Distance-running pair etches names in program record books for Texas men

It has not taken long for freshman Sam Worley and junior Alex Rogers to establish themselves as one of the top distance pairs in the country. Their performances in the mile at the University of Washington on Saturday did little to dispute that claim.

Worley shattered the school record by running a 3:58.04, good for fourth place in the event. Rogers finished at 4:00.00, placing fifth in the school record books and 10th at the Husky Classic.

“The highlight of the day was by far the mile,” Texas assistant coach Brad Herbster said. “I think Alex and Sam both have a lot more in the tank, and we are looking forward to seeing them run at the Big 12 Championship.”

The record for Worley came off the heels of his first-place finish a week ago in the New Mexico Classic, another highly competitive meet.

“I’m so proud of Sam and the immediate impact he has made on this team,” Herbster said. “Breaking the school record in his third indoor race ever and placing fourth in that field of runners was very impressive.”

Meanwhile, in Fayetteville at the Tyson Invitational, freshman Tripp Piperi remained unbeatable, recording a 19.65-meter throw in the shot put to place first.

“Tripp was really close to hitting a big throw today,” Texas associate head coach Ty Sevin said. “I’m more than pleased with how he’s performing heading into the conference championship.”

Other notable performers included senior Alan Zapalac, who won the weight throw with a throw of 21.42 meters. Junior Steffin McCarter jumped 7.90 meters to win the long jump invitational, and freshman Micaiah Harris placed fifth in the 200-meter invitational and 10th in the 400-meter invitational.

Texas women continue their momentum

As the Longhorn women split up this weekend to compete in the Tyson Invitational and the Husky Invitational, the women proved to be a force yet again. It was another week and another competition that saw personal records broken and top-10 finishes obtained. 

On day one, junior Mariam Abdul-Rashid ran a time of 8.21 in the 60-meter hurdles and set two personal records. Her mark also allowed her to break into the top of Texas school history. Her running mate, senior Pedrya Seymour, finished in second place in the same event with a time of  8.09 seconds. Seymour now sits at the No. 7 spot all time in Texas history.

“I would say the highlights today, on the track, would have been in the 60 hurdles,” Texas head coach Mario Sategna said. “Mariam is really stepping up and being a competitor, and one of the best performances was Pedrya running 8.09. In the hurdles, the more that they race the more they continue to sharpen things up.”

To add on to the impressive performances by the hurdlers, junior Georgia Wahl won the long jump. Her jump of 6.02 meters was a personal best and moved her up to the No. 5 spot in the Big 12 Conference. She wasn’t done after her win, either. Wahl competed in the triple jump the following day, coming in second place.

Day two of the Tyson invitational saw more strides taken for the Longhorns. The 4×400-meter relay team came in fifth place with a time of 3:34.81 seconds.

“It was great for them to go out and run a 3:34,” Texas associate coach Zach Glavash said. “It shows what we can do when we put the pieces together.”