Five victories, 13 personal bests lift Men's Track and Field to easy win in Houston
HOUSTON -- Making their respective collegiate track debuts, University of Texas freshmen Jamaal Charles (Port Arthur, Texas) and Raymond Harris (Nacogdoches, Texas) collected NCAA provisional-qualifying marks to highlight the fourth-ranked Longhorns' easy victory at the 12-team Leonard Hilton Memorial Meet Friday evening at the University of Houston's Yeoman Field House. After clocking a meet-leading 60-meter time of 6.78 seconds in the preliminary round, Charles -- a 2005 Track and Field News high school All-American in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles -- went a step further and posted a 6.68 in the finals to claim the event and earn an NCAA provisional-qualifying time. His time of 6.68 is the fastest UT time in the event since the 2003 season and gives him the fourth-fastest event time in school history. Senior Trey Griffin (Lockhart, Texas) took second in 6.77, while freshman Ryan Palmer took seventh with a personal-best time of 6.84. Harris recorded a personal-best leap of 7-1 1/2 (2.17m) in his first collegiate meet to capture the high jump, giving UT its second consecutive victory in the event after junior Andra Manson (Brenham, Texas) was victorious in last Saturday's Houston Indoor Opener. Harris' mark equaled the event's NCAA provisional-qualifying height. Sophomore Joel Hargett (Conroe, Texas) contributed a personal-best leap of 6-11 1/2 (2.12m) Sophomore John Rouse (Kaufman, Texas) registered a new personal best in the weight throw to win the event for the second time in as many meets. Rouse surpassed his nearest competitor by over one meter with a toss of 59-10 1/4. Sophomore Jake Morse (Arlington, Texas) led a one-two-three Longhorn finish in the mile as he posted a personal-best time of 4:13.02. Senior Andrew Middleton (College Station, Texas) added a personal best in 4:15.76 to take second, while senior Jeff Cutrer (Nederland, Texas) took third in 4:17.93, also a personal best. Senior Brian Robison (Splendora, Texas) took first in the shot put for a second consecutive week with a heave of 57-4 1/4 (17.48m). Senior Trey Hardee (Birmingham, Ala.) and junior Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) added personal bests in the event while placing ninth and 11 th, respectively. Hardee also chipped in a personal best in the pole vault. "I am extremely excited about the performance tonight," said UT coach Bubba Thornton. "We had several personal bests, and I'm really pleased with how Jamaal (Charles) and Ryan (Palmer) stepped in today and competed. Raymond (Harris) is showing us that he will be a player at the indoor conference meet." The Longhorn heptathletes will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 26 when they travel to Albuquerque, N.M., for the University of New Mexico Multi-Events Meet. The remainder of the Longhorns track and field squad will resume competition on Friday, Feb. 3 at the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City. Leonard Hilton Memorial Meet -- Houston Weight Throw Mile 60-Meter Hurdles 60-Meter Hurdles (preliminary round) 60-Meter Dash 800 Meters Shot Put Long Jump Pole Vault High Jump
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