Bulldog track star signs with ’Horns

FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Texas recognizes top talent, even when it’ s in the backyard of a major competitor.

Fayetteville standout Sam Hurley is headed to Austin after signing a national letter of intent Monday to run track and field for the Longhorns.

Hurley was selected as the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette boys track athlete of the year and the Arkansas track athlete of the year by Gatorade after leading Fayetteville to the Class 6A state championship last spring. Hurley, who later captured the state decathlon, won the high jump, pole vault, 110 hurdles and long jump, where he turned in a state best 23 feet, 2 inches at the state meet. The Bulldogs needed all 40 points Hurley could muster that day to hold off second-place Bentonville West, 135-127.

“Sam is an athlete that was a true team player,” Fayetteville coach Drew Yoakum said. “He has been a part of two Outdoor and one Indoor State championships and also was runner-up in Indoor. He has grown and improved each year to make himself one of the best track athletes in the nation.”

Hurley selected Texas over UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and LSU. He went on an unofficial visit to the University of Arkansas but didn’t seriously consider joining the Razorbacks for a simple reason.

“Arkansas is such an amazing program and I have nothing but respect for them,” Hurley said. “But I’ve grown up in Fayetteville and I want to see something different. I want to know what else is out there in the world.”

Hurley will graduate soon from Fayetteville and enroll in January at Texas in time to compete in the Indoor Track season with the Longhorns. He signed Monday in front of friends, family, and his former teammates in track and field at Fayetteville.

“(Hurley) is a great athlete and a great teammate,” said Isaiah Sategna, an Arkansas commit who plans to play football and run track for the Razorbacks. “He set a high standard with the hard training that you do and he’s a great person, too.”