The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Track & Field long jumper Steffin McCarter punches ticket to Tokyo
06.28.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Seven current or former Longhorns are headed to Tokyo for the XXXII Olympic Games, four for Team USA, one with Jamaica, one with Barbados and one with Colombia.
EUGENE, Ore. – One night after Tara Davis punched her ticket to Tokyo, her Longhorn long-jumping teammate Steffin McCarter joined her in earning an Olympic bid for Team USA in that event. In a day filled with a lengthy weather delay due to excessive heat in Eugene, Ore., McCarter withstood the challenge and matched his career-best leap of 8.26m/27-1.25 to finish third and secure his spot in the Tokyo Games. Texas Track & Field added another Olympic qualifier with Stacey Ann Williams earning a spot on the Jamaican 4x400m relay team on Sunday, while Longhorn All-American and 400m school-record holder Jonathan Jones has been selected to run his specialty for Barbados, along with 2015 All-American Melissa Gonzalez in the 400m hurdles for Colombia. That brings the total to seven Longhorn Track & Field greats, past and present, heading to the XXXII Olympic Games.
"Being able to qualify with Tara is amazing," McCarter said. "Coach Flo really knows what he's doing, and it's kind of crazy because he'd tell us, 'Both of y'all are going to be Olympians,' and we're both sitting here looking at him like, 'Okay, that's a very long time from now.' He wasn't saying this at the beginning of the week, he was saying it last year or years ago. For that to come true, he really knew how to prepare us and get us ready for this moment. He's amazing, I'm so grateful to have him as a coach, and I'm looking forward to having my training partner (Tara) over the next three, four weeks. It's amazing to have both of us make the team. I can't express how good that feels."
A five-time All-American and three-time Big 12 Champion, McCarter posted his best jump of the competition on his third attempt and followed up with a second 27-footer (8.24m/27-0.5) on his fourth jump in his Olympic qualifying effort. He joins Marquise Goodwin (2012) as just the second Longhorn to earn an Olympic spot on Team USA in the men's long jump. Richard Duncan also competed in the long jump for Canada in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Ranked third on the UT all-time outdoor performers list with his 27-1.25 career-best, trailing only Eric Metcalf and Goodwin, the Copperas Cove and Lampasas High product now has four of the top seven outdoor long jumps in school history.
"Today was just awesome in general," McCarter added. "I'm elated with what happened, just dealing with adversity and being able to execute. It was crazy coming out here and warming up and being ready to go, and then (they said) it's too hot, but being from Texas, I'm like, 'It's not that bad,' but it was just like a rollercoaster, but rolling with the punches and being able to come out an Olympian. I mean, wow, it's so weird to say."
It was a near miss for another Longhorn great, Ashtin Zamzow Mahler, who was seeking to become Texas' first-ever Olympic qualifier in the heptathlon. With a personal-best of 6.05m/19-10.25 in the long jump and a winning javelin toss of 51.30m/168-4 to begin her second day, Zamzow Mahler climbed from eighth place to fourth entering the final event. After the lengthy weather delay, the 2019 NCAA Champion returned to the track and posted a 2:17.14 (11th place, 854 points) to finish fifth with a career-best 6,273 points. Zamzow Mahler completed day one of that event in eighth place with 3,669 points. She started the first day by clocking 13.79 in the 100m Hurdles (2nd place heat/10th overall) for 1,008 points, added 916 points with by clearing 1.75m/5-8.75 in the high jump (t-9th place), finished second in the shot put with a personal-best toss of 14.23m/46-8.25 (809 points) and closed out the day with a 24.47 clocking in the 200m (5th place heat/10th overall) for 936 points.
Former Longhorn 400m All-American Ashley Spencer, the 2016 Bronze medalist in the 400m Hurdles event worked her way through the rounds to advance to the final, before finishing eighth in Sunday's final.
In addition to the U.S. Trials, Texas Track & Field added another Olympian with Stacey Ann Williams earning a bid on Jamaica's women's 4x400m relay team. An All-American in the 400m and 4x400m as a freshman, Williams finished fourth in the 400m at the Jamaican Trials to earn a relay spot. She posted a personal-best time of 50.14 in the final, that's the fifth-fastest women's 400m time in Texas history. Her previous best of 50.34 at the NCAA West Preliminary ranks No. 8 in UT history, so she now holds two of the eight-fastest 400m on Longhorn record. With a 50.84 clocking in the Jamaican Trials prelims, the third-fastest time heading into the final, Williams registered two of her top-three career times in the 400m this weekend.
Rhasidat Adeleke, a three-time All-American as a freshman (4x100, 4x400, 200m), came within .01 seconds of sweeping the 100m and 200m at the at the Irish National Championships. After sprinting away from the field to win the 100m in personal-best time of 11.29 on Saturday, Adeleke finished second in a speedy, wind-aided 200m final (22.84) on Sunday. Another Longhorn All-American freshman, Kevona Davis, wrapped up a solid weekend at the Jamaican Trials, advancing to the finals of the 200m and finishing 7th (23.19). Earlier in the week, Davis recorded her collegiate-best of 11.19 (No. 8 on the UT all-time outdoor performers list) to advance to 100m semifinals, but did not make the final round.
