COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A pair of distance runners turned in the top performances for UTSA’s track & field teams on Friday evening during the second day of action at the 44 Farms Team Invitational. Top performers David Zuniga and Victor Charo each notched medals to lead the Roadrunners at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
Late in Friday’s action, Mission, Texas freshman Zuniga came through with a big performance in his first career 1,500-meter run, topping the entire field with a 3:57.24 clocking, edging out Cincinnati’s Owen Towler by 0.6 seconds in the second heat – earning his first career event victory. Meanwhile, classmate Michael Perez was 10th on a season-best 4:09.28 finish.
Late in Friday’s action, Mission, Texas freshman Zuniga came through with a big performance in his first career 1,500-meter run, topping the entire field with a 3:57.24 clocking, edging out Cincinnati’s Owen Towler by 0.6 seconds in the second heat – earning his first career event victory. Meanwhile, classmate Michael Perez was 10th on a season-best 4:09.28 finish. His mark provides the new fourth-best time in the American Conference 800m results.
Earning one of the best early performances and topping field event competitors for the Roadrunners, Toronto, Ontario senior transfer Lauralyn Clifford recorded a fourth-place hammer throw of 58.24 (191-1) on her second attempt during the first women’s event of the day. Later in the women’s discus, Mission, Texas grad transfer Daisy Monie tossed 48.89m (160-4) for seventh place.
Wrapping up the decathlon in his second day of competition, Breda, Netherlands freshman Ryan Heeren finished multi-events on a high note, winning the 1,500m event in 4:33.06 with his first collegiate running of the race. In total, Heeren recorded 7,100 points to finish eighth after ninth in the javelin (47.89/157-1), 11th in the discus (35.93/117-10), 11th in the 110-meter hurdles (15.62) and 13th in the pole vault (4.20/13-9.25) on Friday.
Wrapping up the day’s events, Killeen, Texas freshman Ethan Carranza earned sixth place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:23.02, ahead of Flower Mound, Texas classmate Austin Lyda in 10th with a time of 15:42.55.
Making just her second jump since joining the Roadrunners at semester, Belgrade, Serbia rookie Andrea Prvanovic notched a season-best 5.82m (19-1.25) leap in the long jump, finishing in eighth place.
Saturday’s field events are a 10 a.m. start on javelin, then triple jump, shot put and high jump. Running events are again in the evening with the 4x100-meter relay at 6 p.m., followed by 1,500-meter final, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter, 100-meter, 800-meter invite, 3,000-meter steeplechase and concluding on the 4x400-meter relay with an 8:45 p.m. first gun.
Up next: Next week will see the Roadrunners leave the Lone Star State for the first time this season, heading to California for the 66th Annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., April 15-18. UTSA will see a 12-day gap after the westward swing before the regular season finale back in College Station.
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