SAN ANTONIO — Victor Perez set a new program record en route to a winning performance in the hammer on Friday to lead the UTSA men's track & field team on the opening day of this weekend's UTSA Invitational.
Perez launched a throw of 206-3 on his fourth attempt of the afternoon to break the three-year-old school mark previously held by Phil Steinert. The senior from San Antonio outdistanced Sam Houston State's Joshua Hernandez by nearly five feet for the third career gold medal in his specialty event. He now has won the UTSA Invite meet title in two of the past three years.
The Roadrunners also saw two of their athletes finish second and third in the shot put.
Gabe Vargas registered a career-best measurement of 57-5 ½ (17.51m) in winning the silver medal, while Kelsey Benoit captured the bronze with his put of 55-11 ¼ (17.05m). Purdue's Luke Lewis won the event with his toss of 57-9 ½ (17.61m).
UTSA, which has racked up 33 points through five scored events, trails only Purdue (49) in the team standings. Texas Tech (29) rounds out the top three.
The season-opening two-day meet will conclude on Saturday.
