Piperi third Longhorn to earn Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors
In just a few short weeks, the Texas Track & Field teams have already collected three Big 12 Conference Athlete of the Week honors.
The most-recent is sophomore Tripp Piperi, who is now No. 1 in the Big 12 for shot put, and he has the second-longest throw in UT history. Not to mention, his 20.57 throw is No. 3 in the entire NCAA this season, as well as No. 4 in the USA in 2019.
Earlier this season, freshmen Kynnedy Flannel + Jonathan Jones earned Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors as well for some of the top performances in UT history.
More than 10 Longhorns are currently in the NCAA Top 10, including Flannel at No. 1 in the 200-meter dash and again at No. 10 in the 60 meters.
Piperi slots in at No. 3 in shot put, and Jones is No. 10 in the 400 meters.
.@Tripp_Piperi - 20.57m/67-6‼️🤘🏼
✅ Lifetime PB & currently ranks:@Big12Conference #1@TexasTFXC #2 Indoor@NCAATrackField #3 @usatf #4
•#ThrowsBySion #ShotPut #HookEm pic.twitter.com/JtFmURZNAg— Zebulon R. Sion (@CoachSion) February 3, 2019
Joining them are Alex Rogers at No. 4 in the mile, Gabby Crank is No. 5 in the 800, while O’Brien Wasome and Steffin McCarter are No. 9 nationally in the triple jump and long jump, respectively.
The women’s 4x400 meter relay as well as the women’s distance medley relay teams come in at No. 8 each.
This weekend Texas will split its squad between two locations — the Texas Tech Shootout, with some of the distance runners heading to Seattle for the Husky Classic.
"This is another important weekend for our student-athletes as chances are becoming limited to hit their qualifying marks to the upcoming postseason," head coach Edrick Floréal said.
Piperi’s winning throw at the Charlie Thomas Invitational last weekend earned him the No. 2 indoor shot putter record in Texas history with elite company. The sophomore’s throw came in only behind 2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Crouser. In fact, five of Piperi’s six throws over the weekend were in the top eight in distance throws across the country.
Flannel earned her honors at the Clemson Invitational when she turned in the No. 8 time in UT history in the 60 meters at 7.26. On top of that, she also earned the No. 8 spot in the Longhorn record books with her 22.88 in the 200-meter dash.
Fellow freshman Jones won the 400m at the Ted Nelson Invitational in College Station with an NCAA-best 46.68, earning him the No. 8 spot in Texas Track & Field history.
"With the group heading to Lubbock, this meet will be a great opportunity to not only hit big marks, but to compete on the site of the upcoming conference championship,” Floréal said. “Our distance group heading to Seattle has a great chance to run some really fast times against very strong competition at the Husky Classic."
The Texas Women’s team is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation, with the Men’s squad ranked No. 8 in the most recent rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
