Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Men’s track team cruises on the road to success

UTSA men’s track and field team was undoubtedly the school’s most successful team for the 2009 – 2010 season. The team has won seven Southland Conference Championship, two Southland Conference All-Academic accolades, and three Southland Conference Athlete of the Week awards. It earned the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association All Sports Trophy and nine Capital One Bank/ Commissioner’s Honor Roll awardees.

Along with these accolades the teams Head Coach Aaron Fox served as assistant coach at Thorpe Cup.

The team, which came into existence in 1982, has experienced quite a number of successes particularly during Coach Aaron Fox’s tenure as director of track & field/cross country begining in 2003.

Under his direction, the men’s track and field team has earned 12 All-American certificates to date, and during the 2009-2010 season broke 11 school records and tied a previous school record.

Additionally, the team soared to 27th place in the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association’s (USTFCCA) standings, and in 2008 became the first program in UTSA athletics to earn a national ranking.

The team’s accomplishments could not be confined to just indoor and outdoor seasons. Three of its student athletes competed at the USA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa in June, while another team member competed in the international realm of athletics at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games in Puerto Rico in July.

During both in-season and off-season periods, the men’s track and field team’s athletes endure grueling hours of practice, which prep and strengthen them physically and mentally for the competitions in January – June annually.

Likewise, the team’s coaches work to ensure that the athletes are performing at their best, not only athletically, but academically as well.

“One of the more proud moments I have is when I have an athlete that can actually make it through the program for the full four-five years and graduate; contribute and be part of the team the entire time. That’s something that’s very special to me,” Fox said.

Nevertheless, there is a noticeably strong sense of brotherhood among the athletes who actively support each other.

“It takes a lot of support from the team on and off the track, like whenever someone’s jumping, [and] the team [is] there supporting and cheering on. That really helps to push people’s morale up and help them to do better in their event,” Keith Benford said.

Essentially this sense of brotherhood exists beyond the track and is ever present because the student athletes spend a lot of time together outside of practice.

“Being part of the team instills discipline, character and hard work. All of those things are great characteristics that I’ve established and improved. I believe that learning [time management] as an athlete has helped me in the classroom a great deal,” Devon Bond said.

It must be noted that the UTSA men’s track and field team is comprised of 42 student athletes, and five coaches: Head Coach Aaron Fox, and assistant coaches David Burnett, Scott Slade, Chris Adams and Virginia Coindreau.

More to Discover