EUGENE, Ore. – The UTSA track & field team logged a pair of Second Team All-America laurels and two more Honorable Mention performances on the opening day of action at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Wednesday at historic Hayward Field. The highest honors of the day went to junior Gabriel Binion and the quartet of freshman Martín Kouyoumdjian, junior Noah Rhodes, freshman Nabil Tezkratt and junior Mike Roth.
Making his first appearance at Nationals as the only Roadrunner to compete in three different events, Tezkratt (East London, England) collected Second Team All-America honors as the third leg on the 4x400m relay, grabbed All-American Honorable Mention for his efforts on the 4x100m relay and individually in the 400m – finishing 23rd in a time of 47.16. The 4x400m wrapped up the meet day and the Roadrunners combined for a 3:06.74 clocking to finish 15th overall, triggering another All-American recognition for the Roadrunners.
Both squads become the first men’s relays to garner All-America laurels for UTSA, and the first for any Roadrunner quartet since the women’s 4x400m finished fourth in 1992.
Binion (Sydney, Australia) topped the UTSA party on the first day of competition, hitting 7.55m (24-9.25) on his first pass at the long jump, nabbing the Second Team All-America tag with a 14th-place finish.
The 4x100m relay opened up the day for the Roadrunners, clocking in at 39.64 for 17th, picking up All-American Honorable Mention for the squad of Binion, Smithville, Texas junior Brice Chabot, Tezkratt and Kouyoumdjian (Santiago, Chile).
UTSA’s lone women’s competitor will begin her quest for her second All-American honor of her rookie season on Thursday. Fredrikstad, Norway freshman Ida Breigan will compete in the long jump at 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT) and will take the second approach of the second flight. Her 6.74m (22-1.5) school-record leap led the nation at one time and she’s looking to add to her accolades after earning First Team All-American honors on a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
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