The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Longhorn Invitational
Track and Field wraps Longhorn Invitational
03.06.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Longhorns won 13 events in their first outdoor meet of the season.
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Track and Field program hosted its first Outdoor meet of the 2021 season on Saturday, posting a number of impressive marks at the Longhorn Invitational inside Mike A. Myers Stadium. In total, the Longhorns won 13 individual events on their home turf.
O'Brien Wasome shined in his first appearance of 2021 for Texas, posting a winning mark of 17.06m/55-11.75 (+2.4) on his second attempt in the triple jump. While that mark was wind-aided, and therefore ineligible for records and personal-bests, Wasome's first attempt was a wind-legal jump of 17.05m/55-11.25 (+0.5) that broke Tyrone Scott's 33-year-old school record and gave Wasome possession of UT's indoor and outdoor triple jump records. Entering his senior season outdoors, Wasome has earned eight All-America honors, three Big 12 jumps titles and is a former NCAA Indoor triple jump national champion in his career to date.
The Longhorns also dominated in the men's long jump, led by four-time All-American Steffin McCarter's winning leap of 8.27m/27-1.75 (+2.2). He also posted a wind-legal jump of 8.26m/27-1.25 on his third attempt, improving his standing as the No. 3 long jumper in school history. McCarter, a redshirt senior, is one of only three men in school history to break the 27-foot mark (Eric Metcalf, Marquise Goodwin) and was a finalist in the long jump at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Texas swept the podium in the women's shot put, with Elena Bruckner, Marilyn Nwora and Kiana Lowery finishing 1-2-3 in the event. Bruckner, making her season debut, threw the shot 16.81m/55-2 – an outdoor personal-best for the fifth-year senior. Behind her, Marilyn Nwora's top mark was a 15.43m/50-7.5 effort, while Lowery posted a mark of 15.09m/49-6.25. Bruckner later returned to win the women's discus throw with a mark of 54.24m/177-11.
In the women's javelin, Rhiley Fritz made her long-awaited UT debut with a throw of 46.70m/153-2. Her mark was the best in the field by more than four meters. It also pushed her up to No. 8 in Texas history in the javelin throw.
Olivia Buntin won the pole vault, nearly clearing a personal-best in the process as well. She cleared the bar at 4.00m/13-1.5 en route to her win on Saturday. It is the third time in her Longhorn career, and first time Outdoors, that Buntin has cleared the four-meter mark in the pole vault.
Freshman Riley Foreman wasted no time picking up his first collegiate win in the high jump, doing so in his collegiate debut at Myers Stadium on Saturday. Foreman jumped over the bar cleanly at 2.00m/6-6.75, with teammate Ethan Doughtery finishing third at 1.95m/6-4.75.
Aasia Laurencin and Charles Brockman III helped Texas sweep the short-hurdles races, with Laurencin winning the women's 100-meter hurdles in a personal-best 13.30 (+1.9) and Brockman III clocking 14.03 (+3.1) en route to victory.
Serenity Douglas, making her season debut, clocked a 23.40 to win the women's 200-meter dash. Douglas enters this Outdoor season as an eight-time USTFCCCA All-American and a two-time Big 12 Champion.
After the sun set on the Forty Acres, the bright lights of Myers Stadium shone on Texas' distance runners in some late-night racing. During that stretch, Kathryn Gillespie picked up a win in her Outdoor debut at UT, winning the 1500m in 4:22.91. Claudine Blancaflor (17:08.09) and Kelsie Vicknair (17:20.85) finished first and second in the women's 5,000-meter run, and then Abraham Avila-Martinez and Sam Bass closed the night by finishing 1-2 in the All-Longhorn 5,000-meter run to cap the night.
A handful of Longhorns will be in action next weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 11-13. Following that, Texas is slated to return to Outdoor competition at the UTSA Invitational on March 19-20 in San Antonio.
Players Mentioned
