BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The UT Arlington track and field team got their season started with a bang on Saturday afternoon as they opened the indoor season up at the Ted Nelson Invitational at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
Multiple PRs were set throughout the day, but one freshman began her career with a bang as
Iyana Gray burst onto the scene with a victory in the 60 meter final with a time of 7.46. Gray would go on to finish fourth in the 200 meter with a time of 24.29.
Additionally, on the track side, senior
Tatyana Terrell took home second in the 400 meter finals with a time of 56.31, an indoor personal best.
On the field side,
Calyha Brown opened her senior season up in style with a second-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 14.22m, an indoor best for her. Junior
Abigail Flores added a fourth-place finish in the weight throw at 16.03m.
"The women had an outstanding first meet," said Head Coach
John Sauerhage. "Iyana (Gray) had one of the best opening meets I've ever seen. Iyana, Tatyana, and Calyha led the way for our women."
For the men, All-American
Bryson DeBerry opened his graduate campaign up with a second-place finish in the high jump and a mark of 2.18m. Junior
Marvin Walford added a personal best 14.75m jump to place third in the triple jump.
On the track side, junior
Joel Bengtsson placed second in the 60 meter hurdles final with a time of 7.92, a new personal best. Junior
Marquentin Barnes crushed a new PR in the mile at 4:15.24, good for third, while senior
Lucas Van Klaveren finished fourth in the 400 meter final with a time of 49.39.
"On the men's side, Bryson and Joel performed well," said Sauerhage. "We had some promising freshmen get a chance to compete as well."
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
- Senior Teressia Grant-Corsey competed in the final of the 60 meter dash and placed seventh with a time of 7.61. Her best time of the day with 7.58 in prelims.
- Senior Shelby West competed in the finals of the 400 meter and finished sixth with a time of 57.81.
- Junior Krystal Igbo competed in the 60 hurdles finals and placed eighth with a time of 8.89.
- Freshman McKinley Novacek opened her college career with a sixth place finish in the high jump at 1.63m.
- Both Medric Roberson and Nolan Walker competed in the 60 hudles final, placing sixth and seventh, respectively.
- Freshman Adam Herrera placed eighth in the 400 meter with a time of 50.28.
- Freshman Obi Ugwu placed sixth in the triple jump at 14.26m.
UTA returns to action next Saturday as they are back at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium for the Texas Aggie Invitational.
"We look forward to heading back to Texas A&M next week as well as competing at OU," added Sauerhage.
Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).