Longhorns Results at U.S. Olympic Trials
Current Longhorns
Qualified for Olympics
Women's Long Jump: Tara Davis (7.04m/23-1.25/2nd place)
Men's Long Jump: Steffin McCarter (8.26m/27-1.25/3rd place)
1st Round (Advanced to Semifinals)
Women's 100mH: Chanel Brissett (20.80/4th place, Heat 4)
Women's 200m: Kynnedy Flannel (22.31/2nd place, Heat 4)
Men's 400mH: Charles Brockman III (49.98/3rd place, Heat 4)
Qualifying Round (Advanced to Final)
Men's Shot Put: Tripp Piperi (20.77m/68-1.75/4th place)
Women's Long Jump: Tara Davis (6.68m/21-11/4th place)
Men's Long Jump: Steffin McCarter (8.10m/26-7/2nd place)
Did Not Advance
Men's Shot Put Final: Tripp Piperi (19.96/65-6/11th place)
Women's Discus Qualifying: Elena Bruckner (55.12m/181-10.0/14th place)
Men's 800m 1st Round: Crayton Carrozza (1:50.04/26th place overall)
Women's Triple Jump Qualifying: Sophia Falco (12.99/42-7.5/15th place)
Women's 100mH Semifinal: Chanel Brissett (20.71/6th place, Heat 2)
Men's 400mH 1st Round: Paramveer Chohan (52.70/6th place, Heat 1)
Men's 200m 1st Round: Micaiah Harris: (20.90/4th place, Heat 3)
Men's 400mH Semifinal: Charles Brockman III (49.54/7th place, Heat 2)
Women's 200m Semifinal: Kynnedy Flannel (22.46/6th place, Heat 1)
Former Longhorns
Qualified for Olympics
Women's 100m: Teahna Daniels (11.03/3rd place)
Men's Shot Put: Ryan Crouser (23.37m/76-8.25 WR/1st place)*
*World Record
Qualifying Round (Advanced to Final)
Men's Shot Put: Ryan Crouser (22.92m/75-2.5/1st place)+
+Stadium Record
Semifinals (Advanced to Final)
Women's 100m: Teahna Daniels (10.84/2nd place, Heat 1)
Men's 400mH: Aldrich Bailey, Jr. (49.20/4th place, Heat 2)
Women's 400m Semifinals: Ashley Spencer (55.28/4th place, Heat 2)
1st Round (Advanced to Semifinals)
Women's 100m: Teahna Daniels (11.02/3rd place, Heat 2)
Women's 1,500m: Sarah Lancaster (4:13.60/3rd place, Heat 2)
Women's 200m: Morolake Akinosun (22:48/2nd place, Heat 5), Teahna Daniels (22:54/2nd place, Heat 1)
Men's 400mH: Aldrich Bailey, Jr. (49.99/4th place, Heat 1)
Women's 400mH: Ashley Spencer (55.92)/2nd place, Heat 2)
Did Not Advance
Women's 400m 1st Round: Courtney Okolo (52.37/4th place, 1st Round Heat 4), Kendall Baisden (53.17/8th place, 1st Round Heat 3)
Women's 100m Semifinals: Morolake Akinosun (11.16/7th place, Heat 2)
Women's 1,500m Semifinals: Sarah Lancaster (4:11.05/7th place, Heat 1)
Men's 400m 1st Round: Aldrich Bailey, Jr. (46.03/4th place, 1st Round Heat 4)
Men's Pole Vault Qualifying: Reese Watson (No Height/Qualifying Round)
Men's 3000m Steeplechase Qualifying: Alex Rogers (8:49/9th place, Heat 2)
Women's 800m 1st Round: Kendra Chambers (2:02.73/4th place, Heat 4)
Men's Long Jump Qualifying: Marquise Goodwin (7.57m/24-10/19th place)
Women's 200m Semifinals: Teahna Daniels (22.62/4th place, Heat 2)
Women's 10,000m Finals: Marielle Hall (34:35.79/36th place)
Men's 400mH Finals: Aldrich Bailey, Jr. (48.55/4th place)
Women's 200m Finals: Morolake Akinosun (22.49/8th place)
Heptathlon: Ashtin Zamzow Mahler (6,273 points/5th place)
Women's 400mH Finals: Ashley Spencer (1:00.19/8th place)
Longhorns Results at non-U.S. National Championships:
Current Longhorns
Qualified for Olympics
Women's 4x400m Relay, Jamaica: Stacey Ann Williams (via 4th place in 400m, 50.14)
Men's 400m, Barbado: Jonathan Jones
1st Round (Advanced to Semifinals)
Women's 100m, Jamaica: Kevona Davis (11.19, 3rd place, Heat 4)
Qualifying Round (Advanced to Final)
Women's 1500m, Great Britain: Kathryn Gillespie (4:20.04, 4th place, Heat 2)
Women's 100m, Irleand: Rhasidat Adeleke (11.41/1st place, Heat 1)
Women's 200m, Jamaica: Kevona Davis (23.20/3rd place, Heat 3)
Women's 400m, Jamaica: Stacey Ann Williams (50.84/1st place, Heat 1)
Women's 200m, Ireland: Rhasidat Adeleke (23.73, 1st place, Heat 1)
Did Not Advance
Women's 100m Final, Ireland: Rhasidat Adeleke (11.29/1st place)
Women's 100m Semifinals, Jamaica: Kevona Davis (11.35, 6th place, Heat 2)
Men's Triple Jump Final, Jamaica: O'Brien Wasome (15.69m, 4th place)
Women's 1500m Final, Great Britain: Kathryn Gillespie (4:17.34, 8th place)
Men's 800m Qualifying, Great Britain: Yusuf Bizimana (1:48.30/4th place, Heat 2)
Men's Long Jump Final, Jamaica: O'Brien Wasome (7.24m, 10th place)
Women's 200m Final, Ireland: Rhasidat Adeleke (22.84, 2nd place)
Women's 200m Final, Jamaica: Kevona Davis (23.19, 7th place)
Former Longhorns
Qualified for Olympics
Women's 400mH, Colombia: Melissa Gonzalez
