BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Bashiru Abdullahi, Andre Douglas and Jack Turner each won gold in their respective events to highlight the final day and guide UTSA to a runner-up finish at the 2020 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Indoor Championships, hosted by UAB on Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Roadrunners finished in second place in the team standings behind only Charlotte (135) with a two-day total of 108 points. Middle Tennessee was third with 102 points and UTEP (77) and Rice (76.5) rounded out the top five.
It marked the Roadrunners' best league indoor finish since also placing second two years ago and it was their fourth runner-up showing since joining C-USA in 2013. UTSA now has finished third or better in 16 of the last 17 conference indoor meets.
UTSA saw Abdullahi win the 60-meter hurdles, Douglas claim gold in the triple jump and Turner take top honors in the heptathlon.
A sophomore transfer out of Benin City, Nigeria, Abdullahi posted a 7.80 time in the 60m hurdles to claim gold and equal his own school record set earlier this season. It was the third straight win for the two-time C-USA Track Athlete of the Week honoree.
Douglas leaped to a mark of 15.52m (50-11) to win the triple jump. It marked the first league crown for the junior out of Kingston, Jamaica, as he became the fourth Roadrunner to win the event at a conference meet and the first since 2013.
Junior Grant Szalek finished fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.83m (48-8) and Jamal Anderson placed sixth with a measurement of 14.81m (48-7.25), as UTSA tallied 17 points in the event.
Turner, a freshman from Exeter, England, went wire-to-wire as the winner of the heptathlon with a two-day total of 5,142. His second-day showing included a time of 8.58 in the 60m hurdles, a clearance of 4.20m (13-9.25) in the pole vault and a 2:56.92 clocking in the 1,000m. Turner became the second straight seventh overall Roadrunner to earn a league crown in the heptathlon.
Senior Jake McDaniel, a native of Houston, joined Turner on the heptathlon podium with a third-place finish and a total of 4,903 points. Freshman Joel McFarlane finished fifth (4,448) and Justin Wright placed sixth (4,420) to give UTSA a total of 23 points in the event.
Freshman Paul Bouey, a native of Santiago, Chile, claimed bronze in the shot put with a 16.87m (55-4.25) measurement. Freshman Jorge Ayala placed sixth (15.98m; 52-5.25) and freshman Angel Robles finished seventh (15.72m; 51-7).
Senior Leander, Texas, native Mikael Dawkins collected a bronze medal in the 60m dash with a time of 6.83, ahead of UTSA senior Brett Winnegan, who took fifth with a time of 6.88. Dawkins also placed eighth in the 200m dash.
In other action on the track, Caleb Devereaux earned two points by finishing seventh in the 800m with a 2:02.84 clocking.
UTSA closed out the meet with a sixth-place finish in the 4x400m relay, as Andrew Pirog, McFarlane, Gary Haasbroek and Rosales combined for a time of 3:17.82.
The Roadrunners wrap up the indoor season at the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Standings
1. Charlotte – 135
2. UTSA – 108
3. Middle Tennessee – 102
4. UTEP – 77
5. Rice – 76.5
6. Louisiana Tech – 42
7. Southern Miss – 40
8. North Texas – 35.5
9. FIU – 29
10. WKU – 18
UTSA Results
Triple Jump
1. Andre Douglas 15.52m (50-11)
5. Grant Szalek 14.83m (48-8)
6. Jamal Anderson 14.81m (48-7.25)
Heptathlon (Final)
1. Jack Turner 5,142
3. Jake McDaniel 4,903
5. Joel McFarlane 4,448
6. Justin Wright 4,420
Shot Put
3. Paul Bouey 16.87m (55-4.25)
6. Jorge Ayala 15.98m (52-5.25)
7. Angel Robles 15.72m (51-7)
60m Hurdles
1. Bashiru Abdullahi 7.80
60m Dash
3. Mikael Dawkins 6.83
5. Brett Winnegan 6.88
800m Run
7. Caleb Devereaux 2:02.84
200m Dash
8. Mikael Dawkins 21.84
4x400m Relay
6. UTSA 3:17.82 (Andrew Pirog, Joel McFarlane, Gary Haasbroek, Christopher Rosales)
- UTSA -
