The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Big 12 Outdoor Championship
05.11.2018 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Texas sweeps javelin titles on Day 1 of Big 12 Championship
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Complete Day 1 Results
Texas Post-Meet Notes
WACO, Texas – It was a Texas sweep in the javelin on Day 1 of the Big 12 Outdoor Track &Field Championship with seniors Haley Crouser and Fabian Dohmann winning the titles on Friday. Those performances paired with other strong showings in the hammer throw and 10,000 meters put the Texas men in the lead after the first day of action with 26 points.
After becoming the first woman to win a Big 12 Conference Championship in the javelin last year, Crouser had her sights set on something bigger for her final collegiate season. On a hot, windy day in Waco, she did just that winning back-to-back titles and breaking the school record in the process.
On Crouser's third throw of the competition, she launched the javelin out to a measurement of 55.65 meters (182-7) then ran to the fence to receive congratulations from her father Dean and Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin.
The throw bested the previous school record set way back in 1988 by just two centimeters, but that was enough to move Crouser to the top of the record books and to No. 7 in NCAA this season.
"I'm just so happy to first of all gotten a championship for Texas and to have broken the school record. It has been a goal of mine since I got here. It's been a long time coming so I'm really happy," Crouser said. "I like being able to kind of start Texas off strong, and I know we're a powerhouse this year and can do a lot of damage. I just want to show the girls what we're capable of and hope that everyone will do everything they can to perform well."
That throw was a new personal best that has evaded Crouser for some time. She set an American high school record in the javelin her junior year of high school but has battled injuries and not been able to find that form until today. All the waiting and then trust she put in Sevin after she transferred to Texas from Oregon finally paid off in a big way.
Associate Head Coach said he is proud of how Crouser has competed this year and left her mark at Texas.
"Haley has been chasing that PR from her junior year of high school, and to leave here as the best javelin thrower that Texas has ever had, to not only be the first javelin thrower to win a Big 12 title but to win two of them back-to-back, enough is said. I'm so happy for her and her family and I'm so happy that she chose to come to Texas."
Dohmann won the Big 12 title his freshman year and after a series of injuries, he is finally posting big throws in his last year as a collegiate athlete with throws of more than 70 meters at every competition this season.
Dohmann grabbed the lead right away on his first throw and never relinquished it, but it was in Round 4 where he made his mark on the night with a bomb of 72.54m (238-0). With a yell and both arms raised above his head, he put the meet out of reach for the competition.
"I think the phrase that sums up everything is you only lose when you give up," Dohmann said of his journey at Texas. "And I had enough opportunities to give up all those years, but I always kept working hard and today I was able to put that on this runway. It feels great."
Sevin said he was proud of Dohmann for his perseverance through the years and to close his career as a conference champion.
"I'm so proud of Fabi right now," Sevin said. "When he came to Texas all the way from Paraguay five years ago, this is what I wanted for him. He won this meet his freshman year and he has faced a number of injuries and setbacks. This is the type of athlete and thrower I knew he could be when he was healthy. For him to go through everything he has and come out his senior year and win a Big 12 Conference title is something special. He's a special athlete and a special kid."
It was a great day for the Longhorns in the javelin overall with decathlete Steele Wasik competing as well after he finished his five decathlon events for the day. Wasik will carry some momentum with him into Day 2 of the decathlon after two huge PRs in the javelin to finish in fifth place. Wasik registered a final distance of 63.20m (207-4) to finish in fifth place, two spots better than last year in the javelin.
Crouser was not alone in making an impact in the javelin for the women's squad on Friday. Junior Ashtin Zamzow and senior Lauryn Caldwell joined her on the podium as the trio combined to score a total of 17 points.
Zamzow found herself in seventh place heading into the seventh round of throws before she caught a big throw and measured in at 45.46m (149-2) and shot up into third place briefly and then slipped to fourth.
Caldwell had her best day ever throwing the javelin as she posted a new PR by more than a meter. She finished in seventh at 42.34m (138-11). That mark moved her to 12th in school history and just shy of her goal to finish in the top 10 in school history in every throwing event. Caldwell also is competing in all four throwing events this week for the Longhorns.
Another highlight from Day 1 came in the men's hammer throw with senior Alan Zapalac and junior Brian Peterson both making the podium in style.
Zapalac used his final throw to make a move up the standings into third place overall as he muscled the ball out to a distance of 64.35m (211-1). That was an improvement nearly two feet and makes him the No. 2 Longhorn in school history. Peterson posted a personal best as well, throwing 56.41m (185-1) to finish in eighth place and move up to No. 6 in school history.
