UT’s Hager, Boyd garner preseason All-Big 12 honors
Momentum continues to gather for Texas defensive end Breckyn Hager as one of the Big 12’s breakout stars in 2018.
Hager and cornerback Kris Boyd were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team unveiled Wednesday. Those were the only two Texas players mentioned as Oklahoma and West Virginia players dominated the field.
Hager, who has 10 career sacks, will be a senior this season. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention status last season.
Boyd was a second-team All-Big 12 pick last season after finishing fifth on the team with 57 tackles. He had two interceptions and 15 pass breakups. He was also honored by Athlon and Phil Steele this preseason.
West Virginia quarterback Will Grier was named the Big 12’s preseason offensive player of the year. TCU defensive end Ben Banogu won defensive honors. Oklahoma’s Brendan Radley-Hiles was named the league’s preseason newcomer of the year.
The Big 12 preseason poll, as voted on by the media, will be released on Thursday. Media days are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday in Frisco at The Star.
Track and field: Texas’ Tripp Piperi set an American U20 record in the shot put Tuesday at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.
The rising sophomore won the silver medal with a throw of 22.06 meters on his fifth attempt of the event. He came up one centimeter short of earning gold.
Kyle Blignaut of South Africa took the event, with his winning throw coming right after Piperi moved into first place.
Piperi broke his personal record and also set an area record. The area record consists of 31 countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The indoor and outdoor Big 12 shot put champion also took fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Piperi won the shot put at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships to qualify for the IAAF World U20 Championships.