Monthly Archives: June 2018

Duke routs Texas Tech 11-2 at the Lubbock Super Regional

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Max Miller doubled and tripled and produced four RBI for the Duke Blue Devils, who defeated Texas Tech 11-2 Sunday night in the NCAA Lubbock Super Regional.

With the victory, the Blue Devils tied the best-of-3 series at one game apiece. A deciding Game 3 is set for Monday with the winner advancing to the College World Series.

The game is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

Texas bounces back to beat Tennessee Tech, 4-2

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Kody Clemens doubled and homered and drove in two runs Sunday as the Texas Longhorns beat Tennessee Tech, 4-2, to tie the best-of-3 Austin Super Regional at one win apiece.

A deciding Game 3 is set for noon Monday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, with the winner earning a berth in the College World Series.

Shutting down an explosive offense, Chase Shugart pitched six innings and Blair Henley the last three for the Longhorns, who were facing elimination after losing the series opener 5-4 on Saturday.

Shugart experienced some problems with control but pitched effectively when it counted, holding the Golden Eagles to two hits and one unearned run.

The Texas defense also emerged as a factor.

While the UT infield turned a couple of double plays, it also broke down once with a throwing error by Clemens accounting for Tennessee Tech’s first run of the game in the second inning.

UT’s miscue allowed the Golden Eagles to cut the lead to 2-1.

Clemens made up for it in the Longhorns’ next at bat with a long solo homer off Tennessee Tech starter and staff ace Travis Moths, a 13-game winner who took the loss.

Texas scored again in the seventh off Moths to make it 4-1. David Garza answered for Tennessee Tech in the bottom half by greeting Henley with a first-pitch solo homer.

But that was it for the Golden Eagles, who managed only three hits on the afternoon.

Clemens, a third-round draft choice by the Detroit Tigers, continued his torrid offensive pace against Tennessee Tech.

In five NCAA tournament games, the son of former major league pitching star Roger Clemens is batting .474 with three doubles and four home runs.

He has also produced 10 RBI.

Thanks to Clemens and friends, the Longhorns moved to within one victory of their first trip to Omaha under second-year UT coach David Pierce.

The Longhorns are looking for their 36th trip overall.

Quotable

Kody Clemens, in comments posted on the Texas website, on whether he was surprised that the Golden Eagles pitched to him:

“Not really, I was just going up there with the same approach as always. I didn’t know what they were going to try and do, but I knew that pitcher’s sequences. I just got a good pitch and got a good swing on it.”

Coach David Pierce, on electing to pitch Henley in Game 2:

“Well, this is the thing, there’s no tomorrow if we don’t win today. It makes no sense to me to have our next best guy sitting in the bullpen and then we’d never get to him, for the simple fact that we’re waiting on playing him tomorrow. We had an opportunity to win and we went for it. Plus, he gives Parker Joe (Robinson) and Josh (Sawyer) some rest. I knew he was fresh, I knew his stuff would play, and it was the right decision for us.”

Records

Texas 41-21
Tennessee Tech 53-11

USC wins team title; Baylor finishes eighth in 4×400 relay

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The Southern Cal women knew they had to win the 4×400 relay to win the NCAA team title on Saturday, and that’s exactly what they did in a stirring finish at Hayward Field.

USC’s Kendall Ellis came from behind in the last 50 meters to edge Purdue for first place in the relay and the accompanying 10 points necessary for the team championship.

A protest that could have scuttled the USC relay title and altered the team point standings was denied.

The drama unfolded in the final event of the NCAA Track and Field Championship in Eugene, Oregon. Rain fell for most of the last day of the meet.

Horton earns All-American honors

Baylor, with former Judson star Kiana Horton running the anchor leg, came in eighth place in the 4×400. Horton, a Baylor junior, claimed her first All-American designation outdoors.

Devin Clark finishes 11th

Devin Clark, an Arkansas sophomore from Smithson Valley, placed 11th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She crossed the line in 10 minutes and 3.7 seconds.

A&M’s Watson wins 800

Texas A&M freshman Sammy Watson patiently stalked the leaders in a driving rain and then came from behind to win the title in the 800 meters.

UT Arlington’s Henry claims high jump title

UT Arlington junior Alexus Henry won the championship in the high jump with a clearance of 5 feet, 11 and 1/2 inches.

Texas to host in 2019, 2020

The NCAA outdoor track meet will be staged in Austin for the next two years. The meet will be held at Myers Stadium on the University of Texas campus in 2019 and 2020.

