DENTON, Texas – The Roadrunners came storming down the stretch with highlight performances from both squads as UTSA track & field closed out the American Conference Outdoor Championships on Saturday at Norma Knobel Hunt Stadium. The Roadrunner women wrapped the meet with 106 points for a runner-up finish, while the men accumulated 41 points for eighth. UTSA racked up four conference event titles among 12 medalist performances, knocking down five school records – including four on the final day of competition. Freshman Ryan Heeren was named American Men’s Freshman of the Year in the post-competition awards.
The big scorer for the women on Saturday, Sandnes, Norway sophomore Selma Ims opened the day smashing the UTSA 100-meter hurdles record, surpassing Ryanne Dupree’s 2007 mark with a bronze-medal 13.08 clocking – missing second by only .003 seconds and the top spot by .3 seconds. Returning to action in short order, Ims collected the silver medal in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 58.40. Still working on short rest, Ims wrapped the day as the opening leg of UTSA’s conference-winning, record-setting 4x400-meter relay – setting up a 3:33.73 clocking for the quartet of Ims, Fatoumata Kabo, Shadae Findley and Ida Breigan. The 2026 relay squad broke a program record that stood since 1992, when it was set by Lisa Addison, Tamny Booker, Rosalyn King and Portia Matthews at 3:34.05. Ims finished as the 10th highest-scoring performer at the meet with 16.5 points.
An Evergreen, Jamaica senior, Findley registered her own individual record just ahead of appearing on the relay, snapping teammate Kabo’s 400-meter mark from this season with a UTSA career-best 52.91-second performance to finish fourth in the event. In addition to running the No. 2 spot on the relay, Kabo came away with a fourth-place 59.37 finish in the 400m hurdles to boost UTSA’s scoring haul in the event.
On to the field events, sophomore Nyariek Kur registered a career-best 13.09m (42-11.5) triple jump for the bronze medal, recording the third-best performance in UTSA history. Also in the triple jump, freshman Andrea Prvanovic went 12.36m (40-6.75) for seventh. Kur also logged a 10th-place finish in the high jump at 1.69m (5-6.5).
Leading the Roadrunners in the high jump event, junior Edlin Laur topped a season-best 1.80m (5-10.75) to capture the bronze, while sophomore Mia Lien was fourth with a season-best 1.77m (5-9.75).
Opening the day for the Roadrunner women, senior Daisy Monie was seventh in the discus at 50.12m (164-5), while junior Nyaluet Diew hit a season-best 38.98m (127-10) to finish 17th. The women’s 4x100-meter relay of Zoe Cusick, Prvanovic, Madison Gilliam and Elizabete Kocina was 11th in 49.64.
The women’s team opened the final day trailing only two points in second place, maintaining position and finishing as the American Conference Runner-up with 106 points behind Rice at 142.
Pacing the men’s effort with his second conference title this year, Bridgetown, Barbados redshirt junior Jemuel Miller landed a record-breaking 16.69m (54-9.25) triple jump skip on his third attempt, not only winning the league crown, but logging the third-best jump in the nation this year. Miller broke his own record from earlier in the season with Saturday’s performance. Also in the triple jump, freshman John Williams III recorded a measurement of 15.19m (49-10) to garner fourth place.
Earning fourth place in the 400m, Martín Kouyoumdjian ran a 46.47 in the quarter mile.
Earlier in the day, sophomore Waylon McKenzie tossed 49.31m (161-9) in the men’s discus to finish 13th.
At the conclusion of the meet, the Breda, Netherlands rookie, Heeren was named American Men’s Freshman of the Year for his performance in the decathlon. Heeren earned the bronze medal with 7,224 points, winning the 400m, (50.61), going second in the long jump (7.24m/23-9), alongside third-place finishes in the 100-meter (10.77), high jump (1.90m/6-2.75), 110-meter hurdles (15,31), javelin (51.32m/168-4) and 1,500-meter run (4:41.79).
Overall, the men’s team scored 41 points and finished in eighth. Wichita State came away with a 171.5-point total for the team championship.
Up next: Qualified performers will extend their postseason into regional competition at the NCAA West First Round on May 27-30, at Arkansas’ John McDonnell Field, competing for the opportunity to reach the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Oregon’s historic Hayward Field, June 10-13.
- UTSA -