BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Silver-medal performances by Abby Balli and Danielle Spence headlined six total podium finishes for the UTSA women on Sunday, helping to propel the Roadrunners to a third-place finish at the Conference USA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Birmingham CrossPlex.
Combined with Ingeborg Gruenwald's win in the long jump on Saturday, the Roadrunners totaled seven podium finishes during the two-day meet to register their best finish at the C-USA Indoor since a runner-up showing in 2014. UTSA scored 81 points, its highest point total since 116 in a second-place showing at the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Indoor, to finish ahead of Rice (75.5) and behind Southern Miss (109) and Charlotte (104) in the 12-team race.
In the first track event of the afternoon, Balli's runner-up finish in the mile helped set the tone for the day for UTSA. The Pasadena native used a strong finishing kick to pass Southern Miss' Kate Mattox on the final turn and cross the line second with a time of 5:01.47 for her first conference podium appearance.
The women collected a pair of medals in the triple jump, as Spence rallied to secure the silver and Gruenwald continued her stellar weekend by earning the bronze.
Spence, an All-American and the 2019 C-USA Indoor triple jump champion, opened with back-to-back fouls and needed a mark on her third attempt to reach the final. The senior from Jamaica came through with a 12.06m (39-6.75) measurement, putting her in fifth place heading into the final three jumps. She leaped into second place with a 12.60m (41-4.25) effort on her fifth trip down the runway and then briefly took the overall lead after unleashing a 12.95m (42-6) measurement on her final attempt. However, Esther Isa of Middle Tennessee reclaimed the lead with a 13.09m (42-11.5) mark on the last jump of the competition to secure top honors.
Meanwhile, Gruenwald followed up her gold-medal performance in the long jump on Saturday with another podium finish. The sophomore finished third in the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 12.51m (41-0.5) on her fifth attempt of the day. Combined with her first career conference win last night, the Austrian provided a total of 16 points for the Roadrunners.
Amaya Scott picked up a bronze medal in the high jump, finishing in a share of third place in her first collegiate competition in the event. After sailing over the bar at a height of 1.64m (5-4.5) on her first try, the Romsey, England, native cleared 1.69m (5-6.5) on her third and final attempt to end up in a three-way tie for third.
Sigrid Kleive pitched in with one point in the high jump by topping 1.64m (5-4.5) for eighth place.
In the final race of the day, Orla Brothers, Faith Roberson, Taylor Armstrong and Alanah Yukich passed the baton to a time of 3:49.06 to collect the bronze medal in the 4x400-meter relay. Those six points helped UTSA move past Rice, which finished 10th in the 4x4, into third place in the team standings.
Yukich made her way onto the podium in the 60m hurdles earlier in the afternoon, clocking a time of 8.73 for third place. The Perth, Australia, native came back later in the day to notch a fifth-place time of 56.39 in the 400m, just ahead of Roberson's sixth-place 56.67 clocking.
Lacee Barnes contributed five points with a fourth-place finish in the shot put. The senior from the Cayman Islands measured 14.34m (47-0.75) on her second heave of the day to notch her second straight top-five league finish in the event.
In other finals action on the track, Vera Chinedu crossed eighth in the 60m with a time of 7.80.
UTSA Results
60 Meters (prelims)
7. Vera Chinedu 7.68q
60 Meters (final)
8. Vera Chinedu 7.80
200 Meters (prelims)
10. Alanah Yukich 25.14
11. Vera Chinedu 25.32
— Taylor Armstrong FS
400 Meters (prelims)
5. Faith Roberson 57.12q
6. Alanah Yukich 57.26q
17. Orla Brothers 59.62
19. Creshaun Cresser 1:00.50
400 Meters (final)
5. Alanah Yukich 56.39
6. Faith Roberson 56.67
800 Meters (prelims)
9. Brooke Lomax 2:17.28
10. Sofia Salinas 2:18.81
21. Maddy Blair 2:27.81
22. Karina Fernandez 2:28.67
Mile (prelims)
3. Abby Balli 5:00.19Q
11. Chante Dixon 5:12.07
Mile (final)
2. Abby Balli 5:01.47
3,000 Meters
12. Chante Dixon 10:18.29
30. Abby Balli 11:02.96
60-Meter Hurdles (prelims)
3. Alanah Yukich 8.61q
— Faith Roberson DNF
60-Meter Hurdles (final)
3. Alanah Yukich 8.73
4x400-Meter Relay
3. Orla Brothers, Faith Roberson, Taylor Armstrong, Alanah Yukich 3:49.06
Distance Medley Relay
4. Chante Dixon, Creshaun Cresser, Brooke Lomax, Abby Balli 12:08.87
High Jump
3. Amaya Scott 1.69m (5-6.5)
8. Sigrid Kleive 1.64m (5-4.5)
14. Maren Wilms 1.54m (5-0.5)
Long Jump
1. Ingeborg Gruenwald 6.10m (20-0.25)
5. Sigrid Kleive 5.87m (19-3.25)
6. Oreoluwa Adamson 5.86m (19-2.75)
8. Johanna Soover 5.71m (18-9)
9. Maren Wilms 5.57m (18-3.25)
11. Danielle Spence 5.53m (18-1.75)
Triple Jump
2. Danielle Spence 12.95m (42-6)
3. Ingeborg Gruenwald 12.51m (41-0.5)
10. Oreoluwa Adamson 11.62m (38-1.5)
10. Johanna Soover 11.62m (38-1.5)
15. Maren Wilms 11.36m (37-3.25)
16. Sigrid Kleive 11.31m (37-1.25)
Shot Put
4. Lacee Barnes 14.34m (47-0.75)
Weight Throw
22. Lacee Barnes 13.62m (44-08.25)
Pentathlon
4. Maren Wilms 3,439
60-Meter Hurdles — 9.63 (783); High Jump — 1.60m/5-3 (736); Shot Put — 9.30m/ 30-6.25 (484); Long Jump — 5.52m/18-1.5 (706); 800 Meters — 2:27.05 (730)
-UTSA-