Hayward Field will undergo a major re-construction for the next two years in anticipation of the 2021 IAAF World Outdoor Championships.

Women’s team scoring

1, Southern Cal, 53
2, Georgia, 52
3, Stanford, 51
4, Kentucky, 46
5, Florida, 42
6, LSU, 41
7, Oregon, 39
8, Purdue, 34
9, Arizona State, 22
10, Virginia Tech, 21.5

Texas Tech rallies to defeat Duke, 6-4, in Super Regional opener

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Trailing by three runs, the Texas Tech Red Raiders came from behind to beat Duke 6-4 in Game 1 of the Lubbock Super Regional.

As a result, the Red Raiders need only one more victory to advance to the College World Series.

Game 2 is set for Sunday afternoon. A third game, if necessary, would be played Monday.

Texas Tech scored two runs in the fifth, one each in the sixth and seventh and two more in the eighth to account for the eventual final score.

Gabe Holt smacked an RBI single and Brian Klein added a run-scoring double in the eighth to give the Red Raiders the lead.

Duke put runners on first and third with one out in the ninth but hit into a game-ending double play.

Zack Cone smashed a two-run double in the fifth to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead.

Records

Texas Tech 43-17
Duke 44-17

Tennessee Tech beats Texas, 5-4, in Austin Super Regional

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The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles moved to within one victory of the College World Series Saturday, rallying from two early deficits to beat Texas 5-4 in Game 1 of the Austin Super Regional.

Game 2 in the best-of-three series is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. A third game, if necessary, would be played Monday at noon.

Texas led 1-0 and 3-2 against Tennessee Tech but couldn’t hold on in front of a rowdy home crowd at Disch-Falk Field.

Chase Chambers pounded a two-run double to the wall to highlight a three-run fifth for the Golden Eagles. David Garza’s RBI double to right capped the rally and made it 5-3.

In the seventh inning, Texas’ Jake McKenzie doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on David Hamilton’s sacrifice fly.

Tennessee Tech reliever Ethan Roberts got out of the jam and shut out Texas the rest of the way.

The Golden Eagles, in the Super Regional round for the first time, are looking for their first trip to the CWS.

The Longhorns will need to win two straight for their 36th appearance.

Horton rides emotional roller coaster to NCAA finals

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Sprinter Kiana Horton runs the anchor leg on a 4×400 relay that has qualified for today’s finals at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Horton is a Baylor junior from Judson High School.

At the end of Kiana Horton’s day on Thursday, she felt elated. She felt like celebrating. The Baylor University sprinter also had reason to feel some pride, satisfaction and relief, as well.

All of those emotions surged after the Horton-led Bears’ 4×400 relay qualified for the finals at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Horton said. “You know, we were congratulating each other and telling each other how good we ran, and, just, basically saying, ‘That was good.’ We did what we had to do.”

As a result, Baylor will compete tonight in the 4×400 finals on the final day of the NCAA meet in Oregon, at historic Hayward Field. The Bears will run against some of the nation’s most dynamic mile relay units, including Kentucky and Purdue, the two teams with the fastest times entering the meet.

Horton is more than ready for the challenge. She has been training her whole life for the moment, actually. Born in Kansas, she moved to the San Antonio area and became a key member of one of the greatest girls track squads in area history at Judson.

As a two-year member of the team at Judson, he experienced success on both an individual and team level at the UIL state meets, winning a silver medal in the 200-meter dash in 2014 and a gold in 2015. Both years, the Rockets won team state titles under coach Renee Gerbich.

After high school, she moved on to Baylor, where she has overcame two injury-plagued seasons to become one of the top performers in the Big 12 Conference.

Horton, a three-time Big 12 outdoor champion, emerged in May as the high-point scorer at the championship meet after helping win the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Additionally, she won the 400-meter individual title with a school-record time of 51.22.

In the past two seasons, she has competed at the NCAA Indoor meets but, because of injuries, has never made it to the outdoor nationals. Her first impression of the atmosphere at Hayward Field was one of awe.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” she said. “I was in shock. The crowd was probably one of the biggest I ever ran in front of. Getting in the blocks, there are people lined up on the side with cell phones and cameras. Like, right in your face. It’s like, ‘This is the time. If you’re going to do anything, do it today.’ ”

Horton’s day, initially, didn’t go as planned. First, she ran on a Baylor 4×100 relay that failed to qualify for nationals. Next, in her signature event, she came up short again. Horton didn’t make it past semifinals in the individual 400, which heightened her anxiety.

