AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas men's track and field team put together the third-ranked recruiting class of 2004-05 according to the December issue of Track & Field News. The class, which will show its talents in the 2005 track season, was headlined by Kyle Miller (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) and his 1:50.26 in the 800 meters, Leonel Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas/Marble Falls) and Erik Stanley (Spring, Texas/Klein), who will provide depth in the mile and Trey Hardee (Birmingham, Ala./Vestavia Hills), who was the runner-up in last year's decathalon at the Outdoor NCAA Championships while competing for Mississippi State.
"This gives us three straight years of having a top three recruiting class," said head coach Bubba Thornton. "Hopefully, we can maintain this run of success in recruiting, which will allow us to put together the kind of teams this university expects."
Texas added to its depth across a wide range of event groups. The sprint group will get a boost from De'Shun Bayne (Ft. Worth, Texas/Boswell), who posted a 10.39 in the 100 meters and a 21.48 in the 200 meters while in high school. He, along with Joseph Davis (Somerset, Texas/Somerset), will strengthen the jumpers group. Bayne set a personal best of 23 feet in the long jump and Davis owns personal bests of 23-9 in the long jump and 48-9 in the triple jump. The hurdlers will also get some help from Hamza Deyaf, who ran a 14.0 in the 110 meter hurdles while in high school.
The field events should also improve with this class. The throwing group will add Nick Baucum (Corpus Christi, Texas/Calallen), who established personal bests of 61-5 in the shot put and 157 feet in the discus. The class also includes two high jumpers, Joel Hargett (Conroe, Texas/Conroe) and Cliff Waters (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands), who both own personal bests of 6-10.
Coach Thornton also put together a strong group of middle distance and distance runners including Mark Nichol, a transfer from Dartmouth, who was not factored into Track & Field News' rankings but was named the 2004 Big 12 Cross Country Newcomer of the Year and has personal bests of 8:08.49 in the 3,200 meters and 14:17.39 in the 5,000 meters.
The Longhorns were number three behind top-rated California and No. 2 Georgia. Florida State and South Carolina rounded out the top five.
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