The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Indoor Championships
No. 10/3 Track and Field wraps day two of NCAA Championships
03.12.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Tara Davis’ collegiate record and NCAA Long Jump title highlighted Friday’s competition for the Longhorns.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 10/3 Texas Track and Field program posted a number of impressive marks on the second day of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center. After two days, the UT women are in sixth place with 12 points, while the men are in 16th with six points, in the team standings.
Tara Davis put on the most impressive showing of the day for Texas, winning the women's long jump national title with a collegiate-record jump of 6.93m/22-9. Davis' effort made her the third woman in school history (Carlette Guidry, 1988; Marshevet Hooker, 2006) to win an NCAA long jump title, and the first UT woman to win any NCAA Indoor title since 2016.
The Agoura Hills, Calif. native improved her mark with each jump, clearing 6.57m on her first attempt, 6.71m on her second and then posting her collegiate record on her third run. Davis passed on her final three attempts once she hit the record. Her mark is the sixth-best by an American indoors all-time.
In addition to Davis' national-title effort, the Longhorns advanced three competitors into the finals on Saturday.
Chanel Brissett, a former national champion in the 60-meter hurdles, was the first of those, clocking an 8.04 in her signature indoor event to secure her return to the NCAA final. Brissett won the 2019 NCAA title in the 60-meter hurdles while at USC, and en route to winning the Big 12 hurdles title last month set the UT school record at 7.89. Her personal-best time ranks her eighth in NCAA history.
Kennedy Simon, a five-time All-American, secured her spot in the 400-meter final with a season-best time of 52.14. Simon finished fourth in her heat, and sixth overall, in qualifying and will be racing in her first NCAA final (non-relay events) on Saturday.
Kynnedy Flannel, a four-time All-American, earned a spot in her second NCAA final in the 200-meter dash, clocking 22.93 to qualify. Flannel is the third-fastest performer in the event in Texas history and also qualified for the final as a freshman at the NCAA Indoor meet in 2019. Then, she qualified second in the prelims, but was DQ'd in the final.
On the men's side, Texas scored six points and advanced two competitors to finals in the afternoon session of the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday. Texas' six points came from the men's distance medley relay team, which finished third behind a school-record time of 9:23.73.
The DMR team, consisting of Cruz Gomez, Jonathan Jones, Brendan Hebert and Crayton Carrozza, powered through the fastest race in NCAA Championships history. The Longhorns' time, in addition to being a school record, also ranks as the third-fastest in meet history.
Gomez got things started for the Longhorns with a 2:54.33 split in the opening 1,200-meter leg, followed by a speedy 45.55 400-meter run from Jones in the second leg. Jones' 400-meter split was the fastest of any competitor in the field. Hebert, running the 800-meter leg, clocked 1:48.28 in his four laps around the track, the third-fastest of any competitor in the field, to help position the Longhorns with the front pack heading into the 1,600-meter portion. Carrozza handled duties there, clocking 3:55.59 (No. 4 in the field) to help Texas post its best DMR finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships since the Longhorns won the title at the 2008 meet.
In addition to scoring in the DMR, junior sprinter Micaiah Harris and freshman Yusuf Bizimana each advanced to the final in their respective race. Harris darted through the 200-meter final with a time of 20.62 – the fifth-fastest on UT record, while Bizimana clocked 4:05.64 to advance to the mile final. Harris now owns the top seven fastest 200-meter times indoors in school history. Bizimana, meanwhile, is seeking to become Texas' first NCAA Indoor champion in the mile since Leo Manzano in 2008. He set the school record in the mile earlier this season at 3:57.81.
Rounding out the afternoon session for Texas were Leo Neugebauer and Tripp Piperi.
Neugebauer finished 11th in the heptathlon with a score of 5,125 points. He entered Friday just 21 points back of the lead, but a DNF in the 60-meter hurdles to start the day doomed his chances of securing his first NCAA title or adding points to the board for the Longhorns. Still, Neugebauer completed the final two events – the pole vault and 1,000-meter run – and earned All-America honors in the heptathlon for the second-straight year.
Meanwhile, Piperi grit his way to a 14th-place finish in the shot put with a best mark of 18.84m/61-9.75. The result was a disappointing one for Piperi, who was competing on an ankle he injured in training just four days prior to the meet. Earlier this season, he broke the Texas school record and moved to No. 3 in NCAA history in his signature event with a mark of 21.74m/71-4. Despite falling short of his goal, Piperi still earned his sixth career All-America honor in the shot put. He has earned All-America honors in the event during all six Track and Field seasons he has competed in thus far at Texas (4 indoor; 2 outdoor). That does not include the 2020 Outdoor season, which was canceled due to COVID-19.
The Longhorns will conclude the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday, beginning with the men's session in the afternoon and the women's in the evening. Live coverage will be available throughout the day on WatchESPN.
Players Mentioned
