NORMAN, Okla. — The UTSA men's track & field program's dynasty reached historical proportions on Saturday, as the Roadrunners matched Lamar's 26-year-old record with their sixth consecutive Southland Conference Indoor Championship.
Led by three more individual titles by senior Devon Bond (triple jump), junior Albert Cardenas (mile) and sophomore Richard Garrett Jr. (shot put), the Birds scored a school-record 153 points to easily defeat runner-up UT Arlington (111), which also was a new program standard for margin of victory (previous: 21.5 in 2008) and the league's most-lopsided triumph in 11 years (sixth-largest overall/biggest since expansion to 12 teams). The winning total was the second-best in the meet's 32-year history, trailing only the 164 points Lamar racked up in 1983, back when it was a seven-team meet.
When combined with the gold medals won by sophomores Keith Benford (high jump), Taylor Reed (pole vault) and Tyler Williamson (long jump) on Friday, the six individual championships tied UTSA's conference record established three seasons ago. That also pushed the program's all-time total to 56, 32 of which have come under the direction of five-time Southland Indoor Coach of the Year Aaron Fox.
"Once again, our guys came through when the stakes were at their highest," Fox said. "To win six individual championships and score the most points in school history just speaks to the talent and depth we have on this team. Everyone was focused on winning another title and not only did these athletes compete against themselves and the rest of the conference, but they also wanted to be able to say they were part of history. I'm so fortunate to have an outstanding staff of assistant coaches and without their hard work both at practice and on the recruiting trail, we wouldn't be where we are today."
Bond got the day off to a strong start by defending his triple jump crown. The 2010 Southland Newcomer of the Year skipped to a season-best 51-9 (15.77m) measurement to win the event by one foot, three inches. Coupled with his fifth-place finish in Friday's high jump, the Trenton, N.J., native finished the meet with a combined 13.5 points, which led the squad.
The gold medal performances continued with the day's first running event, the mile. Cardenas led a 1-2-3 finish and a 26-point UTSA performance overall with the second conference championship of his career. The Converse native crossed the tape in 4:13.67. Senior Brandon Chiuminetta (4:14.42) and junior Cole Reveal (4:14.45) rounded out the top three with career-best performances, but the points didn't stop there, as freshman Mike Medrano placed seventh in personal-record 4:17.52.
Garrett Jr. then won the program's third shot put title and first in three years with his third school record of the campaign. The Garland native put the implement 61-8 ½ (18.81m), which added an inch-and-a-half to his personal record. The victory also was his third in four outings this winter and he currently stands 12th on the national leaderboard. Garrett Jr. finished the two-day meet with a total of 13 points after placing sixth in the weight throw on Friday. Junior Daniel Rodriguez added a point with his eighth-place effort (54-5 ¼/16.59m).
UTSA received a total of eight points in the heptathlon when seniors Kyle Kaase and Lucas Neeper finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Kaase set a personal best with his 5,126 points, while Neeper scored 4,693.
After freshman Keyunta Hayes raced to a silver medal in the 60m hurdles (7.98), senior Edmund Yeboah scratched out a point with his eighth-place showing in the 60m (season-best 6.86).
Senior Canel Cole then led four UTSA runners that accounted for a dozen points in the 800m with his third-place finish. The Killeen native crossed the tape in a personal-best 1:52.22, while freshmen Crisshun Jamerson (1:53.67), Joshua Smith (PR 1:54.01) and Brady Hand (PR 1:54.23) placed sixth through eighth, respectively.
Sophomore Nate Brunette earned three points in a sixth-place finish (22.21) in the 200m.
Chiuminetta added two more tallies to the team score with his seventh-place performance in the 3,000m. The Dripping Springs native raced to a career-best 8:36.14, which ranks fourth on the program's all-time performers chart, and he accounted for a dozen points in his three events.
The Roadrunners put the finishing touches on the historic day with a bronze medal in the 1,600m relay. The foursome of sophomores Darryl Wyrick and Spenser Eggleston, Cole and Jamerson crossed the line in 3:19.29 for UTSA's final six points.
The NCAA Championships is the last meet remaining on the team's indoor ledger and that is scheduled for March 11-12 in College Station. The outdoor campaign is slated to begin a week later at the Texas Southern Relays.
