Feb. 17, 2012
ARLINGTON, Texas -- The final push toward the Southland Conference Championships takes place Saturday for the UT Arlington men's and women's track and field teams, when the Mavericks participate in the Oklahoma Invitational in Norman, Okla.
The Oklahoma Invitational serves as UTA's final chance to qualify additional athletes for the league meet, which will be held Feb. 24-25, also in Norman. Thus far, the Mavs have hit 39 qualifying marks on the women's side, while 36 men's finishes have been guaranteed spots in the SLC Championships.
For the women, DeAndrea Smith owns the top time in the SLC in the 400 meters, while a trio of women sport the second-best marks in their respective events. Those include: Shannon Reynolds (60 meters), Lindsey Putman (800 meters) and Jennifer Brown (long jump).
Additionally, the women have posted the following top-five marks: Putman (3rd in mile), Reynolds (3rd in 200 meters), Elin Andersson (4th in 800 meters), Emily Koenig (4th in 3000 meters), Keondra Mallard (5th in 200), Ashley Wright (5th in 800) and Maria Sandstrom (5th in 3000).
The UTA men also boast numerous top-five conference marks, including the best in the league from Romain Martin (heptathlon) and Clayton Vaughn (60 meters). In addition, Jeff Rodriguez ranks second in the pole vault and James Turner is third in the heptathlon.
Other top-five rankings include: Martin (4th, 60-meter hurdles), Isiah Clements (4th, high jump), Branko Petrovic (5th, shot put), Brandon Waller (5th, long jump) and Quentin Butler (5th, long jump).
Saturday's meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the field events, while the running events will start at 12:30 p.m.
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