? Final results
HOUSTON - Senior Luke Johnson punched his ticket to the NCAA Midwest Regional with a personal-best performance in the shot put to highlight action for the UTSA men’s track & field team on Thursday at the Rice Twilight.
Johnson measured 55-8 ? (16.97m) to finish first in the shot put in front of runner-up Nicholas Cook of Texas A&M (16.27m). The mark bettered his previous career-best of 55-3 ? (16.85m) posted last season and ranks third on this season’s Southland Conference performance list. Johnson, an Amarillo native, also finished second in the hammer throw with a season-best 169-11 (51.79m) measurement.
Two other Roadrunners finished as the top collegians in the non-scored meet. Sophomore Bryan Ugochukwu knocked nearly two seconds off his PR in the 800 meters, winning the second heat with a 1:51.86 clocking. That time held on through the final two heats as the top half-mile of the evening and ranks as the top mark in the league this season.
Freshman Terrence Watson finished as the top collegian and second overall in the 400m hurdles, circling in 54.75 just behind Winston Chambers’ (Speed Koncepts) 53.81.
Johnson was not the only thrower with a successful evening, as sophomore Ryan McMakin moved into the No. 4 spot on UTSA’s all-time shot put performers list with a personal-best 51-5 ? (15.68m) to finish fourth. He also placed sixth in the hammer with a throw of 149-11 (45.69m).
In other field event action, junior Carvey Evans matched his season best by clearing 6-8 ? to tie for second in the high jump, while freshman P.J. McGowen topped 6-6 ? to tie for fourth. Sophomore Johnathan Whittaker skipped to a season-best 47-11 ? measure for third place in the triple jump, while freshmen Dillard Glass and Kyle Kaase tied for third in the pole vault with a 14-1 ? clearance.
On the track, freshman Robert Hart took third in the 110m hurdles in 15.43, freshman Kevin Hunt placed fourth among collegians in the 100 in 11.01, freshman Caesar Slade finished fourth in the 200m in 22.11, freshman Brandon Chiuminetta was fifth in the 1,500m in 3:58.47, a season-best, and the 4x400m relay team placed fourth among collegiate squads in 3:23.89.
The 400m relay quartet of seniors Steven Brown and Cedric Harris, sophomore Teddy Williams and freshman John Matthews will compete at the Penn Relays on Friday in the final tune-up before the SLC Outdoor Championships set for May 9-11 in Huntsville.
