Two NCAA Midwest Region leaders highlight group headed to Men's Track and Field Championships
AUSTIN, Texas -- Two-time national champion high jumper Andra Manson and All-American triple jumper Samyr Laine lead the eighth-ranked and defending champion Texas men's track and field team into the 2007 NCAA Midwest Region Championships this Friday and Saturday, May 25-26 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Overall, the Longhorns have 21 student-athletes on the travel roster for the NCAA Midwest Region Championships including region leaders Manson (Brenham, Texas) and Laine (Newburgh, N.Y.). The duo has a large amount of support as six fellow Longhorns are in the top five of their events, and five events -- 1,500-meter run, 3,000-meter steeplechase, 110-meter hurdles, high and triple jumps -- have multiple Texas qualifiers. Five student-athletes are qualified in multiple events. Junior and NCAA national champion Leo Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas) leads the trio of 1,500-meter runners from Texas with the second fastest time in the region 1,500. Spring, Texas natives junior Erik Stanley and senior Darren Brown have two of the top 11 best marks in the event in the Midwest. Senior All-American thrower Derek Randall (Beeville, Texas) has the second farthest toss in the region, and fellow thrower junior John Rouse (Kaufman, Texas) is in the top 10 in the Midwest in the hammer at No. 9. Rouse has the farthest throw of any person entered representing a Texas school. Senior Hamza Deyaf (Richardson, Texas) is fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and sophomore All-American Jamaal Charles (Port Arthur, Texas) has the fourth fastest 100 in the region. Charles also has an NCAA qualifying time in the 200. In his first year running for UT, junior indoor NCAA All-American Jacob Hernandez (Magnolia, Texas) is also in the top five in the Midwest as he has the fifth fastest time in the 800. Senior Ryan Wilson (Wichita, Kan.) and junior All-American Jake Morse (Arlington, Texas) anchor the steeplechase and enter the region championship meet as the sixth and seventh speediest steeplers on the performance list. UT is two-deep in the 110-meter hurdles. Sophomore Trevor Gerland (Katy, Texas) is 11th in the 110-meter hurdles, just two spots ahead of classmate Elliot O'Hare (Austin, Texas). O'Hare is also entered in the triple jump (No. 9 on the region list) with region leader Laine and junior Joseph Davis (San Antonio, Texas), who sits at No. 7. Graduate student Owen Washburn (Amherst, Mass.) is No. 16 in the region in the 5000-meter run. Sophomore Raymond Harris (Nacogdoches, Texas) and junior Joel Hargett (Conroe, Texas) add depth to the high jump, and freshman pole vaulter Will Paine is also on the region travel roster. The 4x100-meter relay is in the pool of NCAA Midwest qualifiers. The meet begins on Friday, May 25 at 1 p.m. CT with the men's javelin throw. The running events start with the preliminary 4x100-meter relay at 2 p.m. CT.
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