Piperi, Zamzow lead Texas track and field to top-10 NCAA finishes

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas men’s and women’s track and field teams both finished in the top 10 in the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2015 when the men finished ninth and the women tied for 10^th at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Between the men’s and women’s programs, 11 Longhorns earned All-America honors.

The UT men’s team finished 36^th, 26^th and 25^th in the last three seasons before taking a massive leap in head coach Edrick Floréal’s first season at the helm of the program.

“Although guiding our guys to a top-10 finish nationally seems like a huge step forward for our program, I still feel like we let an opportunity slip through our fingers,” Floréal said. “Like Ben Crenshaw said on the eve of the Ryder Cup victory, ‘I have a good feeling about this team.’ I have faith in these young men and their abilities. I have to do a better job of getting them to see and believe in their potential.”

Texas scored[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] in five events, led by sophomore Tripp Piperi winning the national championship in the shot put with a personal-best heave of 69 feet, 3-1/4 inches. He is the second Longhorn in the last six years to win the NCAA outdoor shot put championship, joining former UT star Ryan Crouser.

Freshman Jonathan Jones smashed his own program record — and the national record in his home country of Barbados — in the 400 meters when he became the first Longhorn to crack 45 seconds in the event, finishing in 44.64 to finish fourth and earn All-America honors. The run broke Jones’ own school record of 45.02 that he set two weeks ago at the NCAA West Prelims.

Sophomore Micaiah Harris also earned All-America status when he finished fifth the 200 meters in a school-record 20.13, marking the third time in the last two meets he has established a new school record; He now holds the top three times in school history in the 200.

Steeplechaser Alex Rogers and jumper O’Briwn Wasome also picked up All-America honors: Rogers finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:43.29, while Wasome turned in the third-best outdoor triple jump in UT history to finish fifth in the event with a leap of 54 feet, 10 inches.

For the Texas women, senior Ashtin Zamzow became the first Longhorn ever to win the national title in the heptathlon with a school-record 6,222 points. She set personal bests in the 100 meter hurdles (13.33), the 200 meters (24.23), the long jump (19 feet, 8-3/4 inches) and matched her all-time best in the high jump (1.78 meters/5 feet, 10 inches); her score not only set the UT record but also is the ninth-best total in collegiate history and the seventh-best heptathlon score ever recorded at the NCAA championship.

Sprinter Teahna Daniels claimed All-America honors in three events and became just the second UT sprinter in the last decade to score in the 100 meters and the 200 meters while also running a leg of the 4×100-meter relay. Daniels finished fourth in the 100 in 11.00, the fifth-best time in Texas history, and fifth in the 200, in 22.62, the seventh-fastest time in program history and just .11 seconds of her own team record. The 4×100-meter relay of Kennedy Simon, Daniels, Zola Golden and Serenity Douglas finished eighth, in 43.69, the second-fastest time in school history.

“I’m very happy with the effort and the ‘Texas Fight’ that our team showed this weekend,” Floréal said. “I’m thankful for the hard work that our coaches and support staff put forth in keeping our team in one piece. Although top-10 finishes on both the men’s and women’s side is a good place to be, it is not our ultimate destination just a step forward in this journey.”
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