The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships came to a conclusion Saturday, and the Longhorns fell short of their expectations for the second year in a row.
Texas performed well enough to tie for 12th place with 18 points as a team. As has been the case in recent years, Texas was unable to post wins in any event.
The 4x100m team of juniors Alex Williams, Trevante Rhodes and sophomores Marquise Goodwin and D.J. Monroe finished sixth with a time of 39.24 seconds. The group seemed to be in their best shape, posting a time that was only one-hundredth of a second off their season-best. Each athlete gained First Team All-America honors with their showing.
Sophomore Keiron Stewart became a three-time First Team All-American with his wind-aided 13.38 in the 110m hurdles. Stewart finished fifth in the event, an improvement on his seventh place finish last year.
Freshman Mark Jackson finished 21st in the triple jump with a jump of 15.16 meters.
As evidenced by the team’s youth, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Head coach Bubba Thornton hopes next year will bring out the best from everyone on the team, including himself.
“With a great young team and recruiting class in place, this summer we’ll have to sit down and re-evaluate all the components that work within this program and will put myself as the first to be evaluated,” Thornton said.
Texas A&M claimed its second consecutive Outdoor Track and Field title with 55 points. The top three spots were separated by only two points, as Florida State and Florida followed the Aggies with 54 and 53 points, respectively.