“I was definitely very upset at myself,” she said. “I was trying to keep on a positive face for my teammates. Let them know, ‘Hey, I might not have taken care of what I personally needed to take care of. But I’m not going to let you down. I’m still going to go out there and give 100 percent.’ ”

Victoria Powell, Taylor Bennett, Aaliyah Miller and Horton decided, enough was enough. In the 4×400 semifinals, they came through with a second-place finish to qualify automatically to the finals. The moment didn’t come without some drama, however, as Horton lagged in fourth place on the anchor leg with about 200 meters remaining.

“At that point I was just trying to stay poised and staying in my position and remembering to run my race. Because there were a lot of girls just … doing things that wouldn’t have worked in my style of running,” she said. “So I was just trusting my training and keeping poise, and realize that when it’s time for me to turn it on and kick up the notch, I can do it.”

It’s exactly what happened. Horton found an opening and turned it on down the stretch, passing two runners to claim the final automatic qualifying spot. Horton said the Baylor 4×400 relay isn’t finished yet.

“Saturday, it’s going to be spectacular,” she said. “We’re going for it all. Like, no resting, no sitting back, you know what I’m saying? We’re just going to go for it. Last race of the season. Last race of the year. We want to run a good race. Give it all we have.”

UT freshman Sam Worley places fifth in NCAA 1,500 meters

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Texas freshman Sam Worley rallied for a fifth-place finish Friday in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

The race was contested in a light rain at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

Worley, a former state champion at New Braunfels Canyon High School, trailed near the back of the pack with two laps to go.

He was in seventh with about 200 meters remaining, but he kicked down the stretch, passing two runners to grab fifth.

Oliver Hoare, a sophomore from Wisconsin, rallied in the final 100 meters to win the title in 3 minutes and 44.77 seconds.

Senior Vincent Ciattei of Virginia Tech was second in 3:45.012, finishing just ahead of the defending champion, New Mexico’s Josh Kerr. Kerr was timed in 3:45.015.

Robert Domanic of Ole Miss was fourth in 3:45.47, with Worley fifth at 3:45.67. By virtue of his top eight finish, Worley is a first-team, All American.

Nobody in the race even approached a season-best time. Worley ran a season-best 3:40.00 in April in Azusa, California.

Cameron Burrell’s big day

University of Houston senior Cameron Burrell won the 100-meter dash in 10.13 seconds after anchoring the Cougars’ record-setting victory in the 4×100 relay.

The Cougars finished 1-2 in the 100 with Elijah Hall taking second.

In the triple jump, Texas A&M sophomore Tahar Triki won with a leap of 55 feet and one inch. Texas Tech junior Odaine Lewis placed second at 54-10 and 3/4.

USC’s Ford is seventh in the 800

Robert Ford, a Southern Cal senior from Johnson, won first-team, All-American honors by finishing seventh in the 800 meters.

Penn State’s Isaiah Harris won in 1:44.76. Freshman Marco Arop from Mississippi State was second in 1:45.25. UTEP’s Michael Saruni, who kicked into the lead on the second and final lap, faded to third in 1:45.31.

Ford covered two laps around the oval in 1:46.72.

UTSA’s Anderson ties for 13th

On a rainy day when freshman Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State won the high jump by clearing only 7-4 1/2, UTSA’s Ty Anderson tied for 13th. Anderson went 6-9 and 3/4.

Georgia men win team title

1, Georgia, 52
2, Florida, 42
3, Houston, 35
4, USC, 34
5, Alabama, 33
5, Texas Tech, 33
7, Texas A&M, 29
8, Stanford, 28
8, LSU, 28
10, Miss. State, 26

UT’s Worley to test his resolve in an NCAA 1,500-meter title shot

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A shadow of mental anguish still looms over Sam Worley, to a certain extent.

He is still haunted in some respects by the memory of a disappointing effort three months ago at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship.

“I remember the feeling,” the former state champion at New Braunfels Canyon said recently. “I almost don’t know how to put it into words. I was not happy.”

Worley just didn’t have it that day.

One of the best high school mile runners in U.S. history showed up in College Station in March with significant momentum in his burgeoning career.

But after a lackluster showing in the preliminaries of the mile, he failed to reach the finals.

Remembered Worley, “I had worked too hard … I was too good of a competitor not to be in the final.”

In that regard, Worley said it represents a break through in his own mind to have qualified for the finals of the 1,500 meters outdoors.

Worley will toe the starting line as the only freshman in the finals tonight at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

He qualified Wednesday afternoon with a fourth-place finish in his heat and the fourth fastest overall time in the semifinals.

