AFTER CLAIMING Texas’ first Big 12 Outdoor Championship since 2006, the men’s track & field team turned its focus to the NCAA Championships. For this team, the work never stops.
This year’s squad is build- ing a legacy. The Longhorns swept both the indoor and outdoor conference titles this season, claimed 10 top-10 finishes, and individually continue to break and re-break school records.
And the season is far from over in the eyes of Texas.
Seniors Isaac Murphy and Hayden Baillio understood the opportunity given to them when head coach Bubba Thornton …
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extended their offer letters. Both athletes met and exceeded the stan- dards placed before them, including winning their own individual conference titles. And with only one or two meets left in their collegiate careers, Murphy and Baillio know now is the time seal their legacy on the 40 Acres.
Murphy, the 2012 Big 12 decathlon cham- pion, and Baillio, the 2013 indoor conference champion in the shot put, sat down with Horns Illustrated to discuss what pushes them to excel on the track and in the throwing ring.
ISAAC MURPHY
As a decathlete, do you ever feel like you’re standing in Trey Hardee’s shadow?
Not at all. I knew that I wouldn’t have a better training opportunity than I do here. Texas has a long tradition of great decathletes — which includes Trey Hardee. When [associate head coach] Mario [Sategna] suggested that I try the decathlon as a freshman, I was hesitant. He saw potential in me that I didn’t, but I wanted to be part of their tradition. When he asked again, I said yes.
Any regrets?
No regrets. Mario, with all of his experience as a decathlete and as a coach, understands what we endure during competition. He knows the stress. Mario has helped me the entire way.
What events did you compete in prior to becoming a decathlete?
Sprints and triple jump. I played football in high school but kept getting injured so I found my way to the track. I started running with a club team in Killeen and met coach Bill Collins. He helped me out as well — but not just on the track. Collins got my life together.
Tell me more about coach Collins.
Collins is my mentor. He made me believe in myself. He told me that I could earn an athletic scholarship before I was even good enough to be considered for one. Because of Collins, I learned to believe in myself. I still talk to him every day, but he doesn’t coach me. [Laughs] He leaves that to Mario. But if I’m having a problem in my life, he’s there.
Can you recall one of your most memorable moments while at Texas?
Three years ago, I broke my personal record in the decathlon in the Texas Relays. The competi- tion beat me up pretty badly. I sat down next to [coach] Bubba [Thornton] to watch the 4×400- meter relay prelims. The team didn’t run that well. I’ll never forget when Bubba looked at me and said I was going to run in the finals. I didn’t believe I could turn around from the decathlon, run a 400 and do well. Bubba then asked what I could split, and I told him 49 seconds.
His response? He needed a 47-second split.
I was nervous since that marked the first time I’ve ever had to run in front of that many people. I ran the first leg and split 47 — my fastest 400-meter time ever.
You have a lot of people who believe in you.
I have great coaches and teammates. Looking back on my official visit, everything the coaches had told me has come true.
HAYDEN BAILLIO
Tell me how you found your way into the throwing circle.
When I was 10 or 11, I joined a summer track program. The coaches approached me and said, “Hayden, you’re a big kid. What can you do?” So they gave me a shot put and found out I was good for a kid. I placed third in state that year. The rest is history.
Do you get your athletic abilities from your parents?
My dad had zero interest in athletics as a kid. Growing up, he worked on his parents’ dairy farm. He’d wake up, milk the cows, go to class
and then come home to milk the cows again. [Laughs] He picked up pow- erlifting in his 30s and later taught me how to lift. My mom, on the other hand, was the high school district champion in the 100-meter dash. But neither one of them played sports at the collegiate level.
Texas is a football state. With your size, were you pressured to play on the gridiron?
Football and baseball were king in my hometown — if you didn’t play either sport, people frowned upon you. I played football beginning in seventh grade until high school graduation. I was the biggest kid in our school so I had an opportunity to stand out on the team.
Yes. As a junior, I was hitting the 60-foot mark in the shot put and my throwing coach believed I could receive a partial scholarship somewhere. But then my high school athletics director called and told me to focus on football. I remember him acknowledging the fact that I was good at the shot put but that a university wouldn’t give a half-scholarship for football. So I put my effort into football and several schools came around — Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Missouri. Around that same time, the funniest thing happened. I threw 66-11/4” and won the state championship in the shot put. After that meet, [coach] Bubba [Thornton] offered me a full ride to Texas. I didn’t see that coming, but his offer was a blessing.
What did coach Thornton say to you when he made the offer?
Bubba said, “Hayden, I’m prepared to do something unprecedented in this sport. I’m going to give you a full ride to Texas so you can throw the shot and discus for us.” Marquise Goodwin, Keiron Stewart and I came in together and Bubba said that the three of us would become the pillars of the program. Our job was to raise the team up another notch. His words were power- ful at the time and I’ll never forget them.
Do you think you lived up to those expectations?
I have pride in this team. Since I arrived at Texas, the throw- ers have met the high expectations set for us. We hold ourselves to a higher standard based on what we’ve accom- plished and the legacy we’re trying to build.
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