Men's Track and Field finishes 10th at NCAA Indoor Championships
March 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Texas men's track and field team placed 10th and senior Jacob Hernandez won his second national 800-meter title at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday. After coming into the second day with five points thanks to the DMR's fourth-place finish, the Horns finished with 22.5 points behind Hernandez' 10, another three from senior Tevan Everett in the 800 and 4.5 points from senior Raymond Harris in the high jump. It marks the seventh straight season that Texas has finished in the Top 10 at the indoor national meet, making them one of only two schools to accomplish the feat. "It was nice to have another national champion in Jacob Hernandez and it was great to finish 10th," said head coach Bubba Thornton. "But, we weren't able to repeat some of the performances that got us here. If we had, we would have finished much higher, and those are the things we'll be working on during the outdoor season." Hernandez continued his dominance in the 800 meters by winning the first indoor 800-meter national title in UT history, finishing almost a full second ahead of the rest of the field. The reigning outdoor 800-meter champion and three-time Big 12 indoor champion, Hernandez clocked a 1:48.04, a facility record, to finish ahead of Oregon's Andrew Wheating (1:48.54). It was a rematch of last season's outdoor final, when Hernandez nipped Wheating by .01 seconds. "Jacob was unbelievable," added Thornton. "He was dealing with an illness late in the season, but he came back to give us a leg in the DMR and he showed what kind of runner he is by winning the 800." With his second 1:48.04 of the season, Hernandez finished his indoor career with five of the six fastest times in school history. Along with winning UT's first indoor 800-meter national championship, Hernandez earned three other All-America honors as a member of the DMR and tallied eight All-Big 12 honors, including three titles apiece in the 800 and the DMR. Everett clocked a 1:49.13 to place sixth in the 800 to earn three points and claim his first individual indoor All-America honor. Harris tied for third in the high jump with a clearance of 2.14m (7-0.25). After earning his first All-America honor at last season's outdoor championships, Harris claimed his first indoor All-America honor with the performance. After clearing at 2.09m (6-10.25) on his first attempt, Harris was one of four athletes that cleared 2.14m on the second attempt. Indiana's Derek Drouin got over 2.14m on his first attempt, giving him second place, while winner Scott Sellers of Kansas State was the only competitor to clear at 2.19m (7-2.25), eventually winning the event with a mark of 2.25m (7-4.50). 800 Meters High Jump
|
|
