 "Photo: Beth Hall")
If Texas men's track coach Bubba Thornton has a favorite word, it is consistency. And Thornton's fondness for the word isn't just a facade - it is his coaching philosophy.
As a result of his consistent preaching of consistency, his team has become just that. The hallmark of the indoor track season - this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. - became a perfect opportunity for Texas to showcase its consistency.
For the second consecutive year, the Longhorns finished third in the nation, scoring the same number of points both years (34). Texas has finished among the top 5 indoor track teams in each of the last five years.
"The consistency of the program finishing in the top five over the last five years; I really don't count that, I'll let you guys count it," Thornton said. "It is special though."
The women's team finished fourth on the same track, though they scored 36 points. Freshman sprinter Bianca Knight led Texas by running the 200-meter dash in the fastest time ever recorded by an American (22.40 seconds) on Friday.
Things didn't start nearly as well for the men. Jacob Hernandez, another member of the DMR team, was disqualified in the 800-meters - an event from which the Longhorns were counting on getting team points. In the mile prelims, Kyle Miller - the first leg of the DMR who also had a chance to score points in the mile - was injured and unable to finish the race.
The world record DMR team wouldn't be able to take the track, and Texas had failed to get two of their runners into the finals.
Thornton's philosophy prevailed. DMR-alternate Tevan Everett replaced Hernandez in the 800-meter section of the race, with Hernandez moving to Miller's 1200-meter portion. In the middle of turmoil, Texas didn't miss a step - the DMR team clinched a national championship with a 9:32.04.
Freshman Maston Wallace - who didn't know until Monday he would be competing for an NCAA title - cleared a lifetime best 17-8.5 (5.40m) in the pole-vault, finishing third and making up for the points the Longhorns expected Miller and Hernandez to earn.
"They're a great group of guys, but for us it's about a team. It's about being able to make a change in the lineup after an injury and still winning the DMR," Thornton said. "We have good leaders on the team so it's an exciting team."
After the DMR win, Thornton knew that, despite their misfortune, the Longhorns were among the best in the nation.
"We felt that we were always a part of the top five in the nation," Thornton said. "We are pleased with our finish. We didn't feel that it was a dream or luck."
Manzano defended his NCAA championship in the mile, adding a second title and making history on Saturday by becoming the first Longhorn to win two NCAA championships at the same meet. Teammate Jake Morse finished second in the nation just behind Manzano - a strong finish for the Longhorns after fellow mile runner, Miller, was injured on Friday. The Texas two-step of Manzano and Morse in the mile put the Longhorns in third place with 34 points: 10 points behind champion Arizona State (44).
Though there were surprises on the way, Thornton always knew his team would finish among the best in the nation.
"We thought we were going to get 34 points coming into the meet," Thornton said. "When Jacob was disqualified in the 800, then all of a sudden Jake Morse steps up and gets second in the mile and Maston finishes third in the pole vault. Had we been perfect ... That is something that we can think about down the road."
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