CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UTSA women’s track and field squad racked up some serious points on the second day of competition at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, sliding into third by the day’s end on Friday at the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center. Led my Ida Breigan’s long jump title, the Roadrunners swept medals in the event with five total scorers. In addition, Nyaluet Diew earned her second AAC shot put title. Meanwhile, three more UTSA performers moved on to Saturday’s event finals.
Coming out of the second day of action, UTSA’s women accumulated all 39 of their points on Friday, moving into third place behind Charlotte (58) and Wichita State (41). The men have 8 points on the board and are currently in 10th.
A sophomore from Fredrikstad, Norway, Breigan earned her third overall AAC title in the long jump and first outdoor crown with a gold-medal season-high 6.50m (21-4) – recording the 11th-best national measurement of the year. Just ¾ of an inch shy of Breigan, Dingli, Malta senior Rachela Pace collected the silver on a career-long 6.48m (21-3.25) leap that not only makes her the third-best UTSA all-time performer, but the new Maltese national recordholder – and ties for the current 13th-best national mark. Adding the bronze, London, England senior Oreoluwa Adamson recorded a career-best 6.30m (20-8) measurement to tie for the sixth all-time UTSA performance. The fourth Roadrunner scorer, Golnik, Slovenia rookie Brina Likar was at 6.10m (20-0.25) in fifth place. Rounding out the scoring group, Tallinn, Estonia sophomore Edlin Laur finished eighth at 5.90m (19-4.25) – fresh on the heels of finishing up the final events of the heptathlon. Also in the event for UTSA, senior Dahlia Barnes came in 12th at 5.64m (18-6).
The next field event to wrap again produced a Roadrunner at the top of the podium, as South Sioux City, Nebraska sophomore transfer Diew hurled a career-best 16.30m (53-5.75) for gold in the shot put – raising her own UTSA No. 2 all-time mark and defeating the next-closest competition by 0.72m.
Setting the stage for a Saturday finals appearance, Bath, England freshman Charlie Staddon registered a fifth-place performance in the 110 hurdles preliminary on a 13.96 clocking. Also in the event, Zane Hodges went 14th overall at 14.55. On the women’s side in the 100m hurdles, Selma Ims came in 11th in the preliminary at 13.66, while Kyla Hill was 29th at 37.46.
The next Roadrunner to punch their ticket to Saturday’s final, Carpenedolo, Italy senior Fatoumata Kabo was eighth in the 400m preliminary on a time of 54.02. Also in the women's 400m, Nayanna Dubarry-Gay (54.94) was 14th and Ibiso David-West (56.96) was 22nd. Adding another men’s final qualifier, St. Thomas, Ontario senior Mike Roth secured a 46.50 clocking in the 400m prelim, sitting at second in the field after winning the second heat. Joining Roth in the 400m, Martín Kouyoumdjian (47.27) was 13th and Matthew Mills (47.62) was 14th.
In the remaining women’s springs, Thennelle Williams (11.95) was 16th and Leah Smith (12.12) was 22nd in the 100m preliminary. In the men's 800m prelim, Cortlin Salge (1:52.76) finished 14th, Victor Charo (1:53.75) was 18th and Gabe Tubbs (1:54.22) was 20th. Wrapping up the field events for the day on the men's shot put, Paul Bouey (15.71m/51-6.5) came in 10th, while Ryan Stillman (15.37m/50-5.25) was 13th and Garrett Stokes (15.35m/50-4.5) was 14th.
In the final event of the second day of competition, O.J. Ruiz produced a 9:29.90 in the 3,000m steeplechase for 11th place, ahead of Diego Ramirez in 16th at 10:12.15.
Opening up Friday’s competition, multi-event athletes wrapped up the remaining events on the schedule. In the heptathlon, Laur reached 5.66m (18-7) for sixth in the long jump section and tossed 34.02m (111-7) in the javelin to finish 10th with 4,526 points, ahead of Madelen Sveinungsen’s 13th-place 4,124 points. In the decathlon, Finn O’Neill built up 5,115 points through eight events but was unable to finish the final two events.
Field events for Saturday, May 17, begin at 1:30 p.m. CDT on the triple jump, as well as discus and high jump. Running event finals kick off at 3:30 p.m. CDT on the 4x100m relays, with Roadrunners also qualified to compete in the 110m hurdles (4:20 p.m.), 400m, (4:30 p.m.), 400m hurdles (5:15 p.m.) and the championships conclude on the 4x400m relays at 6:35 p.m.
Up next after Sunday’s final, Roadrunners that have met qualification will return to action May 28-30 at the NCAA West First Round on familiar ground at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas, for the opportunity to compete in the NCAA DI Championships in Eugene, Oregon, June 11-14.
- UTSA -