Junior Aimee Jonas scored a combined eight points to lead UTSA on Saturday.
ARLINGTON — Junior Aimee Jonas finished third in the heptathlon to highlight second-day action for the UTSA women’s track & field team at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships.
Jonas tallied 4,583 points to nab the bronze medal in the two-day, seven-event heptathlon. She entered the second day in sixth after scoring 2,972 points in the first four events, and she moved up three spots with a solid final three events. The La Vernia native posted marks of 17-10 ¼ in the long jump, which was good for second place, 91-9 in the javelin and 2:31.84 in the 800 meters to match her third-place league finish from two years ago.
Jonas later cleared 5-1 ¾ to earn a seventh-place showing in the high jump, giving her eight points on the day.
In other finals action, freshmen Zaquita McClanahan and Stacia Newton combined for seven points in the shot put. McClanahan measured 45-2 ½ for fifth place, while Newton heaved the implement to a 43-9 mark for sixth.
In the only final running event of the day, sophomore Courtney Nelson and freshman Jessica Bitterly finished seventh (11:25.90) and eighth (11:37.31), respectively, in the 3,000m steeplechase.
In the team standings, UTSA is in sixth place with 27 points after nine events. Stephen F. Austin leads with 90.5.
UTSA had a solid showing in the preliminary rounds on the track, placing eight runners into Sunday's finals.
Redshirt junior Dana Mecke advanced in both the 800m and 1,500m, racing to the top qualifier in the half-mile, a 2:11.19, and posting the second-fastest time in the metric mile, a 4:45.16.
Two-time defending champion senior Jessica Jones clocked the top time in the 100m hurdles, a 13.69, while freshman Amanda McGill was close behind with the second-best performance (13.92). McGill also moved through in the 400m hurdles with a 1:02.71 effort.
Senior Pernilla Savestrand stayed alive in both middle distance events, posting a 4:41.63 in the 1,500m and a 2:13.92 in the 800m.
Mecke and Savestrand will be joined by sophomore Rebecca Crain (2:13.56) and junior Jayde James (2:13.88) in the 800m finals.
The meet concludes on Sunday.