been jumping well in practice and finally put it together during competition. He tied his PR this week and that is huge for a vaulter's confidence as the conference championship moves a little closer each week.
Assistant Coach Zach Glavash – Sprints/Hurdles
On Terry Brown Jr.: Terry continues to have breakthrough after breakthrough. He has steadily gotten better each meet and it is very refreshing to see all his hard work pay off with personal bests. He is really growing each week in his performance and I'm excited to see him progress as an athlete.
