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Final Results
Sept. 19, 2015
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - The UT Arlington men's and women's teams had strong performances on a hot and humid Saturday morning at the Gerald Richey Invitational. The men won the meet, while the women placed second among four teams.
The men finished first among three teams with 18 points to defeat Baylor (39). The men nabbed the top three and four of the first five positions individually. The women, who placed three among the top 10, totaled 44 points to finish behind SMU (20). The 5k races were held at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.
Eric Ojeda won the men's individual title with a time of 15:02.4, edging teammate Michael Guerrero (15:03.2). Grant Copeland was third in 15:12.1, while Christopher Myers came in fifth (15:20.1).
Gabriela Alfonzo led the women, grabbing the bronze medal with a clocking of 17:49.1. Katelyn Hayward finished fifth in 18:14.9, while Ashly Wright was ninth (18:46.0).
"I like our chances with both of our teams going forward," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "I was pleased with how we ran today. We have a really good group of men and women, and they are very focused and committed to training."
The teams will return to action next Saturday at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station.
Home is Where the Heart is
This was the third year that the Mavericks hosted its annual Gerald Richey Invitational at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie. The meet also included high school races, as the course will once again serve as site for the UIL Regional Championships in October.
"It felt great to run at home," junior Grant Copeland said. "It's really encouraging to be running and hear all the `Let's Go Mavs' cheers and hear your names as your running. It helps a lot."
It's Getting Hot Out Here
Runners kicked off the day at 8 a.m. under partly cloudy skies with temperatures already approaching 80 degrees and humidity readings of 80 percent.
"We had a good week of training and it really matched up with what we saw today," senior Eric Ojeda said. "It was pretty brutal out there, but it was great to run."
Young Guns
Newcomers for the UTA men and women each showed up strong Saturday. For the men, Myers and Tyler Forde (7th, 15:23.5) both finished among the top 10. On the women's side, Macey Beazley was 13th (19:08.7), while Anamarija Petters took 15th (19:23.0).
"They are good competitors and really talented," senior Gabriela Alfonzo said. "It was a good race. We ran pretty well."
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