Texas opened the day with four Longhorns competing in the multi-events.
Wasik is attempting to successfully defend his title in the decathlon from last year and become just the second man in Big 12 history to repeat as champion. He is guiding freshman Eric Cain who is competing in his first decathlon as the team is looking to take advantage of a possible scoring opportunity in the event.
Junior Ashtin Zamzow is attempting to win the first heptathlon title in school history after she won the program's first Big 12 title in the pentathlon indoors in February. She and Virginia Preiss are taking on a strong field this week.
Wasik leads after the first five events of the decathlon with a total of 3,960 points. He holds the edge over the field by more than 100 points after showing strength in the shot put and high jump on Friday.
Zamzow finds herself in a tight battle in the heptathlon and is currently fourth with 3,342 points. The top four in the field are close with 107 points separating Zamzow from the leader, Kaylee Hinton of Texas Tech. Zamzow rebounded from a poor showing in the high jump to win the shot put portion of the competition with a new PR and then PR'd in the 200m to close the day.
Preiss is in contention to make the podium outdoors as well as indoors in the multi-events after she closed the day strong with a PR in the 200m and the No. 3 time of the day. Her score of 3,043 points is 100 ahead of eighth place and within striking distance of some of the competitors ahead of her in the standings.
The Longhorns closed the night with a trio of solid performances in the 10,000m with the men's team grabbing some valuable points.
Senior Jacob Pickle and freshman Connor O'Neill ran with the lead pack throughout much of the race and with a mile to go got separated, but that didn't stop them from grinding to the finish and scoring five points. Pickle crossed in sixth place and O'Neill was seventh in a tactical race that came down to speed over the last four laps.
For the women, Olivia Thompson crossed in eighth place to make the podium and score one point for the women. She also found herself in a tactical race and managed to keep a large gap between her and ninth place to ensure her point.
The men's team currently leads the championship after three completed events with 26 points. The women find themselves in fourth place with 18 points.
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey said the team started a big sluggish but once Crouser and Dohmann tallied their wins, the team had a spark that she hopes will carry over to the rest of the meet.
"The momentum started out slow but they really picked it up by the end, and I really think the turning point was the javelin," Buford-Bailey said. "With three ladies scoring in the javelin and Haley breaking the school record, then Fabian and Steele both scoring, that's the turning point where people realized we're out here to win it."
Day 2 is set to start at 10 a.m. Saturday with the final disciplines of the multi-events. Then field events start at 3 p.m. with running events firing off at 4. The Longhorns will look to score valuable points in the field while also advancing as many runners as possible out of the preliminaries. Getting runners through to the finals is the key on Saturday.
"Tomorrow is the huge day because people have to make finals," Buford-Bailey said. "We had a great team meeting. I looked in everybody's face and they're ready. They are really ready. It's all about advancing. No excuses. You have to figure out how you can advance."
Coach Talk
Interim Head Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey
On the 10k setting the tone for other running events: We were hoping the men would go a little bit faster pace so we didn't have to worry about the kick at the end. It was really exciting to watch. I think it just makes the team understand how hard they have to work the next two days.
Associate Head Coach Ty Sevin: Throws/Pole Vault/Multi-Events
On men's hammer throw: Alan another PR, in Round 6 just like at NCAA Indoor Championships and, again, you're competing against yourself but there is somebody there that you're chasing. I'm yelling for him as hard as I could from across the field. He's just a gamer and I really enjoy coaching him. Big for me was Brian Peterson stepping up and getting in the final and getting one point for us. That's what this is all about. Another walk-on in his second event and scoring a point at the conference meet is absolutely fantastic.
Assistant Coach Brad Herbster: Distance
On Olivia Thompson in the 10k: Olivia was hanging tough. It was a race of attrition tonight. It wasn't a fast race by any stretch. It was gutting it out and she was able to get in there, perform well and get that eighth spot, which is points scoring and always a good spot to be in.
On men's 10k: Having a tactical 10k like that, we tried to get it jump started a bit, but I thought Jacob Pickle ran well and Connor O'Neill has had a really good freshman year and ran tough again tonight. Picking up five points in that event is a big thing and always important to have that kind of fight in you late in the rounds. They're going up against some of the best guys in the country. That race is tough.
On team cheering on the 10k: Having the whole team here to cheer everybody on was big. You could hear the Texas Fight across the track and that's always fun. It helps the athletes a lot to have that kind of support.
