LINCOLN, Neb. -- The University of Texas men's and women's track and field teams each finished in second place at the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Saturday, Feb. 26. The men's team recorded 19 All-Big 12 performances and scored 87.33 points, while the women's team earned 21 All-Big 12 honors and finished with 97 points. Nebraska won both championships with 132 points on the men's side and 138.40 on the women's side.
The Longhorn men improved on a fourth place finish at last year's meet thanks to three event winners, two runner-up finishes and six more top five finishes.
The highlight of the day came from freshman Leonel Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas), who ran a provisional 3:59.86 to set a school and meet record and became only the second Longhorn in school history to run the mile under four minutes. His time bettered Reed Fischer's 3:59.90, which was set at the Astrodome Federation in 1974. Manzano sat in the middle of the pack for much of the eight-lap race, but turned it on with two laps to go and ended up torching the field by almost four seconds.
Sophomore Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) won the Big 12 indoor championship in the heptathlon after breaking both the meet and facility records. Kilmartin scored 5,791 points, an automatic qualifier, to edge teammate Trey Hardee (Birmingham, Ala.), who scored 5,723 points, which was also an automatic qualifier.
Kilmartin's 5,791 points broke Kansas State's Atilla Zsivoczky's record of 5,786 points, which was set at the 1998 meet and broke the facility record of Nebraska's Bill Vacek (5,766). He won two of the seven events during the competition, the high jump and the pole vault. In the high jump, he cleared 6-9.75 to score 878 points, but he really distanced himself from the field in the pole vault. His jump of 17-0.75 was a foot higher than the next closest competitor and the 972 points he earned moved him from third place to first with only the 1,000 meters to go. He went on to finish seventh in the 1,000 meters scoring 756 points and securing the victory.
Hardee tallied his best score in the event as a collegiate with 5,723 points. He set or tied five personal bests over the competition and won three of the seven events (60 meters, long jump and 60-meter hurdles). In the 60 meters, Hardee jumped to the front of the pack with 922 points after being the only competitor to run sub-seven seconds tying his personal best at 6.89. He followed that up with a personal-best leap of 22-9 in the long jump to add 797 points to his total. Then, he opened the second day of competition by tying his personal best of 8.09 in the 60-meter hurdles to score 959 points. Hardee also recorded personal bests in the high jump (6-7.50) and the 1,000 meters (2:48.16).
Sophomore Andra Manson (Brenham, Texas) repeated as the Big 12 champion in the high jump with an automatic-qualifying leap of 7-5 (2.26m). The jump was the top mark in the nation this year.
The Longhorns picked up 12 points in the 3,000 meters thank to a second-place finish from senior Mark Floreani (Chicago, Ill.) and a fifth-place finish from junior Joe Thorne (Chamblee, Ga.). Floreani finished in 8:10.31, while Thorne crossed the line in 8:11.69.
Other crucial performances included junior Quincy Boles (Harker Heights, Texas) with a fourth-place finish in the 60 meters (6.77), junior Ronald Hill (Walnut, Calif.), who took fourth place in the long jump (24-2.50), and freshman Joseph Davis (San Antonio, Texas), who placed fifth in the triple jump (48-4).
On the women's side, sophomore Marshevet Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) added a pair of second-place finishes to her championship in the long jump on Friday. She tied her personal best in the 60 meters with a provisional-qualifying 7.30 to notch eight points and ran a personal best and provisional-qualifying 23.67 in the 200 meters to earn another eight points.
The Longhorns added two more Big 12 championships to go along with Hooker's title in the long jump. Sophomore Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas) earned her first Big 12 crown in the shot put with a provisional-qualifying throw of 55-1.50 and the team of juniors Sheretta Jones (Houston, Texas), Melaine Walker (Kingston, Jamaica), LaTashia Kerr (Houston, Texas) and sophomore Jerrika Chapple (Lancaster, Texas) clocked a provisional-qualifying time of 3:35.99 to win the 4x400-meter relay.
In addition to her role on the 4x400-meter relay team, Walker blazed to a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal best and automatic-qualifying 8.12. She also placed third in the 60 meters with a personal best and provisional-qualifying 7.40 and ran a personal-best 23.97 to finish fourth in the 200 meters.
