BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Syd Howells (60m) and N'Dia Warren-Jacques (shot put) both won league titles and three more program records fell on Sunday, as the UTSA women's track & field team finished in fourth place at this weekend's Conference USA Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
After breaking the Roadrunners' 12-year-old mark in the 60 meters in Saturday's preliminary heats (7.44), Howells returned to the track and doubled down on her performance. The Round Rock native peeled off a program-record time of 7.43 to earn UTSA's second all-time gold medal in the event. Olivia Esemena clocked a 7.65 en route to seventh place, which gave the squad a combined dozen points in the event.
"I had a lot of confidence going into this weekend's meet and knew I had a chance to perform well," Howells said. "I approached it as another meet and with the mindset that everyone next to me was just another competitor. I felt really good going into today's final after breaking the school record and having the top time in the prelims and I was so happy after winning the race and resetting the record again."
Meanwhile, Warren-Jacques earned the Roadrunners another first-place finish in the shot put after topping the field of 25 throwers. The junior transfer from Texas recorded a school-record measurement of 49-3 (15.01m) on her sixth and final attempt of the day and that topped Zaquita McClanahan's four-year-old mark of 47-11 ¼ (14.61m) that came at the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Championships. It marked the program's third all-time conference crown in the event and first since 1994.
"I always come into meets like this nervous, but I believed in my training and Coach (Chris) Adams," Warren-Jacques said. "I was able to score points for my team and my coach, but, most importantly, for myself."
Those two victories pushed the program's all-time individual/relay total to 62 and 20 of those have come under the direction of ninth-year head coach Aaron Fox.
In the triple jump, Elesha Alyn skipped to a career-best leap of 41-3 (12.57m) to place second in the field of 17 jumpers. The senior from Miami, Fla., narrowly was defeated by Rice's Daisy Ding, who recorded a winning mark of 41-6 (12.65m).
Paige Patterson led three Roadrunners who scored points in the 400m. The senior from Dearborn, Mich., circled the banked oval two times in 54.28 to capture the bronze medal and her time broke Jennifer Arinze's program record of 54.72 that came in Saturday's prelims. Arinze (PR 54.66) placed fifth, while Chelsea Taylor (55.43) raced to seventh, giving the Birds a combined 12 points in the event. Middle Tennessee's Loveth Odia won the event in 53.88.
Patterson, Arinze and Taylor teamed up with Sierra Andres for a record-breaking performance in the final event of the meet, the 1,600m relay. The foursome passed the baton in a school-record time of 3:40.69, breaking the previous standard of 3:41:93 set by Arinze, Evelyn Clark, Shantel Swift and Patterson at last year's conference meet, and that was good for third place. Middle Tennessee captured the gold medal with a meet-record time of 3:37.53.
Colleen Gilbert (2:17) earned UTSA's remaining three points with her sixth place finish in the 800m.
The Roadrunners, who entered the final day of competition in eighth place with nine points, finished the two-day meet with 60, which was good for fourth place and that was the program's top finish since the 2014 campaign. UTEP successfully defended its team title by edging Rice by a score of 113-110 and Middle Tennessee rounded out the top three with its 87 points.
"The women were excellent this weekend," Fox said. "We have a great group that is extremely young and the future is bright for our program."
UTSA's indoor season is complete and it now will take the next three weekends off before beginning its outdoor campaign from March 17-18 when it hosts the UTSA Invitational.
