By Robert Fulton

People knew Keith Benford was good. The coaches who recruited him to join the track and field team at the University of Texas at San Antonio knew he was good. The folks who watched him grow up at Connally High School knew he was good. Heck, Benford, with the confidence that any young man would have, probably knew he was good.

But to shatter seven feet in his first collegiate high jump competition? No one saw that coming.

“I was kind of nervous,” said Benford, a freshman at UTSA, during a recent phone interview. “All of the nerves turned into adrenaline. I wasn’t sure how good I was going to do. It was a lot better than I thought.”

Actually, Benford cleared 7-2 at the Leonard Hilton Memorial track and field meet in Houston last month, besting his personal record of seven feet by more than two inches, a huge increase in high jump standards. The height is a UTSA record and earned him Southland Conference Athlete of the Week honors.

“I’ve seen him in practice, (and) it looks like he would be a seven-footer,” said UTSA track and field coach Aaron Fox. “But seven-two was a big surprise.”

Benford hasn’t topped himself yet in the last month, but acknowledges that expectations have been raised.

“I feel they expect me to go higher,” Benford said. “I feel I can go a little higher. My goal is to be consistent.”

Benford chose to attend UTSA because of its proximity to home and to work under Fox.

“He’s a hard worker, fun to coach and he loves to compete,” Fox said of his star freshman.

The adjustment for the youngster from high school to the college level has not been too stressful on Benford.

“It’s been pretty good,” he said. “Athletics-wise, the competition is harder, but it’s kind of the same.”

So far, Benford is happy with how things are progressing with not just him, but the team in general.

“The season’s been going good,” he said. “Our team has been going good. I haven’t had any injuries, so it looks like a bright future.”

Fox realizes the expectations for his young athlete have been raised, but feels that Benford is up to the task.

“We’re going to try and jump higher,” Fox said. “It definitely puts him up there with the best in the country.”

And for Benford, he got those new-kid-on-the-block butterflies out of his system early, to the tune of 7-2.

“It was intimidating at first,” Benford said. “Everyone was telling me I wasn’t going to be the best out there. I feel like I have a good chance.”