SAN MARCOS ? Senior Brittany Epps won the long jump and sophomores Jessica Jones and Dana Mecke took top honors in the 100-meter hurdles and 1,500m, respectively, to lead the UTSA women’s track & field team at the Texas State Open, which took place on Friday at Bobcat Stadium.
The trio helped the Roadrunners post an impressive 20 top-five finishes in their second outdoor meet of the season, one week after grabbing gold in seven events at the Border Olympics.
Epps leaped to an 18-11 ? measure to lead a 1-2 finish in the long jump, as freshman Kayla Thomas soared into the sand at 18-2 ?.
Jones cruised to an easy win in the high hurdles, clocking a 14.10 to finish well ahead of runner-up Danete Wright of Texas State (14.55). Jones also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles in 1:05.83.
Mecke pulled off a tough double, winning the 1,500m in 4:44.59 and placing second in the 800m in 2:17.22. The Smithson Valley product was just part of a solid middle distance effort, as sophomore Faith Barlow finished second in the 1,500m in 4:56.82, freshman Kim Brooks took second in the 800m in 2:22.15 and freshman Jayde James placed fifth in the 800m (2:23.19) and 1,500m (5:03.21).
Seniors Kari Michalik and Chelsea Malina posted top-three finishes in the javelin for the second straight week. Michalik measured 111-1 for second, while Malina, who is coming off a knee injury, tossed 103-3 for third.
It was a solid day overall for the throwers, as freshmen Adrienne Bocanegra and Nolandra McCray finished fourth in the shot put (36-6 ?) and fifth in the discus (129-0), respectively.
In other action, freshman Shavonne Armbrister sped to a 25.62 clocking to finish third in the 200m, while freshman Aimee Jonas was fourth in 26.43. Jonas also cleared 5-2 ? to tie for fourth in the high jump. Freshman Rebekah Hill skipped to a fourth-place mark of 36-8 ? in the triple jump, while freshman Nikki Harris skied over 9-2 ? for fifth in the pole vault. The 4x100m relay team passed the baton to a third-place time of 47.53.
The Roadrunners host the UTSA Relays next Friday-Saturday, March 14-15, at Blossom Stadium.
