SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA track & field team spreads out across the country in its final weekend of regular season indoor competition before heading to the American Athletic Conference Championships on Feb. 23 in Birmingham, Ala. The Roadrunners will send a distance-focused group to Boston for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, a throws crew to the Howie Ryan Invitational in Houston and sprints/jumps to the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque.
The last time out, 13 medalists highlighted 35 top-10 finishes across the two-day meet in College Station at the Charlie Thomas Invitational last weekend. In that meet, junior Michael Campbell set a new school record in the weight throw and junior Dennis Phillips again cut down the program’s No. 2 60-meter time against a strong field at Texas A&M. Isabella Simonelli has earned medals in each meet this year, reaching a personal-best weight throw mark of 18.34m (60-2) at the Robert Platt Invitational in her last trip to Houston. Taking to the runway in New Mexico for the first long jump competition since her collegiate debut in week one, freshman Ida Breigan looks to build on that leap of 6.47m (21-2.75) that set not only the UTSA indoor record, but also record marks for the American Athletic Conference and Norwegian U23. After breaking the program’s 60-meter time in 7.41 her last time out west, Thennelle Williams will be facing serious competition from a strong field in Albuquerque.
Hosted by Boston University, the David Hemery Valentine Invitational will be held on Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10 at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center, with nine distance Roadrunners set to compete beginning at 8 a.m. CST with the meet-opening women’s 5,000-meter preliminaries – Friday is largely set for women’s events, while the men’s events appear on Saturday. The women’s 5,000-meter final closes the day’s competition, expected to finish at 9 p.m. CST. Day two opens with the men’s 5,000-meter prelim and closing around 9 p.m. CST on the men’s 5,000-meter final.
Fans can watch live from Boston with a FloSports account. Live results will be available through Lancer Timing. For more information about the meet and the full event schedule, please visit the Boston U. website.
In the Lone Star State, a squad of five throwers put UTSA back inside Yeoman Fieldhouse for the Howie Ryan Invitational, hosted by Houston on Friday, Feb. 9. The Roadrunners will square off against throwers from Cal State Northridge, Grambling, Houston (host), Houston Christian, Incarnate Word, Jacksonville College, Lamar, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Stephen F. Austin, St. Thomas (Houston), Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, Trinity and Louisiana Monroe. Competition will begin at 11 a.m. on Friday with the women’s weight throw, following a rolling schedule through the men’s shot put.
Fans can watch the action from Houston through Cougars All-Access, while live results will be available from Flash Results. Full schedule and meet information can be found on the Houston website.
UTSA’s largest squad of the weekend, 26 Roadrunners will travel to the New Mexico’s Albuquerque Convention Center, Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, February 10. Although the meet will open competition at 11 a.m. CST on Friday, UTSA will be looking at its first event in the 400-meter at 2:30 p.m. CST, while the first field event is set for the women’s long jump at 4 p.m. CST. Field events will close on the high jump and running events end in the evening on the 200-meter. Saturday will see the Roadrunners in action on the track at 10:30 a.m. CST with the 60-meter hurdles, while the field events start for UTSA in the triple jump at 11 a.m. The day’s competition closes on the 4x400m relays at 3:30 p.m. CST. The Roadrunners will be tested by athletes from over 40 schools, along with numerous club and national squads.
The live stream of the event will run on FloTrack for subscribers, while live results will be produced by RT Timing Solutions. For more information about the meet and schedule, please visit the New Mexico Athletics website.
After wrapping the three competitions this weekend, UTSA will not be in action again until they kick off their inaugural appearance at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Feb. 23-24, in Birmingham, Ala. at the Birmingham Crossplex.
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