Jan. 29, 2011
HOUSTON, Tex. - Senior sprinter Cordero Gray set the UT Arlington school record in the 60m Saturday at the Houston Invitational, clocking a 6.67.
Gray ran a 6.75 in the preliminary round before setting the historic in the finals. Gray finished second in the event behind unattached competitor Carey LaCour. The UTA senior was the only collegiate sprinter at the meet to break 6.75 in the final.
The time of 6.67 broke Gray's personal-best by 0.02 seconds and is tied for eighth nationally. His mark all but assures him of a berth in the NCAA Indoor Championships
"He ran very well," UT Arlington coach John Sauerhage said. "His hard work is paying off. It's not just him running faster. It's also his consistency. He starts better and he's in control the entire race. When you're in control you can start to beat people at a very high level. I look for him to, at worst, maintain where he is over the next few weeks. He's inching into the conversation for being one of the top sprinters in the U.S."
While Gray stole the headlines, Lindsey Putman continued to demand respect on the women's side. She entered the week with the top 800m time in the conference, though her time was beaten over the weekend, and recorded the best Mile Run time in the Southland Conference this season when she clocked a time of 5:03.15 Saturday to win the event.
"Caroline Erlingson and I were both looking at each other in disbelief," Sauerhage said. "I was taken by total surprise by how easy that mile was for her today. I'm very proud of her. She has great endurance."
Lionel Mungwari set a personal-best indoor long jump when he leaped 7.21 meters to finish third.
Esther Abuto also put together a strong performance in the 800m, finishing seventh with a time of 2:15.11.
Sprinters Clayton Vaughn, Shannon Reynolds and Pamela Vinson enjoyed strong meets.
Vaughn finished 11th in the 60m with a time of 6.84 (finishing third among Southland Conference competitors). He also placed fifth in the 200m with a time of 22.35, leading all collegiate runners.
Reynolds' time of 7.70 in the 60m earned her a 12th-place finish and ranked third among SLC runners. She also finished fourth behind Vinson in the 200m. The pair ran times of 24.98 (Vinson) and 25.01 (Reynolds), respectively, to finish 1-2 among SLC competitors.
The women also won the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:51.80.
In all, eight more UTA athletes - Anthony Groom, Putman and Jennifer Carey in the Mile Run; Morgan Domingue in the triple jump; LaDoreal Thompson in the 60m; Perri Ford in the 800m; and Cody Widener and Zach Zura in the 5000m - qualified for the SLC Indoor Championships.
The Mavericks compete again next weekend at the Wichita State/UTA Dual Meet.
