SAN ANTONIO — UTSA's women's track & field team will begin postseason competition this weekend when it competes at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships. The four-day meet is scheduled to get underway on Thursday with the two-day heptathlon at Dean A. Hayes Soccer & Track Stadium on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
Friday will see the final three disciplines of the hep contested, along with the hammer, pole vault and 10,000 meters. The preliminary running heats, discus and long jump will take place on Saturday evening and the remainder of the events are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday (click here for the complete meet schedule).
The Roadrunners enter the meet with a pair of top marks in the league this season.
Leading the way is Angel Sifuentes and the 1,600-meter relay.
Sifuentes has been on top of the javelin leaderboard all spring following her program-record measurement of 147-2 (44.87m) at the season-opening UTSA Invitational back on March 18.
Meanwhile, the quartet of Jennifer Arinze, Sierra Andres, Paige Patterson and Evelyn Clark owns a top time of 3:38.18, which came on April 30 at the Bobcats Classic. That was the second-fastest performance in program history and UTSA's mile relay has finished no worse than third in all seven of its races this spring.
Led by Paige Patterson's personal-best clocking of 54.20 two weekends ago, the Roadrunners now have three athletes among the top eight in the 400m. Patterson ranks third, while Clark (55.06) and Shantel Swift (55.22) stand seventh and eighth, respectively.
Stephanie Wangui is fourth in both the 800m and 1,500m with her season-best times of 2:08.84 and 4:28.15. The senior from Leander is the conference's defending champion in the 800m.
Caroline Bellows sits in sixth place in the pole vault with her clearance of 11-7 ¾ (3.55m) and Mia Hicks is among the top eight in two throwing events, as the freshman from Conroe ranks seventh in the discus with her school-record mark of 156-2 (47.61m) and eighth in the shot put (44-11 ½/13.70m).
Gabriyella Torres is seventh in the heptathlon (4,280 points) and Grace Kohler stands eighth in the 3,000m steeplechase (11:11.58).
UTSA has won a total of five conference crowns and 63 individual/relay championships in program history. The Roadrunners finished in a tie for sixth place a year ago with 56 points.
