BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UTSA track & field teams wrapped conference competition on Saturday at the Birmingham Crossplex, concluding competition in the American Conference Indoor Championships. With the women finishing sixth (59 points) and the men finishing seventh (41 points), the Roadrunners captured three more titles, two school records and four medals during the final day of competition, bringing their the two-day total to five conference championships and eight medals.
The Roadrunners got the individual title chase under way early on Saturday, as Juuru, Estonia freshman Janre Jõgi entered the day with the heptathlon lead. After winning the 60m hurdles on a personal-best 7.02, topping the long jump in a meet-record 7.44m (24-5) and earning second in the shot put at 13.84m (45-5) on Friday, Jõgi kicked off Saturday with a big win in the 60-meter hurdles, going a personal-best 8.19 seconds to win the event. He followed up with a 4.45m (14-7.25) third-place pole vault season best and closed up with a fifth-place 2:55.99 in the 1,000-meter. For his efforts, Jõgi tallied 5,535 points to earn his first conference title by 92 points and register the third-most points in UTSA heptathlon history. Also in the event, Breda, Netherlands freshman Ryan Heeren closed on a second-place 2:41.17 in the 1,000m for a 5,366-point heptathlon finish in fourth place.
Delivering a school record in the process, Tallinn, Estonia junior Edlin Laur pushed her high jump to 1.84m (6-0.5) on the final run to earn her first indoor title in the event, besting her previous 1.81m mark. The previous recordholder and 2025 runner-up, Jakobsli, Norway sophomore Mia Lien ended the day in sixth at 1.70m (5-7.0).
Coming down the stretch, South Sioux City, Neb. junior Nyaluet Diew added a silver to the pot in the shot put with her second scoring performance of the meet, registering a heave of 16.17m (53-0.75) on her second attempt to break her own program record by 1cm with the new 41st mark in the NCAA.
Wrapping up the day, Bridgetown, Barbados redshirt junior Jemuel Miller earned his first American Conference indoor championship and the third conference title of his career after missing the first two American seasons to injury. Miller skipped 15.85m (52-0) to earn the win by .35m. After Saturday’s results, Miller is sitting in ninth nationally with his measurement from the Charlie Thomas Invitational on Feb. 6. Also producing points in the triple jump, Cibolo, Texas freshman John Williams III went 14.84m (48-8.25) to finish eighth.
On the women’s side of the triple jump, Sioux Falls, S.D. sophomore transfer Nyariek Kur recorded a sixth-place 12.28m (40-3.50) in her first American appearance.
UTSA's 4x400-meter men's relay of Israel Wray, Cortlin Salge, Gabe Tubbs and Jamarri Bowie finished ninth in the field at 3:16.32.
In addition to Miller’s ninth in the national standings, Friday women’s long jump champion Ida Breigan also ranks ninth nationally and Laur moved to 20th with her championships performance.
Next up for the indoor season, the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held March 13-14 at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. For those not qualifying for the national meet, UTSA’s outdoor season is scheduled to kick off March 20-21 at the Park West Athletics Complex, as the Roadrunners host the UTSA Invitational.
- UTSA -