| Junior Dana Mecke had a career-best performance in the mile on Friday. |
HOUSTON ? Junior Dana Mecke and senior Ashley Jacksonposted top-six finishes to help lead the UTSA women’s track and fieldteam to 11th place at the season-opening Leonard Hilton Memorial heldFriday at Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse.
Mecke finished fourth in the mile with a career performance, clocking a4:58.26 to make her the school’s No. 4 all-time performer in the event.She bettered her previous PR of 5:02.52 in a runner-up showing at the2008 Southland Conference Championships on this same track.
A pair of Rice runners ? Nicole Mericle (4:55.81) and Britany Williams(4:57.78) ? finished just ahead of Mecke in the tight race won byRice’s Lennie Waite in an NCAA provisional qualifying 4:48.00. Freshmanteammate Kayla Pratt won her section and was 13th overall in the fieldof 45 milers with a time of 5:16.70.
Jackson won her heat of the 200 meters and finished sixth overall in a field of 48 sprinters, crossing in 26.15.
A trio of Roadrunners moved onto the school’s top-five performers lists.
Freshman Lindsey Ngyuen, believed to be the first indoor female polevaulter at UTSA, established a school record with a 10-4 clearance totie for 13th place.
Sophomore Taelor Wilson became the program’s No. 2 performer in the weight throw with a 10th-place measure of 47-5 1/4.
Freshman Amber Byars had a memorable UTSA debut with a 42-1 1/2 mark tofinish 18th in the weight throw and move into the No. 4 spot on theschool’s all-time list.
Junior Jessica Jones nearly matched her career best in the 60m hurdles,as she peeled off an 8.76 to win her preliminary heat. That effort, thefifth fastest in the first round, was just one one-hundredth of asecond shy of her personal-best posted last season, but she did notrace in the final.
In other action, sophomore Jayde James placed ninth in the 800m in2:21.50, while fellow sophomore Shavonne Armbrister won her 400m heatand was 13th overall in 1:00.93. The distance medley relay team wasninth with a 13:23.33 clocking.
The Roadrunners tied with Texas Southern for 11th with 11 points in theteam standings. Rice tallied 117 points to edge Texas (101) for theteam title.
UTSA returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 24, when itcompetes at the Cherry & Silver Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.