| May 15, 2006
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4551 Brooks, Sissel lead UTSA to runner-up finish at SLC Outdoor Online Results | Full Results | Day One Recap | Day Two Recap
ARLINGTON, Texas – Junior Larry Brooks (right) and senior T.R. Sissel won individual titles Monday to lead the UTSA men’s track and field team to a second-place finish at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships held at Maverick Stadium.
Brooks led a one-two finish by the Roadrunners in the 800 meters, clocking a 1:51.36 for his second outdoor crown in the event in the past three years. Senior Justin Pitchford was close behind with a strong finish in 1:51.96.
Sissel moved to the front of the field in the 400m hurdles at the second hurdle and never looked back, circling with an NCAA regional-qualifying time of 51.83 for his first individual crown.
Combined with senior Bryan Wolfe’s win in the decathlon on Sunday, the Roadrunners captured three individual crowns in the meet to push their all-time SLC total to 31.
The team race turned into a battle between defending outdoor champion Sam Houston State and UTSA, this year’s indoor champ. The Roadrunners hung close through the first half of the running finals, but the Bearkats pulled away for their second straight title with 168 points.
UTSA was second with 131, followed by Texas-Arlington (111), Stephen F. Austin (86), Texas State and McNeese State (71), Southeastern Louisiana (70), Northwestern State (48), Louisiana-Monroe (37) and Lamar (23). The second-place finish is the highest by the Roadrunners since winning the 2001 title, also with 131 points, and is their first runner-up finish at an SLC Outdoor.
The Roadrunners started the running finals with 13 points in the first two events. The 4x100m relay team of sophomore William Vese, junior Scott Briscoe, sophomore Steven Brown and senior David Burnett clocked a 40.59 for fourth place. Sophomore Mthobisi Baloyi took fourth in the 1,500m in 4:01.47, while junior Benson Cheserek and senior Chris Layman finished sixth (4:03.61) and seventh (4:04.06), respectively.
Vese scored a runner-up finish in a tight 110m hurdles race, clocking a 14.06 behind champion Jon McDowell of Texas-Arlington’s 14.02. Senior Marques Mitchell took fifth in 14.45. Those 12 points put UTSA in second with 76 behind Sam Houston’s 92 through 14 events.
The 400m was a swing event for Sam Houston as Chris Edison and Michael Courtney finished first (46.77) and second (46.83), respectively, while UTSA’s trio of Burnett, freshman Gaston Griffin and Briscoe finished sixth (47.65), seventh (47.72) and eighth (48.20). Those results gave the Bearkats a 110-82 advantage with just six events remaining.
Brown leaned for a third-place finish in a fast and tight 100m final, crossing in 10.37 for a career-best effort. Jared Connaughton of Texas-Arlington edged Ravyn Hayward of Northwestern State at the tape, 10.321-10.327. Brown’s time moves him into third place on the school’s all-time list and it moved the Roadrunners to within 115-88 with five events left.
UTSA moved to within 14 points with a 1-2-8 finish in the 800m. Brooks held off the late-charging Pitchford for top honors in 1:51.36, while Pitchford pitched in eight points with a 1:51.96 clocking. Baloyi snuck into eighth in 1:55.11 to make the team score 121-107 in favor of the Bearkats.
Sam Houston made things difficult with 16 points in the 400m hurdles despite Sissel’s victory. Sissel (right) clocked a regional-qualifying 51.83 for his first individual title, but Bryce Miller and John Thomas finished two-three in 52.04 and 52.51, respectively. Dexter Cole was seventh in 54.49 to put the Bearkats up 137-117.
Brown added a third-place finish in the 200m with a windy 21.09 clocking, a personal-best time under any conditions. Briscoe was eighth in 21.66 to give UTSA 124 points behind Sam Houston’s 146 with two events left.
Cheserek scratched for a point in the 5,000m with a 15:19.44 clocking, but Sam Houston moved further ahead (158-125) behind Brandon Moseley’s victory in 14:55.02. UTSA did sew up second place ahead of Texas-Arlington (109) and Stephen F. Austin (83) with one event to go.
In that final event, UTSA’s 4x400m relay team of sophomore Dominic Brown, Griffin, Brooks and Sissel passed the baton to a time of 3:13.24 for third place behind Sam Houston (3:10.54) and Texas State (3:11.07).
Qualified individuals will represent UTSA at the NCAA Midwest Regional on May 26-27 in Austin.
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