The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Manzano named Penn Relays Most Outstanding Athlete
05.02.2007 | XC: Men_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Sports Writers Association named Texas junior and NCAA national champion Leo Manzano the 2007 Penn Relays Most Outstanding Athlete in the college men's relays division after he anchored two champion relays at the 113th Penn Relays Carnival this past weekend.
Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas) helped the Texas distance medley relay repeat at Penn Relays Championship of America winners for the first time in UT school history. The quarter of juniors Erik Stanley, Joseph Davis, Jacob Hernandez and Manzano shattered the 2006 Longhorn school record by almost four seconds, rounding the track in 9 minutes, 29.60 seconds in the premier event at one of the world's oldest and largest track meets.
Ironically, last year's group set the Texas record of 9:33.10 in winning the program's first Penn Relays title. The DMR win marks the second consecutive season UT won the event championship after taking its first title in 2006.
Manzano also ran the anchor leg of the 4xmile relay that rounded the track in 16:21.57. He split a group-best 4:03.5 leg less than 24 hours after running the anchor of the DMR in 3:57.9. Stanley (Spring, Texas), senior two-time All-American Joe Thorne (Chamblee, Ga.) and junior All-American Jake Morse (Arlington, Texas) ran the first three legs of the relay.
The DMR championship is the second of the outdoor season for the Longhorns.
Despite sleeting rain and icy conditions, the Thorne, Davis, Hernandez and Manzano won the 2007 Texas Relays Championship in Austin on April 7.
Texas returns to the track for the 2007 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships from Friday to Sunday, May 11-13 at Ed Weir Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.