FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – UTSA track & field’s Regional qualifiers got off to a solid start on the opening day of men’s competition at the NCAA West First Round, Wednesday afternoon at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Making an early advance, junior Martín Kouyoumdjian moved on in the 400-meter with a record-setting performance.
After the day’s schedule moved around for impending weather, it didn’t seem to hamper the Santiago, Chile junior, as Kouyoumdjian fired off a 45.69 career best in the opening round of the 400m, advancing to Friday’s quarterfinal as the No. 8 overall finisher. Not only that, but Kouyoumdjian notched the third-best time in UTSA history and finally broke through the Chilean National Record standard, surpassing the 1998 mark previously held by Olympian Ricardo Roach.
In the opening field event for the Roadrunners, freshman Cyrill Kernbach (Zufikon, Switzerland) leapt 7.24m (23-9) to finish 35th in his NCAA Regional debut.
The women’s opening day is next up for the remaining three days of competition. On Thursday, the women’s hammer throw will kick things off at 9:30 a.m., followed by the long jump at 6:30 p.m., shot put at 7 p.m., 400-meter first round at 7:25 p.m. and 400-meter hurdles at 8:25 p.m. Friday has the triple jump at 6 p.m. and the 400m second round at 6:50 p.m. In the women’s final day of action, the discus leads off at 1 p.m., ahead of the high jump at 2 p.m., triple jump at 6 p.m., 400m second round at 6 p.m., 400m hurdles second round at 7:25 p.m. and concluding the meet on the 4x400m relay at 8:45 p.m.
The meet will feature live results from FlashResults. The competition will be streamed throughout the week on ESPN+ at the following links: Day 2 (7 p.m.), Day 3 (6 p.m.), Day 4 (6 p.m.). Digital program for the meet can be found here.
Up next: Individuals who advance through the West First Rounds will move on to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, scheduled for June 10-13 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
- UTSA -