Texas track & field made history early in its indoor track season at the Clemson Invitational over the weekend.
Over the course of two days, Texas had nine wins and 30 total personal bests, including several top-10 school records in various events.
On the competition’s opening day, 16 Longhorns recorded personal bests and six won their events, per a release from Texas Athletics.
“We had a very successful first day this afternoon at the Clemson Invitational,” said head coach Edrick Floréal, who noted the team’s triumphs Friday. “It is a testament to the training that the group is putting in. (The team) will need to build off that success in order to finish the meet strong tomorrow.”
On the track, Jonathan Jones won the men’s 400m with a national-best time of 46.21 to make him the No. 3 performer in school history. After an effective cross country season in the fall, Alex Rogers became the No. 4 men’s mile runner in school history when he won the event in under four minutes.
“I am so grateful for all of my coaches and teammates for their support and tolerance,” Rogers said in an Instagram post after the meet. “But while I am pleased, I am very unsatisfied and now the hard work can begin.”
Steffin McCarter claimed victory in the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.71m/25-3.50, followed by three other Longhorns who finished in the top seven in the event.
True freshman Kynnedy Flannel won the women’s 60m with a time of 7.61 to make her the event’s No. 8 runner in school history while Shay Petty launched to victory in the women’s pole vault, easily clearing 4.05m/19-8.00 on her first attempt.
Elena Bruckner won the shot put with a throw of 15.82m/51-11.00. She has won all three events she’s entered this season.
The momentum brought by the team’s success on Friday carried three Longhorns to win their events and 13 more to set personal records on the second day of competition.
In addition to her 60m victory on Friday, Flannel won the women’s 200m with a time of 22.88 — the eighth fastest time in school history.
On the field, O’Brien Wasome won the men’s triple jump after winning the NCAA Championship in the event last season, and Barrett Poth claimed victory in men’s pole vault.
Despite not winning the women’s weight throw, Bruckner’s throw of 18.86m/61-10.50 set a new school record for the event. Gabby Crank completed her 800m race with the second-fastest run in school history.
In his first season as Texas’ track & field head coach, Floréal is optimistic about the team’s ability to find success as the season progresses.
“We had several student-athletes come back after yesterday and turn in strong performances again today, including Kynnedy Flannel with both performances being top 10 in program history,” Floréal said. “She was just one of many who had very good weekends which we will build off of as our season continues next weekend.”
