Recap: 2013 Texas Invitational
The University of Texas Men’s and Women’s Track and Field teams hosted the 2013 Texas Invitational on Saturday at Mike A. Myers Stadium. The one day, non-scored meet featured seven other schools competing—Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Houston, Cal State Northridge, UTSA and Texas State.
With the regular season coming to an end, the Texas Men and Women were looking to come out strong and compete hard in their home stadium.
The Texas Men had great success at the 2013 Texas Invitational with four first-place finishes.
Kyle Thompson won first place in the 800 Meters with a time of 1:48.48.
Austin Bussing won first in the 1,500 Meter Run with a time of 3:47.73. Fellow Texas teammate Trevor Van Ackeren finished second in the event with a time of 3:48.06.
Texas did well in the field events on Saturday with two first-place finishes. Victor Glaze II won the Men’s High Jump with a jump of 2.10 meters. Teammate Jordan Larkin finished fifth with a jump of 2.00 meters.
Texas sophomore Will Spence won the Men’s Discus with a throw of 57.52 meters.
The Texas Women’s Track and Field team also finished with four first-place finishes.
Texas freshman Courtney Okolo won the 400 Meter Dash with a time of 52.52—a personal best for Okolo. Her teammate Briana Nelson finished second in the event with a time of 53.01.
"I felt good and it’s a big improvement from last week and I am really happy about that," Okolo said. "My start wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, but it’s still early in the outdoor season so I will have time to improve. Winning gives me a confidence boost, but there is still a lot left in the season."
The Texas Women had great success in the 800 Meters, finishing in first, second and third place. Kendra Chambers won the 800 Meters with a time of 2:06.73. Teammate Katie Hoaldridge finished second with a personal best, 2:06.81. Sara Sunderland finished third with a time of 2:10.67.
Christy Udoh won the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 11.63, while teammate Morgan Snow placed fourth with a time of 11.81.
Mia Behm started strong and set the pace, winning the 1,500 Meters with a time of 4:27.45.
The Women’s Track team finished with four first-place finishes, four second-place finishes, and five third place finishes at the 2013 Texas Invitational.
The Men’s team finished with four first-place finishes, five second-place finishes, and three third-place finishes.
The Texas Men and Women’s Track and Field teams return to action on April 18, at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California. Texas will be sending some of their distance runners to the relays, however most of their runners will be in Austin next Saturday.
The rest of the Men and Women’s teams will compete next Saturday, April 20, at the Longhorn Invitational in the final regular-season home meet of the season.
“We’re looking forward to next Saturday,” Texas head coach Bubba Thornton said. “We’re excited about the opportunity for our distance guys too at Mt. SAC.”
