In front of crowds that totaled 45,000 over four days at one of the largest track meets in America, the Texas Longhorns did not disappoint at home. Texas’ athletes combined for a total of nine wins while adding multiple runner-up finishes. Throughout these thrilling four days of track and field, many athletes ran at their personal bests, some at their first ever Texas Relays, some at their final Texas Relays. A good example of one of those running in their final Texas Relays while a Longhorn is sprinter Teahna Daniels, who had an impressive showing.
As a high schooler from Orlando, Florida, it was the Texas Relays that really jumpstarted Teahna Daniels’ running career on the Forty Acres. The then-Texas recruit posted an impressive time of 11.27 seconds in the 100 meter dash on her way to a first place finish in the Women’s Div. II 100 meter dash. As she has progressed during her time at UT, she has become one of the Horns’ top sprinters, winning the 2016 NCAA 60m title, the 2017 Big 12 100m title and played a large role in the Longhorn women taking home the 2019 Big 12 indoor title. This past Texas Relays was her final time to race in this prestigious meet as a Longhorn and she made it count, winning the 200m Women’s Invitational with a time of 23.29. Just like Daniels did, multiple Texas recruits raced in their first ever Texas Relays while Daniels was running her last.
Of all the races at this year’s meet, the Men’s 1600m was one that stood out, especially since it featured four future Longhorns and was a thrilling finish. El Paso Coronado's Liam Walsh came in tenth, beating his best time in the mile this year while two of the top milers in the 2019 recruiting class, twin distance runners Evan and Trevor Williams showed just what they can add to an already talented group of distance runners for Texas. Evan took home sixth while Trevor sprinted across the finish line just seconds later with an eighth place finish. When asked about the Williams brothers, assistant coach Pete Watson said, “They are going to be a big part of the team in the near future.” In addition, Kobe Yepez, racing for nearby Round Rock high, edged out the Williams brothers with a third place finish and a time of 4:17.17. This speed isn’t new as Watson was quoted saying, “I watched him run early in the fall and right away I could see that he has potential. If a late season sickness had not occurred, I think he had a chance to compete for the state title.” Finally, in a race for first, Haftu Knight sprinted neck and neck with Victor Zuniga throughout the entire race, neither runner willing to give in. As the finish line neared, the race got even better, with the two runners side by side, going for the finish. In the end, Zuniga took the win by two thousandths of a second in one of the greatest finishes of the day.
Following Sam Worley’s impressive track season in 2018 as well as a terrific year of cross country, many were interested to see if Worley would continue to add to his great success as he entered into his sophomore year, He did in fact rise to the occasion, displaying his speed and stamina, winning the men’s mile and beating his personal best with a whopping time of 4:04.59. He added to his first place finishes by playing his part on Texas’ sprint medley team which featured Terry Brown Jr., Micaiah Harris, Jonathan Jones and Worley at the anchor leg. They took first on their home track, beating runner-up Texas A&M by just under a second. Elsewhere, two-sport senior John Burt, who flashed his tremendous speed on the football field all fall, used that speed to finish third overall in the men’s 110m Hurdles. With track as his only sport for this spring, Burt has made great leaps in his running this season, following up an impressive year in 2018 when he qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Lastly, on the women’s side, Ashtin Zamzow had an amazing performance, shattering the school record in the Heptathlon. The Heptathlon is a rigorous event which includes the 100m hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, 200m, Long Jump, Javelin Throw, and the 800m. With the win, Zamzow also became the first Longhorn to win the event at the Texas Relays. Her mark of 6148 earned her the fourth highest total in Texas Relays history, partially due to the fact that she had personal bests in six of the seven events, a great accomplishment for the senior who was running in her final Texas Relays as a Longhorn. As a result of her great performance, she was named the Big 12 Women’s Track and Field athlete of the week.
As the Texas Relays wrapped up, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is a team that can truly compete with the best of the best and has some of the best athletes to do it. Whether it be the all-round ability of Ashtin Zamzow, the distance of Sam Worley or the sprinting of Teahna Daniels, this is a squad of athletes looking to win big. The Horns will run next at Reveille Invitational on the campus of Texas A&M, and from June 5-8 host the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
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