NO. 10 TEXAS HEADS TO BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 10th-ranked Texas men's track and field team will head to the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Championships from Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18. The three-day meet, which is being hosted by Colorado at Potts Field, will feature the conference's best athletes. Action will kick off on Friday, May 16, with the first five events in the decathlon, the hammer throw and the 10,000 meters.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fox Sports Net will air the action from Boulder on Friday, May 23 (12:30 p.m. Central) and Saturday, May 24 (1 p.m. Central). Tim Neverett (play-by-play), Carol Lewis (analyst) and Jeff Power (sidelines) will have the call.
TEXAS TIDBITS
The Longhorns men's track and field team has captured 48 conference championships since 1915 (Four Big 12/44 SWC) UT's four Big 12 Championships are tied with Nebraska for the most of any team in the conference the Horns' last championship came in 2006, when they defeated Nebraska, 135-90.5 the Longhorns have already posted 42 regional marks during the outdoor season Texas athletes hold two of the top five times nationally in the 800 meters behind juniors Jacob Hernandez (Third/First Big 12/1:47.36) and Tevan Everett (T-Fifth/Second Big 12/1:47.82) the Horns also have three of the top 20 marks nationally in the 1,500 meters led by senior Leonel Manzano, who has the nation's second-fastest time (First Big 12) with an adjusted mile time of 3:38.78 senior Hamza Deyaf's time of 50.66 in the 400-meter hurdles is ranked 14th on the national list (Sixth Big 12) junior Raymond Harris' mark of 2.16 meters in the high jump is tied for seventh best in the country freshman Maston Wallace's clearance of 5.35 meters in the pole vault is tied for the fifth-best mark in the country Š senior decathlete Donovan Kilmartin returns to the Big 12 Outdoor Championships after redshirting last season and winning the event at the 2006 meet with a score of 7,744 points.
TEXAS CONFERENCE HISTORY
The Texas men's track and field team has captured 48 outdoor conference titles (44 SWC/four Big 12) dating back to the first Southwest Conference Championships in 1915. The Horns have won a third of the Big 12 crowns since the league started in 1996-97 (1997, '99, 2003 and '06). UT's four Big 12 titles are tied with Nebraska for the most by any team in the conference. The Longhorns' most recent string of success came from 1992-99 when UT laid claim to seven of eight SWC crowns, including six in a row in 1992-97. Texas has won six consecutive conference crowns three additional times (1932-37; 1954-59; 1972-77). UT has finished outside of the top three at the conference meet just seven times in 92 years of league championships.
INDIVIDUAL CONFERENCE HISTORY
The UT men have captured 395 individual or relay conference crowns since the first Southwest Conference meet was held in 1915. Those titles range all the way from Ralph Frame's sweep of the 100- and 220-yard dashes in 1915 to Leo Manzano's victory in the 1,500 meters last year. UT has won titles in a variety of events, but in the high jump and pole vault alone, the Longhorns boast 67 league crowns.
IN THE POLLS
Texas has been a mainstay in the USTFCCCA Rankings since the initial poll was released on March 27. The Horns started the season ranked 12th and will enter the Big 12 Championships ranked 12. In between, UT spent four weeks ranked in the top 10. Here is a look at their week-by-week rankings so far this season:
Texas' Rankings
Week -- Rank
3/27 -- 12th
4/9 -- 22nd
4/16 -- 10th
4/23 -- 5th
4/30 -- 5th
5/7 -- 10th
5/14 -- 12th
2008 BIG 12 INDOOR CHAMPIONS
By securing the 2008 Big 12 Championship, Texas rewrote league history by becoming just the second program to win three consecutive indoor conference championships. UT outscored host-school and second-place Nebraska by two points, 106-104, for its fourth overall league crown. UT won four individual titles and captured one relay championship. Senior Leo Manzano became the first Longhorn to win four consecutive titles in the mile run, and juniors Tevan Everett (600 yards) and Jacob Hernandez (800 meters) defended their event wins from 2007. Redshirt junior Kyle Miller won his first 1,000-meter run event.
MANZANO'S MAGIC
Texas senior Leo Manzano will be looking for his third Big 12 title in the 1,500 meters. He captured conference crowns in 2005 (3:45.45) and '07 (3:41.60), but did not compete in the event in '06 after electing to run the 800 meters (6th/1:51.78). Other than that 800-meter race, Manzano has won every Big 12 Championship race he has entered both indoors and outdoors. Overall, he has won six individual titles and anchored three relays to victory at the league meet. In addition to his league titles, Manzano racked up Texas Relays and Penn Relays Most Outstanding Performer awards in 2008. At the Texas Relays, he demolished the school record with a world-leading time of 3:56.98, bettering Richard Romo's time of 3:58.8 from 1966. At the Penn Relays, Manzano anchored both the distance medley relay and the 4xMile relay to wins, while helping UT become just the fifth school in Penn Relays history to pull off the distance triple, which also includes te 4x800-meter relay.
SUB-FOUR
When Texas senior Darren Brown crossed the Texas Relays' finish line in 3:59.99, he joined his father, Barry Brown, as the only father-son combo to run sub-four minute miles in U.S. history. Brown's father was an All-American at Providence, where Darren started his career, and went on to set numerous Master's running records.
ELUSIVE OUTDOOR TITLE
Texas junior 800-meter runner Jacob Hernandez has been in the winner's circle before, but never at an outdoor conference meet. After starting his career at TCU and finishing second at the Conference-USA Championships, Hernandez placed fourth at last year's Big 12 Championships. But, he has positioned himself this season to make a strong run at the outdoor league title in the 800 meters. His personal-best time of 1:47.36 was set earlier this season at the Texas Twilight and currently ranks first in the conference and third nationally.
CROWDED FIELD
In their quest for the Big 12 Championship, the Longhorns will be looking for significant points out of its middle distance group. Texas will have four competitors in the 800 meters and four in the 1,500 meters. The group is headlined by senior Leo Manzano, who will be chasing his third Big 12 title in the 1,500 meters, and junior Jacob Hernandez, who is looking for his first outdoor championship in the 800 meters after winning the last two indoor championships. The 800 will also feature twins Tevan and Tevas Everett. Tevan currently ranks second in the conference, behiind Hernandez, while Everett will be compteting in his first meet of the season. The Horns will also have seniors Darren Brown and Erik Stanley and junior Kyle Miller. Miller is currently ranked third in the conference in the event, Brown is fourth and Stanley is 12th.
FRESH FACE
Texas freshman pole vaulter Maston Wallace has already made his presence felt at the collegiate level after a stellar prep career at Houston Clear Brook High School. After finishing second at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a clearance of 5.20 meters (17-0 3/4), Wallace went on to place third at the NCAA indoor meet with a mark of 5.40 meters (17-8 1/2), making him the top finisher from the Big 12. He enters the Big 12 outdoor meet with a season-best clearance of 5.35 meters (17-6 1/2), which ranks second in the conference and tied for fifth nationally. Wallace has achieved that mark twice in winning the Texas Invitational and finishing third at the Texas Relays.