“That improvement alone has been really special to me,” Worley said in an interview Thursday afternoon. “I’m celebrating that. But, at the same time, I have a chance to do something special in the final.

“Now, it’s just a matter of going out there and competing and having the killer instinct to finish as high as possible.”

Athletes who will chase the championship in the 1,500 all held back some on Wednesday, with qualifying times ranging from 3 minutes and 47.47 secconds to 3:50.03.

The times are expected to be much faster tonight, but it’s hard to tell what kind of race will unfold.

Two years ago, the winner in the men’s 1,500 came in at 3:36.38. Last year, New Mexico’s Josh Kerr won in 3:43.03.

Kerr is the clear favorite to win tonight, having set the NCAA record in the event at 3:35.01 on April 20 in Azusa, California.

Worley, whose best is 3:40.00 from that same race, said he doesn’t know what type of pace he will see tonight.

“I have no clue,” he said.

Worley said he only knows what to expect from himself, and he thinks he can run under 3:40 if he feels good and the conditions are right.

“If it’s an honest race where I can run free and clear for a good portion of it, I think I could go sub 3:40,” he said. “But you also have to take into account, it’s the end of the season.

“It’s been a long six months of training. The body’s getting a little tired. So you never know until race day what you think you can do.”

Anyone who has seen Worley run as a prep athlete for New Braunfels Canyon understands the extent of his talent and the size of his heart.

He won the state title in the 1,600 twice, as both a junior and a senior. Last year, as a senior, he won the 800 and the 1,600 state titles on the same day at UT’s Myers Stadium.

Asked directly if he thinks he can win tonight, Worley said he does believe it is possible, but that everything would need to fall into place.

Two months ago in California, he could’t find much space on the track in a congested field, and he finished the fastest 1,500-meter race in collegiate history in 18th place.

This time, with a little more wisdom in the ways of elite runners such as Kerr, Robert Domanic and Sam Prakel, maybe he can find some open spaces. Maybe Worley can win, or, at least, find his way to the podium.

“I know it’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be tough,” he said. “I’ll have to really work for it. But you know, anything is possible.”

If nothing else, Worley now feels more confident than he did a few months ago when he left College Station bewildered about his sub-par effort.

After all, his body of work speaks for itself.

In high school, he was a generational phenomenon who broke Reuben Reina’s 30-year-old area records.

In his third race in college, Worley set the UT school record in the mile.

He also won a Big 12 title outdoors in the 1,500 and now, as of this week, he has made it to his sport’s biggest stage in an NCAA outdoor final.

“Some of the hurt that I felt during indoor kind of evaporated a little bit (on Wednesday),” Worley said. “But at the same time, I feel I’m on a mission, I’m really hoping to get in the top eight.

“It’s just going to be about … competing as best I can.”

Riley ends UTSA career with second All-American honor

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UTSA senior Adrian Riley gave it everything he had.

After running the 1,500 meters to complete his 10th and final event in two days Thursday, he collapsed on the track at Hayward Field.

Riley finished the four-lap finale in 4 minutes and 52.51 seconds for 604 points.

All told, he finished 12th in the decathlon at the NCAA Track and Field Championship with 7,520 points.

When the decathlon opened Wednesday, 24 athletes held out hopes of competing for a title. By the time it was over, only 16 had finished all 10 events.

Kentucky senior Tim Duckworth outlasted everyone, claiming the championship with a score of 8,336.

Duckworth fell a little more than 100 points shy of the meet record held by former Oregon star Ashton Eaton.

It was a solid showing all the way around for Riley, who finished in the top 10 in four events, including third in the long jump with a UTSA school record of 25 feet, 11 and 1/2 inch.

Riley was also fifth in the 100 meters (in 10.82 seconds), seventh in the discus (140 feet, 1 inch) and 10th in the javelin (176-6).

By virtue of his 12th-place overall finish, he earned second-team All-American honors, becoming the first track athlete in school history to get the award in two events.

He was an honorable mention All-American in the long jump last year.

“It feels great, like a job well-done,” said Riley, a native of Jamaica. “Especially (after) coming in and not being a high (rated) recruit.”

Riley also became the first at UTSA to earn multiple All-America honors since hurdler Keyunta Hayes did it in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

He was the first UTSA athlete to compete in the decathlon at the national meet since Justin Youngblood placed seventh in 2004.

