Following an outstanding career at UTSA, David Burnett will begin his sixth season as an assistant coach in 2011-12. Burnett aides Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Aaron Fox with the team’s sprinters, hurdlers and relay teams.
“UTSA is a great place to be,” Burnett said. “It is in one of the largest cities in the nation and has a lot to offer both academically and athletically. I want to help advance this university any way I can and it starts by recruiting student-athletes that have character, desire and direction.”
Last season, Burnett coached Keyunta Hayes to UTSA's first-ever Southland Conference Outdoor Freshman of the Year honor after he won the league's 400-meter hurdles crown, finished runner-up in the 110m hurdles and accounted for 16.75 points, which topped all league frosh. All told, six of his pupils (four men/two women) advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships Preliminary Rounds, including Nate Brunette, who was national quarterfinalist in the 100m and 200m in addition to being a first-team Capital One Academic All-District VI selection.
The Roadrunners men posted their second Southland Indoor/Outdoor Championship sweep in three years in 2010. Led by four-time All-American Teddy Williams, UTSA claimed its fifth consecutive indoor crown and followed that up with the third outdoor title in program history. Williams was tabbed the league’s Indoor Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer for the second season in a row after sweeping the 60- and 200-meter dashes and he went on to place fourth in 60m at the NCAA Indoor. The Tyler native continued his amazing success during the outdoor campaign, racing to yet another Southland Championship in the 100m, winning the race in 10.03w, which was then the nation's fastest time. Williams was tabbed the league's Outdoor Outstanding Track Performer and he went on to pick up the fourth All-America certificate of his illustrious career. Signed by National Football League's Dallas Cowboys in July 2010, he also was a part of the record-setting 400m relay quartet that clocked a 39.59 at the Texas Relays. Meanwhile, Jessica Jones successfully defended her 60m hurdles title at the Southland Indoor and she also won her third consecutive 100m hurdles crown during the outdoor season, joining former UTSA All-American Ryanne Dupree as the circuit’s only three-time winners in the event.
The Jamaica native helped the Roadrunners claim their fourth consecutive Southland Indoor Championship in 2009. He helped guide Williams to Southland Indoor Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer honors after he increased his career gold medal count to six (three indoor/three outdoor) in becoming the first athlete in five years to sweep the short sprints at the conference meet. He clocked a meet record for the second year in a row with his 6.64 winning performance in the 60-meter dash. A little less than two hours later, he circled the track in 21.84 to edge UT Arlington’s Cordero Gray by six one-thousandths of second in the deuce. Williams went on to post the third-fastest preliminary heat time, a Southland-record 6.59, at the NCAA Indoor Championships and he picked up his second All-America certificate with his eighth-place showing. He then posted the world’s fastest 100m time in any condition, 9.90, at the UTEP Invitational in April, which stood for two-and-a-half months. Meanwhile, Will Vese also picked up a league indoor title, his third in a row in the 60m hurdles, and that pushed his career total to four. Vese went on to compete for his native Nigeria in the country's Olympic Trials.
On the women’s side, Jones swept the circuit’s hurdles crowns, including successfully defending her 100m hurdles title, to become the first female in school history to do so and she went on to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
That came on the heels of a 2008 campaign that saw UTSA win its third conference indoor title in a row. Three months later, he was instrumental in the program’s first Southland Outdoor Championship in seven years, which resulted in the inaugural indoor/outdoor sweep in school history (first in Southland since 2004).
Burnett mentored Williams to All-America honors in the 100m following his seventh-place performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and he went on to advance to the quarterfinals at the United States Olympic Trials. The fifth All-American in school history had a year to remember, as he set a total of four school records — 60m (6.66), 100m (10.16), 200m (20.60) and 400m relay (39.84) in addition to winning the NCAA Midwest Regional 100m title, the Southland Outdoor 100m, 200m and 400m relay crowns and the Southland Indoor 60m gold medal. Williams, who led 1-2-3 finishes in both short sprints at the conference’s outdoor meet, was named the league’s Outstanding Outdoor Track Performer. He also established a new league record in the 60m dash in January and competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships two months later. Williams capped his season by running on the 400m relay team that ran the world’s fastest time (38.39) at the NACAC Under 23 Championships in July. Burnett also coached Steven Brown to All-Midwest Region honors in the 100m in addition to Southland Indoor Athlete of the Year accolades and the Mesquite native was the high-point scorer at both league meets. Vese also won his second consecutive Southland Championship in the 60m hurdles and also brought home gold in the 110m hurdles at the league’s outdoor meet.
