Texas produced rounds of gritty performances during Saturday’s competition at the Longhorn Invitational en route to winning 10 events.
Texas’ throwers have dominated the ring all season, and this time the bunch came away with titles in both the shot put and discus.
Redshirt freshman Blake Jakobsson won the discus for the first time in his career with a heave of 56.11 meters. Four Longhorns followed Jakobsson: Ryan Crouser, Will Spence, Jacob Thormaehlen and Hayden Baillio as UT swept the top five spots.
“It was really good for Blake,” head coach Bubba Thornton said. “It was a nice day. He had some personal bests but more importantly he moved up in the conference standings. Those points will become really critical in that event so it was good to see him doing the things that we asked him to do.”
Baillio followed suit with his first outdoor career win in the shot put. His throw of 19.09 meters edged Thormaehlen, who threw 19.06.
Pole vaulters Mark Thomas, Hayden Clark and Casey Wicker clenched the top three collegiate spots in the event. Thomas and Clark both posted top vaults of 5.20 meters. Thomas took the title because he was able to clear that height in fewer attempts. Wicker came in third with a vault of 5.05 meters.
“For us the biggest thing was to relax,” Thomas said. “For Hayden that was big today because he definitely qualified for NCAA Regionals. We need to relax. Our workouts, practice and our weight training are all good but we have to relax to put it all together.”
Junior Marquise Goodwin leaped 7.67 meters for the top collegiate spot in the long jump and third place overall. He also went on to win the title in the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.44 seconds.
C.J. Jessett also dominated the field of racers in the 1500-meter run. The junior distance competitor was able to oust teammate Patrick McGregor for the top finish with a time of 3:44.70.
In the triple jump, Texas claimed the top two collegiate spots with performances by Mark Jackson and Jarard Bruner. Jackson’s leap of 15.02 meters earned him second place overall, just over Bruner’s mark.
In the 4×100-meter relay Jackson, Goodwin, Emerson Sanders and Trevante Rhodes showcased their wheels with a winning time of 40.18.
Rhodes also ran 21.05 in the 200-meter dash.
“I am happy to be dropping time but it is not to the point where it needs to be,” Rhodes said. “The fact that we have been more diligent in execution in practice and warming up has made a difference in how we do in the races.”
