Sports in brief: Texas begins distance quest at Penn Relays

Texas took its most important step to completing a tough distance triple: winning its first race at the 114th Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

Leonel Manzano broke away from a crowded field in the final 200 meters and carried the Longhorns to their third straight Relays victory in the college men’s distance medley relay championship Friday. The winning time was 9 minutes, 32.89 seconds.

The victory moved Texas toward its stated goal of trying for a Relays sweep of the DMR, 3,200 and 4-mile relays.

The sweep has been accomplished by four schools, Maryland in 1940, Michigan in 1945 and 2005, Arkansas in 1999, and Villanova 11 times.

Michigan’s women pulled off a Relays double for the second straight year, adding a victory in the 6,000 relay to Thursday’s DRM win.

In the 100-meter runs, Gerald Phiri of Texas A&M won in 10.39, while ShellyAnn Fraser of the University of Technology in Jamaica claimed the women’s race in 11.39. Asafa Powell, the world record-holder at 100, pulled out with an injured chest muscle.

“Georgia’s Chris Hill threw the javelin 268 feet, 1 inch through the cold winds at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, to set a meet record.

Football

Holmgren honored

Retired Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren were among the winners of the 2008 awards handed out by the Professional Football Writers of America.

Seattle Seahawks coach Holmgren took the Horrigan Award given to the person who is not a player or team media relations member and helped the media best do its job. Favre received the Good Guy Award for helping the media do its job.

“A Miami judge denied bail for one of the suspects in the slaying of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor.

Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy noted that Jason Scott Mitchell, 20, and three other suspects allegedly hatched their plot in the Fort Myers area and drove across the state intending to burglarize Taylor’s Miami-area home.

“The Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans are on the clock with their Adam “Pacman” Jones trade, but the deal still wasn’t finalized, two days after the teams agreed in principle.

“UCLA quarterbacks Pat Cowan (knee) and Ben Olson (foot) were both injured in spring practice Thursday.

“Everett “Sonny” Grandelius, Michigan State’s first 1,000-yard rusher, died in Beverly Hills, Mich. He was 79.

Miscellany

Georgia women prevail

Georgia won its fourth straight NCAA women’s gymnastics title with a strong balance beam performance at Athens, Ga. The Bulldogs finished with a 197.45 total.

Utah was second, finishing at 197.125. Stanford was third at 196.75.

“Morgan Hamm’s petition to the U.S. gymnastics championships was approved, keeping alive his quest to make a third Olympic squad. Hamm could barely breathe during the floor exercise in a qualifying meet in Colorado Springs, Colo., in October, meaning he had to file a petition to gain a spot in next month’s nationals.

“Jim Gruenwald took a big step toward making his third straight Olympics by beating Joe Betterman 5-0, 6-3 for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling championship at 132 pounds in Las Vegas.