“I’ve had five decathletes make it to the national meet since I’ve been at UTSA,” coach Aaron Fox said. “Adrian came in primarily as a sprinter-jumper.

“He had only jumped around 23 feet coming in, so he had a huge improvement in his long jump.”

In the coming year, Riley will continue to take classes at UTSA in pursuit of a finance degree.

He will also work on his long jump in an attempt to make the Jamaican national team for the 2019 world championships.

“He’s just a very talented athlete and can do a lot of things,” Fox said. It was a lot of fun to have him. He was a great team leader.”

Horton leads Baylor relay

Anchor Kiana Horton passed two runners in the final 200 meters to lead the Baylor women’s 4×400 relay to a second-place finish in its heat and into the finals.

Earlier in the day, Arkansas sophomore Devin Clark moved on to the finals in the women’s 3000 steeplechase.

Horton ran track at Judson. Clark was a distance running star at Smithson Valley.

Texas’ Sam Worley qualifies for finals in NCAA 1,500 meters

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Texas’ Sam Worley, a former state champion at New Braunfels Canyon, emerged Wednesday as the only freshman to qualify for the 12-man finals in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

His UT teammate, Alex Rogers, did not qualify in spite of a strong performance in the semifinals on the first day of the national meet. The meet runs through Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

A field of 24 runners competed in the 1,500 semifinals, 12 each in two heats. The top five finishers in each heat qualified automatically, with the next two best times also making it through to the finals, scheduled for Friday night.

Both Worley and Rogers ran in the second heat, the fastest of the day, which was won by New Mexico’s Josh Kerr in 3 minutes and 47.47 seconds.

Other automatic qualifiers out of the heat included second-place Robert Domanic of Ole Miss (3:47.61), Vincent Ciattei of Virginia Tech (3:47.73), Worley (3:47.84) and Cameron Griffith of Arkansas (3:47.93).

Rogers, who also ran in high school at New Braunfels Canyon, finished 10th in 3:48.67. He didn’t advance even though he ran faster than anyone in the first heat.

The five automatic qualifiers from the first heat of the day included Oregon’s Sam Prakel (3:49.33), Wisconsin’s Oliver Hoare, Oregon’s Mick Stanovsek, Virginia Tech’s Diego Zarate and Michigan State’s Justine Kiprotich.

The two fastest times outside the automatic qualifiers belonged to Amos Bartelsmeyer of Georgetown (3:48.00) and Mike Marsella of Virginia (3:48.01).

Friday’s race is expected to be much faster. Kerr, a junior, set the NCAA record in the event earlier this year in 3:35.01. Domanic and Prakel have also run 3:36 plus. Worley’s best this season has been 3:40 flat.

Ford reaches 800 finals

Robert Ford, a senior at Southern Cal from Johnson High School, registered the seventh best time of the day in the semifinals of the 800 meters. As a result, he will move into the eight-man finals, scheduled Friday night.

Ford ran 1:47.38. He was third in his heat. The top two finishers in each of three heats advanced, plus the next two fastest times. Ford had the No. 2 time among runners who finished outside the top two.

UTSA’s Riley in the decathlon

UTSA senior Adrian Riley had a fast start but fell back into 10th place after five events in the decathlon. He has 4,086 points.

Riley from Jamaica, opened with the 100 meters in 10.82 seconds for the fifth fastest time in the field. He was third best in the long jump at 25 feet, 11 and 1/2 inches, which set the UTSA school record. The decathlon is scheduled to be completed with the final five eventes on Thursday.

UTSA’s Patrick Prince ran the 110 hurdles in 14.10 seconds for the 20th best time of the day in the semifinals. He did not advance, but he did earn honorable mention All-American, a first in school history in the high hurdles.

Texas State’s 4×100 relay placed seventh in the second of three heats and also failed to advance. The Bobcats’ time of 39.81 was 18th overall on the day.

NCAA notebook

Worley, a record-setting middle distance runner in high school, has already started to make headlines on the collegiate level.

He won the Big 12 outdoor title in Waco, becoming the first UT runner to win that event since Leo Manzano in 2008. His time of 3:44.63 was a track record.

Worley’s season best — 3:40.00 — came on April 19 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. The time stood up as No. 13 in the nation leading into the NCAA meet.

In high school, he established San Antonio area records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters.

The records in the 1,600 and 3,200 previously belonged to Reuben Reina, the 1980s-era star at John Jay who ran in the 1992 Olympics.

Worley won the state title twice in the 1,600 meters, as both a junior and a senior. Last spring, in his senior year, he won both the 800 and 1,600.