The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Leonard Hilton Invitational
Men's Track and Field wins team championship at Leonard Hilton Invitational
01.18.2008 | Track & Field / Cross Country m, Track & Field / Cross Country
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HOUSTON -- Two individual event wins plus a dominating victory in the 4x400-meter relay highlighted the competition for the No. 18 Texas men's track and field team at the Leonard Hilton Invitational at Yeoman Field House on the University of Houston campus.
Texas won the team title for the second straight week, scoring 108 points. Stephen F. Austin finished as the runner-up, scoring 65.20 points.
Houston native and Texas sophomore Will Paine won the pole vault, clearing 16-6.75 (5.05m). Freshman Maston Wallace (Houston, Texas), last weekend's Houston Indoor Opener pole vault champion, vaulted 15-7 (4.75m) for ninth place.
Redshirt freshman Habben Berhane (Dallas, Texas) added to the individual win list with a victory in the 5,000-meter run in a season-best 15:06.49.
In the final running event of the day, the men's 4x400-meter relay came away with a win in a season-best time of 3:17.73. Freshman Kenny Greaves (Coppell, Texas) ran the opening leg, keeping the Horns in the top three before handing off to fellow freshman Andre Thomas (St. Peters, Mo.). The final two legs -- junior transfer Tevan Everett (Bel-Aire, Kan.) and freshman Danzell Fortson (Fort Worth, Texas) -- put UT on top for the victory.
Earlier in the day, Everett was the first collegian across to cross the finish line in the 800. He came in second overall in 1:56.39. Redshirt freshman Will Schroeder (San Antonio, Texas) had the ninth fastest time (1:59.41) in the event.
Fortson placed second in 48.71 in his first open 400 race of the season. Thomas ran a season-best time of 50.15 for sixth place.
Austin native and Texas junior Elliot O'Hare had the fastest collegiate time at a Houston meet for the second consecutive meet. O'Hare clocked 8.01 seconds in the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries and 7.97 seconds for second overall in the finals. He finished behind former NCAA Champion hurdler Aries Merritt.
Senior John Rouse (Kaufman, Texas) finished in the top two in the weight throw for the second consecutive week tossing 57-0.25 (17.28m) for runner-up honors.
Senior Joseph Davis (San Antonio, Texas) landed in the triple jump pit at 48-8.25 (14.84m) for third place, ahead of O'Hare who jumped 48-7.5 (14.82m) for fourth place. Sophomore Chuck Freeman (Arlington, Texas) placed 11th in 45-5.25 (13.85m).
Senior Joel Hargett (Conroe, Texas) tied for fourth after clearing 6-10.25 (2.09m) in the high jump. Junior Raymond Harris (Nacogdoches, Texas) tied for sixth with a height of 6-8.25 (2.04m). Freshman Devon Bond (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) placed seventh with a mark of 6-8.25 (2.04m).
Freshman Rob Wetzel (Crofton, Md.) led the milers, finishing 13th in 4:26.59. Fellow rookie Brad Lowry (Arlington, Texas) crossed the finish line less than a second later in 4:27.40. Wetzel also finished 29th in the 800 in 2:06.04. Lowry was 16th in the 800 in 2:02.49.
Combined events athletes Greaves and freshman Shawn Schmidt (Plano, Texas) ran 7.57 and 7.62 in the 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Greaves also vaulted 15-1 (4.60m) to tie for 14th in the pole vault. Schmidt tied for 16th in the same event with a mark of 14-7.25 (4.45m).
Texas will preview the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships track next weekend as UT heads to the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. from Friday to Saturday, Jan. 25-26.
TEXAS POSTMEET QUOTES
HEAD COACH BUBBA THORNTON
On overall competition today: We competed well but we are a long way from where we need to be. We are in a good position going into the Razorback Invitational at Arkansas next week.
Joel (Hargett) did a nice job in the high jump and Danzell (Fortson) just keeps getting better. Danzell is a true 400-meter guy who likes the competition. He made a few tactical errors in running his race but that's how you learn so you can get better.
On sophomore pole vaulter Will Paine winning the event: Will is very capable of doing just that. He was one of the guys we were a little disappointed in last week so it was good to see him get it going this weekend.