He helped UTSA defend its Southland Indoor Championship in 2007 and also mentored Gaston Griffin, who won the league’s indoor 400m title and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. Williams also shattered the school’s 60m record at that meet, clocking an NCAA provisional 6.71 to break teammate Cedric Harris’ mark of 6.76 set in 2005. During the outdoor campaign, Burnett coached six NCAA Midwest Regional qualifiers in five events and the quartet of Scott Briscoe, Brown, Harris and Williams earned all-region honors following their fifth-place finish in the 400-meter relay.
In 2006, Burnett earned the Southland’s inaugural Steve McCarty Citizenship Award. A team captain as a senior, he helped lead UTSA to its first-ever Southland Indoor Championship. Burnett won the 2005 Southland Championship in the 400m, was a 10-time all-conference performer and eight-time scorer at conference events. He also was a two-time NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier and four-time member of the Southland Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Burnett was a 2005 NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Council President & Leadership Conference Representative, NCAA Inspiration Award nominee, John Wooden Golden Cup Inspiration Award semifinalist and vice president for UTSA’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A three-sport star at Corpus Christi’s Carroll High School, he also was named the South Texas Athlete of the Year as a senior, a two-time all-state selection in track & field and All-American in soccer during the 2000-01 season.
His dedication to the program, both as a former student-athlete and now as a coach, inspired the athletics department to create the David Burnett Roadrunner Pride Award in Spring 2008.
Burnett earned Level I certification from USA Track & Field in 2008 and his oldest brother, Paul, was a two-time all-conference and four-time all-league performer for UTSA from 1994-97.
“UTSA is a great place to be,” Burnett said. “It is in one of the largest cities in the nation and has a lot to offer both academically and athletically. I want to help advance this university any way I can and it starts by recruiting student-athletes that have character, desire and direction.”
Last season, Burnett coached Keyunta Hayes to UTSA's first-ever Southland Conference Outdoor Freshman of the Year honor after he won the league's 400-meter hurdles crown, finished runner-up in the 110m hurdles and accounted for 16.75 points, which topped all league frosh. All told, six of his pupils (four men/two women) advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships Preliminary Rounds, including Nate Brunette, who was national quarterfinalist in the 100m and 200m in addition to being a first-team Capital One Academic All-District VI selection.
The Roadrunners men posted their second Southland Indoor/Outdoor Championship sweep in three years in 2010. Led by four-time All-American Teddy Williams, UTSA claimed its fifth consecutive indoor crown and followed that up with the third outdoor title in program history. Williams was tabbed the league’s Indoor Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer for the second season in a row after sweeping the 60- and 200-meter dashes and he went on to place fourth in 60m at the NCAA Indoor. The Tyler native continued his amazing success during the outdoor campaign, racing to yet another Southland Championship in the 100m, winning the race in 10.03w, which was then the nation's fastest time. Williams was tabbed the league's Outdoor Outstanding Track Performer and he went on to pick up the fourth All-America certificate of his illustrious career. Signed by National Football League's Dallas Cowboys in July 2010, he also was a part of the record-setting 400m relay quartet that clocked a 39.59 at the Texas Relays. Meanwhile, Jessica Jones successfully defended her 60m hurdles title at the Southland Indoor and she also won her third consecutive 100m hurdles crown during the outdoor season, joining former UTSA All-American Ryanne Dupree as the circuit’s only three-time winners in the event.
