HOUSTON – The UTSA men’s and women’s track and field teams began the final regular-season weekend’s competitions on Friday in Houston and Nashville. The Houston contingent at the Howie Ryan Invitational earned seven medals, including four golds on Friday at Yeoman Fieldhouse. Among the event winners were Michael Campbell, Ida Breigan, Dylan James and Christiaan Le Roux.
A Bloomfield, Connecticut senior, Campbell opened up the day with an event victory in the men’s weight throw, reaching 19.63m (64-5) on his third attempt to earn the gold. Adding a second medal for the event, Garrett Stokes also nailed his third pass, tossing a distance of 18.74m (61-5.75) to capture third place. On the women’s side of the event, Nyaluet Diew earned fourth place with a 16.54m (54-3.25) measurement on her fifth heave. Diew followed up with a medal of her own on the next throwing event, reaching 14.69m (48-2.5) in the shot put to earn the silver. In men’s shot put, Ryan Stillman was ninth place at 14.84m (48-8.25).
The Roadrunners tallied the top spot in almost every horizontal jump, kicked off by Fredrikstad, Norway sophomore Breigan, who collected her third event win of the season, capturing gold on a measurement of 6.38m (20-11.25). Brina Likar also added a fifth-place finish at 5.80m (19-0.5).
On the men’s side of the event, Roodepoort, South Africa senior Le Roux also added his third event win of the year on a season-best 7.70m (25-3.25), moving him up to the No. 2 performance in UTSA history with the 23rd-best performance in the nation.
The senior from Perth, Australia, James earned gold in the men’s triple jump with a season-best 15.59m (51-1.75) on his very last jump for the 35th-best measurement in the NCAA this season and his first event win of the indoor campaign. On the women’s side, mid-year newcomer Mifri Veso debuted with a 12.03m (39-5.75) triple jump measurement to secure third place.
Making his collegiate track and field debut, UTSA freshman football player Will Henderson III started his two-sport career by advancing to the 60m final on a 6.84-second preliminary clocking. In the final, Henderson gathered the silver by cutting his time down to 6.79 seconds.
Also earning top-10 finishes, Kyla Hill finished eighth in the 200m with a 25.09 time, while Thennelle Williams was ninth overall with 7.76 clocking in the 60m.
The second contingent of Roadrunners from the distance crew started competition at the Music City Challenge on Friday. Competition in Nashville continues on Saturday morning at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility.
Following this weekend’s events, the Roadrunners will begin preparations for American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama at the Birmingham Crossplex, Feb 28 through March 1.
- UTSA -