Chapple added a third-place finish in the 200 meters with a provisional-qualifying 23.75 and a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters with a 54.60. Kerr also provided points in the 200m and 400m with a pair of fifth-place finishes.
In the middle distance races, sophomore Carlee Clark (Bozeman, Mont.) notched a third-place finish in the 1,000 meters (2:47.58), while freshman Temeka Kincy (Indianapolis, Ind.) placed third in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.67.
Next up, those that have already qualified will prepare for the NCAA Indoor Championships from March 11-13 in Fayetteville, Ark. In the meantime, the men's team will have athletes competing at last chance qualifiers in Ames, Iowa and South Bend, Ind. on Friday and Saturday, March 4-5.
Complete Texas Results
60 Meters
4. Quincy Boles, 6.77
-- Quincy Boles, 6.69* (s) (Prov.) (personal best)
-- Quincy Boles, 6.72 (p) (Prov.) (personal best)
-- Michael Huff, 6.83 (p)
-- Michael Huff, 6.83 (p)
200 Meters
-- Quincy Boles, 21.92 (p)
600 Yards
-- Jonathan Brown, 1:12.94 (p)
-- Hamza Deyaf, 1:13.10 (p)
-- Alan Bean, 1:13.55 (p)
800 Meters
7. Tomas Finol, 1:52.78
-- Tomas Finol, 1:51.63* (p) (personal best)
1,000 Meters
6. Kyle Miller, 2:27.35
-- Kyle Miller, 2:24.57* (p)
Mile
1. Leonel Manzano, 3:59.86 (Prov.) (fastest time in school history)
6. Ryan Ponsonby, 4:06.61
-- Leonel Manzano, 4:06.33* (p)
-- Ryan Ponsonby, 4:06.61* (p)
3,000 Meters
2. Mark Floreani, 8:10.31
5. Joe Thorne, 8:11.69
T10. Mark Nichol, 8:16.87
24. Erik Stanley, 8:29.55
26. Matt Munoz, 8:31.06
31. Jon Von Letscher, 8:34.18
39. Matt Caterisano, 8:41.32
5,000 Meters
3. Mark Nichol, 14:06.42 (Prov) (personal best)
Distance Medley Relay
3. M. Caterisano, H. Deyaf, K. Miller, E. Stanley, 9:50.74
High Jump
1. Andra Manson, 7-5 (2.26m) (Auto)
6. Nick Talley, 7-0.50 (2.15m) (cleared on first attempt)
Pole Vault
T8. Brandon Mahler, 16-5.50 (5.02m) (personal best) (cleared on second attempt)
T11. Donovan Kilmartin, 16-5.50 (5.02m) (cleared on third attempt)
T11. Brandon McFarling, 16-5.50 (5.02m) (cleared on third attempt)
Long Jump
4. Ronald Hill, 24-2.50 (7.38m) (collegiate best)
Triple Jump
5. Joseph Davis, 48-4 (14.73m)
Shot Put
13. Brian Robison, 54-8 (16.66m)
Weight Throw
15. Brian Robison, 54-11.50 (16.75m)
Heptathlon
1. Donovan Kilmartin, 5,791 points (Auto) (meet and facility record)
2. Trey Hardee, 5,723 points (Auto)
60 Meters
1. Trey Hardee, 6.89 (922 points) (personal best)
3. Donovan Kilmartin, 7.11 (844 points)
Long Jump
1. Trey Hardee, 22-9 (6.93m) (797 points) (personal best)
4. Donovan Kilmartin, 22-5.75 (6.85m) (778 points)
Shot Put
5. Donovan Kilmartin, 42-2 (12.85m) (658 points)
6. Trey Hardee, 41-7.75 (12.69m) (648 points)
High Jump
1. Donovan Kilmartin, 6-9.75 (2.08m) (878 points)
2. Trey Hardee, 6-7.50 (2.02m) (822 points) (personal best)
60-Meter Hurdles
1. Trey Hardee, 8.09 (959 points) (personal best)
3. Donovan Kilmartin, 8.31 (905 points)
Pole Vault
1. Donovan Kilmartin, 17-0.75 (5.20m) (972 points)
T3. Trey Hardee, 15-1 (4.60m) (790 points)
1,000 Meters
5. Trey Hardee, 2:48.16 (785 points) (personal best)
7. Donovan Kilmartin, 2:50.87 (756 points)
*qualified for finals