The Jamaica native helped the Roadrunners claim their fourth consecutive Southland Indoor Championship in 2009. He helped guide Williams to Southland Indoor Athlete of the Year and Outstanding Track Performer honors after he increased his career gold medal count to six (three indoor/three outdoor) in becoming the first athlete in five years to sweep the short sprints at the conference meet. He clocked a meet record for the second year in a row with his 6.64 winning performance in the 60-meter dash. A little less than two hours later, he circled the track in 21.84 to edge UT Arlington’s Cordero Gray by six one-thousandths of second in the deuce. Williams went on to post the third-fastest preliminary heat time, a Southland-record 6.59, at the NCAA Indoor Championships and he picked up his second All-America certificate with his eighth-place showing. He then posted the world’s fastest 100m time in any condition, 9.90, at the UTEP Invitational in April, which stood for two-and-a-half months. Meanwhile, Will Vese also picked up a league indoor title, his third in a row in the 60m hurdles, and that pushed his career total to four. Vese went on to compete for his native Nigeria in the country's Olympic Trials.
On the women’s side, Jones swept the circuit’s hurdles crowns, including successfully defending her 100m hurdles title, to become the first female in school history to do so and she went on to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
That came on the heels of a 2008 campaign that saw UTSA win its third conference indoor title in a row. Three months later, he was instrumental in the program’s first Southland Outdoor Championship in seven years, which resulted in the inaugural indoor/outdoor sweep in school history (first in Southland since 2004).
Burnett mentored Williams to All-America honors in the 100m following his seventh-place performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and he went on to advance to the quarterfinals at the United States Olympic Trials. The fifth All-American in school history had a year to remember, as he set a total of four school records — 60m (6.66), 100m (10.16), 200m (20.60) and 400m relay (39.84) in addition to winning the NCAA Midwest Regional 100m title, the Southland Outdoor 100m, 200m and 400m relay crowns and the Southland Indoor 60m gold medal. Williams, who led 1-2-3 finishes in both short sprints at the conference’s outdoor meet, was named the league’s Outstanding Outdoor Track Performer. He also established a new league record in the 60m dash in January and competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships two months later. Williams capped his season by running on the 400m relay team that ran the world’s fastest time (38.39) at the NACAC Under 23 Championships in July. Burnett also coached Steven Brown to All-Midwest Region honors in the 100m in addition to Southland Indoor Athlete of the Year accolades and the Mesquite native was the high-point scorer at both league meets. Vese also won his second consecutive Southland Championship in the 60m hurdles and also brought home gold in the 110m hurdles at the league’s outdoor meet.
He helped UTSA defend its Southland Indoor Championship in 2007 and also mentored Gaston Griffin, who won the league’s indoor 400m title and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. Williams also shattered the school’s 60m record at that meet, clocking an NCAA provisional 6.71 to break teammate Cedric Harris’ mark of 6.76 set in 2005. During the outdoor campaign, Burnett coached six NCAA Midwest Regional qualifiers in five events and the quartet of Scott Briscoe, Brown, Harris and Williams earned all-region honors following their fifth-place finish in the 400-meter relay.
In 2006, Burnett earned the Southland’s inaugural Steve McCarty Citizenship Award. A team captain as a senior, he helped lead UTSA to its first-ever Southland Indoor Championship. Burnett won the 2005 Southland Championship in the 400m, was a 10-time all-conference performer and eight-time scorer at conference events. He also was a two-time NCAA Midwest Regional qualifier and four-time member of the Southland Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Burnett was a 2005 NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Council President & Leadership Conference Representative, NCAA Inspiration Award nominee, John Wooden Golden Cup Inspiration Award semifinalist and vice president for UTSA’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. A three-sport star at Corpus Christi’s Carroll High School, he also was named the South Texas Athlete of the Year as a senior, a two-time all-state selection in track & field and All-American in soccer during the 2000-01 season.
His dedication to the program, both as a former student-athlete and now as a coach, inspired the athletics department to create the David Burnett Roadrunner Pride Award in Spring 2008.
Burnett earned Level I certification from USA Track & Field in 2008 and his oldest brother, Paul, was a two-time all-conference and four-time all-league performer for UTSA from 1994-97.