BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Andrew Akens successfully defended his shot put crown, Keyunta Hayes raced to victory in the 60-meter hurdles and their performances helped lead the UTSA men's track & field team to second place at Thursday's Conference USA Championships.
Akens led a parade of four Roadrunners that combined for 23 points in the shot. The senior from Mesquite recorded a measurement of 58-10 ¼ (17.94m) to win the league title for the second consecutive year. It marked the program's seventh all-time championship in the event and fifth consecutive dating back to the 2011 campaign. Kelsey Benoit placed second with his career-best put of 58-1 (17.70m), while Tyler Finke (53-8 ½/16.37m) and Jeremy Jones (52-6/16.00m) also registered personal records en route to sixth and seventh place, respectively.
Meanwhile, Hayes captured the second 60m hurdles conference crown of his illustrious career. After recording the meet's top preliminary heat time (7.97), the senior from Tyler cruised to victory in a season-best 7.95 for UTSA's eighth all-time league title in the event and first since his triumph at the 2012 Southland Conference Championships. Jonas Gutierrez crossed the finish line fifth in a season-best 8.17 to give the Roadrunners 14 combined points in the event.
The two victories pushed UTSA's all-time individual/relay total to 72 and 48 of those have come under the direction of 13th-year head coach Aaron Fox.
Dionte Robinson was the Roadrunners' top scorer with 14.5 points and he was tabbed the circuit's Freshman of the Meet. The Baytown native was second in the 60m (PR 6.78), fourth in the deuce (PR 21.45) and he anchored UTSA's third-place 1,600m relay that clocked a 3:17.16.
The Roadrunners also received a silver-medal performance from Ty Anderson in the high jump, as the freshman from Luling matched his career best with a clearance of 6-10 ¾ (2.10m). Branden Perry added another two points to the team total with his seventh-place showing (6-6 ¾/2.00m), which gave UTSA a total of 10 in the event.
The Birds received a combined 11 points in the weight throw, as Andris Vistins set a personal record with his toss of 56-5 ¼ (17.20m), which was good for third place, while Victor Perez placed fifth (55-1 ½/16.80m) and Jones was eighth (52-1/15.87m).
UTSA also got seven points in the pole vault when Barrett Brock (15-1/4.60m) and Reid Perry (14-7 ¼/4.45m) finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
Dusan Makevic racked up eight points with his fourth-place effort in the 3k (8:37.25) and sixth-place performance in the mile (PR 4:11.15).
Meanwhile, Jurmarcus Shelvin was fourth in the 400m (PR 48.12) and Hayes scratched out a point with his eighth-place effort (PR 48.56). Shelvin later added an eighth-place finish of his own in the 200m (PR 21.61) and he also joined Hayes, Gutierrrez and Robinson on the mile relay.
Adrian Riley was sixth in the heptathlon with 4,848 points and the distance medley relay of Harvinder Singh, Kourt'ney Payne, Tony Jaramillo and Makevic passed the baton in a season-best 10:30.89, which also was good for sixth place.
Jaramillo secured the Roadrunners' other points of the one-day meet with his seventh-place effort in the 800m (PR 1:55.64).
UTSA made a late charge to rack up 107 points en route to its runner-up finish. Western Kentucky won the team championship with 127 points in its C-USA debut and UTEP was third with 101.
The Roadrunners will open their outdoor season next month when they host the UTSA Challenge Invitational at Park West Athletics Complex. The two-day meet is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 20.