COLLEGE STATION, Texas – UTSA track & field battled deteriorating weather conditions and the all-Texas field at the Texas A&M Alumni Muster Invitational on Saturday, but the Roadrunners were still able to produce numerous top-level marks and deliver 19 top-10 finishes on the day at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
The first big finish for UTSA came early, on Goldie, Australia senior Isabella Simonelli’s 56.33m (184-9) third-place hammer throw mark during the meet’s first event. Joining her in the top-5, classmate Zoe Shanklin was fifth with a 45.45m (149-1) measurement.
Their men’s counterpart, Bloomfield, Conn. senior Michael Campbell captured silver and was the top collegiate performer in the men’s hammer at 54.01m (177-2), only trailing Roadrunner record-holder and current Texas Lutheran assistant coach Victor Perez (UTSA, 2013-17). Freshman Aiden Mercado earned a 42.86m (140-7) personal best to finish fifth overall.
San Antonio freshman Melody Espinoza has been delivering in College Station, picking up her third medal of her rookie campaign at a Texas A&M meet with a bronze in the 1,500-meter run on a 4:38.89 clocking. Classmate Abby Barraza (4:51.77) and junior Chante Dixon (4:58.45) crossed the line in fifth and sixth, respectively. In the men’s 1,500m, sophomore O.J. Ruiz was the fourth-best college runner and earned fifth place overall on a time of 4:05.77
Also on the track, Romford, England junior Kiah Dubarry-Gay was third among collegiate competitors in the women’s 100-meter, fourth overall, after crossing at 11.91 seconds in her first race at the distance since joining the Roadrunners. That mark is also the fastest wind-legal mark of the year for the Roadrunners. Junior Thennelle Williams finished eighth overall, clocking in at 12.21.
On the men’s side of the 100m, Smithville, Texas junior Brice Chabot squared off with a heavy unattached field, coming in at third among collegiate runners at 10.60 seconds; seventh overall.
Rounding out UTSA’s top marks as the meet wound down, Harlingen, Texas junior Idol Ramon clocked a 9:38.65 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for a third-place finish.
Opening up UTSA’s competition at the Alumni Muster, senior Sabrina Goains went 19:19.91 for ninth place in the meet-opening 5,000m. On the field side, freshman Edlin Laur earned fifth in the women’s javelin at 32.68m (107-3), while sophomore Madelen Sveinungsen went 5.17m (16-11.5) for sixth among college performers (eighth overall) in her first career long jump. In the men’s 800-meter, sophomore Victor Charo (1:55.79) and senior AJ Tyler (1:56.59) come in eighth and ninth, respectively – with both climbing two slots higher in collegiate finishes. In the women’s half mile, rookie Jadelyn Malesich snagged a personal-best 2:18.81 to finish sixth in her first outdoor 800m, while junior Luzaan De Wit (2:29.61) and Sveinungsen (2:31.65) came in at eighth and ninth.
Up next, the Roadrunners will wrap the regular season back in Austin at the Texas Invitational on April 27. The American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships are heading to San Antonio for UTSA’s first year in the conference, scheduled for May 10-12 at the Park West Athletics Complex.
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