UTSA's 2008 All-SLC Performers (top three): |
HUNTSVILLE ? First-place finishes by sophomore Teddy Williams in the 100 and 200 meters, a gold-medal performance by senior Will Vese in the 110-meter hurdles and a winning performance by the 400-meter relay team vaulted the UTSA men's track & field team to its second Southland Conference Outdoor Championship in school history on Sunday at the York Track & Field Complex.
It was the Roadrunners' first title since 2001 and their first indoor/outdoor sweep in school annals. UTSA, which has won the last three conference indoor crowns, had placed second the past two years, including a heart-breaking one-point loss a year ago in Nacogdoches.
The Birds scored a school-record 138.5 points to outdistance second-place finisher Southeastern Louisiana by nine-and-a-half points (129). However, it was not as close as the final score indicated, as UTSA held a commanding 22.5-point cushion after finishing 1-2-3 in the deuce. The Roadrunners also claimed the top three spots in the 100 three events earlier. UT Arlington finished third with 106 points.
"When you lose by a point like we did last year, it became an obsession to try and win this year," head coach Aaron Fox said after the victory. "Our goal all year long was to become the first UTSA team to sweep both the indoor and outdoor championships and we were able to accomplish that. The way the guys competed all three days was unbelievable. It reminded me of the final day of the indoor meet earlier this year. We knew it was going to be close heading into the running events and the 400-meter relay set the tone for the evening. Finishing 1-2-3 in both short sprints with the times Teddy, Steven and Cedric ran was just unimaginable. This victory is dedicated to the seniors because they have been the backbone of this program the last four years."
Coupled with junior Tommy Wolfe's victory in the decathlon on Saturday ? the third year in a row that a Roadrunner won the event ? UTSA posted a total of five first-place finishes during the three-day meet, tying the school record established in 1996. The Roadrunners now have a total of 41 individual and relay conference champions in their 17-year history and 14 of those gold-medal performances have come under the direction of Fox.
The flurry of first-place finishes started in the evening's first event, the 400-meter relay. The quartet of senior Cedric Harris, Williams, senior Steven Brown and freshman Kevin Hunt circled the oval in 40.12. The 10 points moved the Roadrunners within 12.5 points of Southeastern Louisiana, which started the day in first place by 13.5 and had extended that advantage by nine more earlier in the afternoon in the field events.
Williams then led the parade of medals in the short sprints with a pair of school records. The Tyler native crossed the tape in 10.16, a mark that ranks among the top 10 nationally, to win the 100 by 15 one-hundredths of a second over Brown (10.31/No. 3 in UTSA history). Harris completed the 24-point trifecta with his time of 10.37. The trifecta moved the Roadrunners from 25.5 points down to just 1.5.
The Roadrunners took the lead for good in the next event, the 1,500 meters, when sophomore Bryan Ugochukwu (5th/1:53.38) and senior Eric Miller (8th/1:55.62) combined for five points. That put UTSA in front by 3.5 points (114.5-111).
It was deja-vu all over again three events later as Williams, Brown and Harris again went gold, silver and bronze in the 200. Williams raced to his second school record of the day when he ran through the tape in a windy 20.60, another mark that ranks in the nation's top 10. Brown followed in 20.67 and Harris was 18 one-hundredths behind him. The second 24-point performance of the evening pushed the Roadrunners' lead from 3.5 points to 22.5.
The Lions needed a combined 13 points in the following event, the 5k, to stay mathematically alive, but Kalphys Kemboi and Henry Rop could muster only 11 with their third and fourth place finishes, respectively, and the celebration was on. Just as they did at the indoor meet in February, UTSA used the 1,600-meter relay as a victory lap.
Sophomore Johnathan Whittaker was the squad's other third-place finisher on the day, as he skipped to a wind-aided school record of 49-5 ? (15.08m) in the triple jump, which was good for a bronze medal. Sophomore Alton St. Rose, the former record holder, leaped a windy 48-8 (14.83m) to place sixth and that gave the Roadrunners a total of nine points in the event.
Other athletes scoring on Sunday included senior Luke Johnson in the discus (6th/154-9/47.18m) and freshman Kyle Kaase in the pole vault (7th/pr 15-7/4.75m).
Brown, who also finished third in the long jump on Saturday, was the meet's high scorer with 24.5 points. At the league's indoor meet in February, he claimed the same honor with 24 points.
UTSA is back in action in three weeks when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the NCAA Midwest Regional. Eleven Roadrunners have qualified in a total of eight events [sophomore Marcus Bibles (high jump), Brown (100m/200m/400m relay/long jump), junior Carvey Evans (high jump), Harris (100m/200m/400m relay), Hunt (400m relay), Johnson (shot put), freshman P.J. McGowen (high jump), St. Rose (triple jump), Vese (110m hurdles), Whittaker (high jump), Williams (100m/200m/400m relay)].