COLLEGE STATION, Texas – It was a big finish to the outdoor regular season on Saturday at E.B. Cushing Stadium, as the UTSA track & field teams registered five records, in addition to two event victories and five medal-worthy performances in wrapping up Texas A&M’s Alumni Muster. UTSA’s new records include three school marks, a meet record and a new national record.
The Roadrunners opened with a big one, as grad transfer Lauralyn Clifford hit some major marks in the women’s hammer throw, exceeding her previous career bests on two of her first three attempts, staying ahead of Texas A&M’s Jayla Hooper. However, Clifford landed a new UTSA record of 59.77m (196-1) on the last throw of the finals to formally break her own Saint Lucia National Record and put in the No. 2 mark in the American Conference this season. Clifford downed UTSA’s previous mark of 59.39m (194-10) from Acacia Astwood in 2023.
Throws remained a theme of success on Saturday, as senior transfer Daisy Monie earned second place in the discus, while breaking her own UTSA standard on the second throw of the event, moving up her second-ranked measurement in the American Standings. Monie returned to action later to capture the meet record in the shot put with a 16.20m 53-1.75 heave – an event she leads the American Conference in. Also in the shot put, junior Nyaluet Diew earned third place with a measurement of 14.69m (48-2.5) and went a career-best 49.12m (161-2) for ninth in the hammer.
For the first medal-worthy performance on the track, sophomore Selma Ims was edged in heat four to finish second with a season-best time of 13.56, just .06 shy of her career best in her first running of the 100-meter hurdles this season. That clocking will put her in a tie for fifth in the American.
Just one event later, senior Fatoumata Kabo snapped the nine-year 400-meter UTSA record with a career-best time of 53.11, surpassing Jennifer Arinze (53.40, 2017) with a seventh-place finish in the exceptionally tough field. Kabo moves up to fourth in the American rankings. In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, sophomore Charlie Staddon registered a 14.27 clocking for ninth among collegiate performers and 11th overall. Kabo also returned to action in short order for a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.85, finishing sixth among collegiate performers.
Topping the distance corps with the final event, sophomore Diego Ramirez earned sixth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:18.74. Freshman David Zuniga also paced UTSA’s 1,500-meter pack with a ninth-place season best of 3:55.26, just seven seconds off the top five UTSA performances list.
Elsewhere in the men’s throws, sophomore Waylon McKenzie came up with a seventh-place toss of 45.31m (148-8) in the discus, after opening the day with a ninth-place throw of 51.48m (168-11) in the hammer throw.
In her first high jump this season, sophomore Nyariek Kur lifted to 1.72m (5-7.75) to finish seventh.
Up next: UTSA’s postseason opens in Denton, Texas, with the American Conference Outdoor Championships to be held at the Mean Green Track & Field Stadium, May 14-16.
- UTSA -