HOUSTON — The UTSA women's track & field team received a school-record performance from freshman April Benavidez in the pole vault and four other athletes recorded top-three finishes at Friday's season-opening Leonard Hilton Memorial.
Benavidez cleared the bar at 11-7 ¾ (3.30m) in her first attempt to best Brooke Townzen's year-old mark by two inches. The Elsa native's measurement was good for seventh in the field of nine vaulters. Houston's Karly King won the event with her 12-1 ½ (3.70m) performance.
Meanwhile, sophomore Katie Bragg led a quartet of Roadrunners that finished among the top five in the weight throw. The Peachtree City, Ga., native just missed a gold medal with her toss of 54-1 ¼ (16.49m), which was only an inch-and-a-quarter behind Rice's Tina Robinson. Senior captain Taelor Wilson was third (49-8 ½/15.15m), sophomore Jaimeé Bennett finished fourth (49-6 ½/15.10m) and freshman Brittany Wilson placed fifth (47-11 ¼/14.61m) to round out the Roadrunners' top-five contingent. Bennett and Robert's throws were good for fourth and fifth, respectively, on the program's all-time performers chart.
Sophomore Eboni Johnson wrapped up the impressive field performances with a second-place effort in the triple jump. The Channelview native, who finished as the top collegian, skipped to a personal-best 40-0 ½ (12.20m), which bested her pervious PR by nearly nine inches (39-3 ¼/11.97m).
On the track, freshman Jhorden Hunter's career got off to a solid start, as she sped to a bronze medal in the 60 meters. The Missouri City native clocked a 7.49 in the two-section final after recording a 7.62 in the fourth of seven preliminary heats earlier in the day.
UTSA finished fourth in the team standings with 74 points. Texas easily won the team title with 177, while Rice (81.5) and Houston (81) were sandwiched between the Longhorns and Roadrunners.
"I was happy with how we opened the season today," head coach Aaron Fox said. "We had several solid performances, including a school record, and definitely can build on this performance next weekend in Lubbock."
UTSA is back in action at next weekend's Texas Tech Invitational. The two-day meet begins on Friday, Jan. 21, in Lubbock.
