Standout performers led Texas men’s track and field to an accomplished 2025 opener. Competing in the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville on Friday, underclassmen and upperclassmen both contributed to Texas’ success.
Seniors Kelsey Daniel and Sam Hurley finished first in their respective events. Daniel’s last attempt in the long jump competition, an 8.03-meter leap, secured him the win and made him the second-best performer in the event in Texas indoor history. Only former NFL wide receiver and Olympian Marquise Goodwin has recorded a longer jump as a Longhorn.
Hurley’s winning pole vault, measured at 5.25 meters high, placed the Fayetteville local 10th on Texas’ all-time indoor pole vault list. Both Daniel and Hurley have earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American honors during their time at Texas, and they backed up the accolades in Arkansas.
Sophomore Michael Pinones earned the win in the shot put for the Longhorns, throwing an indoor personal best of 18.09 meters on his sixth try, beating out second-place Texas freshman Brandon Schirck by over a meter.
Junior Chris Brinkley Jr. claimed two wins — one in the 400-meter race and the other in the 4×400-meter relay alongside senior Elijah Mosley, junior John Rutledge and junior Logan Popelka. The Longhorns defeated an Arkansas relay team by seven-hundredths of a second; Popelka, who also won the 300-meter, was the anchor runner.
Senior Logan Patete, who doubles as both a cross country and track competitor, ran a personal best in the 800-meter to get second on Friday. Freshman Sam Abati finished runner-up in the pole vault to Hurley. Sophomore Brock Lewis vaulted, jumped and ran, proving his designation as a combined-event athlete.
The Longhorns’ competition at the Arkansas Invitational consisted of student-athletes from Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, North Texas, Central Arkansas and a few other schools. The invitational was the opening meet of seven weeks of consecutive competition for Texas. These meets include two returns to Arkansas as well as two visits to New Mexico. The stretch closes with the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in College Station on Feb. 27, Feb. 28 and March 1.
Athletes can qualify for both the SEC and the NCAA Indoor Championships by recording a top time at a meet throughout the indoor season. The NCAA Indoor Championships will take place on March 14 and 15 in Virginia. SEC Championships times count toward qualification for the NCAA Championships, as the qualifying period is from Nov. 29 to March 2. Therefore, Texas’ first meet of the season, the Louisville Opener on Dec. 11, counts towards qualification too.
The Longhorns will head to Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week for the Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational. The debut U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association indoor rankings will be released next Tuesday, Jan. 28.
