Tag Archives: Devin Clark

Former Goliad standout Zamzow rallies to win NCAA heptathlon

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Native South Texan Ashtin Zamzow rallied from a 254-point deficit Saturday to win the title in the heptathlon at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Zamzow, a University of Texas senior from Goliad, took the lead in the javelin and finished with a school-record 6,222 points.

Texas A&M’s Tyra Gittens, who held the big lead on Zamzow after five events, finished second with 6,049.

Michelle Atherley of Miami placed third with 6,014.

Zamzow told ESPN that “it’s a dream come true” to claim the championship.

“Words can’t describe it,” said Zamzow, who ran as a freshman at Texas A&M before transferring.

A large contingent of fans cheered in the stands at UT’s Myers Stadium during her television interview.

Who were they?

“It’s family, friends, everybody who supported me in my dream to come to Texas and be a successful athlete,” she said. “They mean the world to me. I’m so glad they’re here with me.”

Temperatures in the mid-90s in Austin made it tough on all the athletes on the fourth and final day of the meet.

Gittens held a 4,818-4,564 lead on Zamzow entering the second event of the day and the sixth of seven events in the heptathlon.

Zamzow promptly erased the deficit with a heave of 162-7 to win the javelin, an effort that vaulted her into a 5,416-5,356 points lead going into the 800 meters, the final event.

At that point, Zamzow needed only to avoid finishing more than four seconds behind Gittens in the 800 to claim her first outdoor heptathlon title.

She covered the distance in 2 minutes and 21.31 seconds to clinch the overall championship, with Gittens crossing in 2:29.99 to finish as the runnerup.

Zamzow’s title puts quite a twist on the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry. Her father, Stacy, and her mother, Kalleen, both competed in track at A&M.

After Ashtin Zamzow left Goliad, she competed at A&M in the 2014-15 season and then elected to transfer.

In her first year at Texas, in 2016, she made it to the NCAA meet in the heptathlon but finished 17th. In 2017, Zamzow redshirted. Last year, she was 11th.

This year, she turned it on, winning the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays title with 6,148 points.

Competing at home in the national meet, Zamzow set personal-bests in the 100 hurdles (13.33), in the 200 (24.23) and in the long jump (19-8 ΒΎ).

She tied her all-time best in the high jump (5-10) on the way to the ninth-best point total in collegiate history.

It was also the seventh-best heptathlon score ever recorded at the NCAA championship.

Gittens, from Trinidad & Tobago, won the Southeastern Conference title earlier this season with a score of 5,793. In high school, she won 17 state titles in Tennessee.

Clark celebrates Arkansas team title

Former Smithson Valley distance running star Devin Clark celebrated a women’s team title with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Clark is an Arkansas senior who placed seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Women’s team standings

Top 10

Arkansas 64, USC 57, LSU 43, Texas A&M 38, Oregon 34, Florida 32, Alabama 29, New Mexico 27, Colorado 24, (T10) Texas, South Carolina, Stanford, Florida State, all 20.

Horton runs on Baylor relay

Former Judson standout Kiana Horton and the Baylor women finished seventh in the 4×400 relay on the last event of the day. Horton is a Baylor senior.

Incarnate Word’s Alexander places sixth in NCAA long jump

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Sarea Alexander had one last try to make her mark in the women’s long jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships late Thursday night.

The University of the Incarnate Word senior made it count with her best effort of the evening, leaping 21 feet, 1 and 1/2 inch to finish sixth in the event.

Florida’s Yanis David placed first with a jump of 22-5 1/4, followed by Jasmyn Steels of Northwestern State (22-0 1/4) and Texas A&M’s Deborah Acquah (21-9).

TCU’s Destiny Longmire finished fourth (21-6), Rougui Sow of Florida State placed fifth (21-3) and Alexander, from San Antonio’s MacArthur High School, was sixth.

Alexander, the first athlete from UIW to compete in the national outdoor meet, took six attempts on the evening, and she produced efforts of 20-0 1/2, 18-4 1/2, 20-8, 19-11 1/2, 20-10 3/4 and 21-1 1/2.

Razorbacks’ Clark in two finals

Arkansas senior Devin Clark qualified for the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase Thursday on Day 2 of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Clark, from Smithson Valley High School, ran 9:54.93 for fifth in her heat to move on as an autotmatic qualifier.

She is now qualified to run in two event finals on Saturday, the 3,000 steeplechase and the 5,000 meters.

The meet is being held in Austin at Myers Stadium.

Local athletes

Baylor’s Kiana Horton, a senior from Judson, qualified for the finals as part of the 4×400 relay. The Bears ran 3:32.88 to place second in their heat in the semifinals.

UTSA freshman Gary Haasbroek retired with an injury after eight events in the decathlon.

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