The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
01.25.2020 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Longhorns won two more individual events and Julien Alfred broke the school’s 60-meter dash record.
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 4/4 Texas Track and Field program completed its first split-squad weekend of the season on Saturday, winning two events and breaking another school record at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational (Albuquerque, N.M.) and the John Thomas Terrier Classic (Boston, Ma.).
Including Saturday's victories, the Longhorns won five individual events, one relay and broke three school records this weekend in Boston and Albuquerque. Junior sprinter Micaiah Harris and senior distance runner Kathryn Gillespie were responsible for the first two school records on Friday, as Harris shattered the men's 200-meter dash mark with an NCAA-leading 20.53, and Gillespie broke the women's mile record by more than four seconds at 4:34.64.
Sophomore sprinter Julien Alfred, competing in the 60-meter dash Saturday, posted the third record-breaking mark. She ran away from the field in the preliminary round, posting a 7.13 to claim the top qualifying spot. Alfred then topped her performance in the final, finishing in a school-record 7.10, which is the NCAA-leading mark and No. 2 in the world this season. Alfred's time also makes her the seventh-fastest collegian in NCAA history. Teahna Daniels held the previous UT record, with an NCAA title-winning 7.11 in the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships 60-meter final.
Sophomore sprinter Kennedy Simon won the women's 400-meter dash in a personal-best 52.70. Simon's mark leads the NCAA this season. Newcomer Stacey Ann Williams also produced a top-10 NCAA mark, as she finished in 53.40.
Senior thrower Elena Bruckner, competing in the shot put for the first time this season, won by more than five feet, as she launched the orb 16.32m/53-6.5. She also placed third in the weight throw competition Friday night, clearing 17.68m/58-0.25 on her second attempt.
On the men's side, sophomore All-American Jonathan Jones completed Friday's 400-meter dash in 46.19 – tied for the No. 2 mark in the NCAA this season. Jones, an All-American at 400 meters both indoor and outdoor last season, was edged out by four-thousandths of a second (0.004) and took home second place in the race on Saturday.
Junior thrower Tripp Piperi, the 2019 NCAA Outdoor shot put champion, made his season debut, leading all collegians in the shot put at 19.95m/65-5.5. His mark ranks as the fourth-best in the NCAA this season. His younger brother, freshman Patrick Piperi, placed fifth (third among collegians) in the event at 15.98m/52-5.25 – nearly matching his 16.01m showing at the Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational last weekend.
Up in Boston, freshman distance runner Crayton Carrozza left his first mark in the Texas record book, as he completed the men's mile in 3:59.82 to become the fifth-fastest Longhorn in the event. He is only the sixth runner in program history to finish the mile in under four minutes.
During the first night of competition on Friday, Harris and Gillespie's record-breaking marks were the highlight, but the Horns also claimed victory in three individual events and one relay. Harris, a Virginia Beach, Va. native, won the 200-meter dash with his NCAA-leading mark (20.53). Senior long jumper Steffin McCarter, competing unattached, soared 7.98m/26-2.25 to win the event for the second-straight weekend. It was the second-best indoor jump of McCarter's career, and the sixth-best performance in school history. Alfred continued her strong early-season form, winning the women's 200-meter dash in Albuquerque in 23.50 – the No. 3 mark in the NCAA this season. Alfred's time also made her the St. Lucia national record holder in the event. Rounding out the quartet of wins was the women's 4x800-meter relay squad up in Boston, as the team of Destiny Collins, Gillespie, Valery Tobias and Alexandria Cruz won in 8:46.16 – the No. 5 performance in school history, and Texas' fastest showing since 1992.
Texas returns to the track next weekend with another pair of meets on the schedule, highlighted by the Razorback Invitational (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) in Fayetteville, Ark. The Longhorns will also compete in the Houston Invitational next Friday and Saturday.
