BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The UT Arlington track and field team closed out strong at the Charlie Thomas Invitational and turns its attention to the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships in two weeks.
A trio of men's athletes put together an outstanding final day.
"We are inching closer to being ready for conference play," said Head Coach
John Sauerhage. "A tough week of weather had a nice ending at Texas A&M. Joel, Jade, and Marquentin competed very well, along with Bryson."
All-American
Bryson DeBerry continues his quest for a national title as he won the high jump at a season-high 2.20 on Saturday afternoon. DeBerry has inched his way upwards all season long before finally breaking 2.20 to move him to fifth in the country.
Junior
Marquentin Barnes continued his excellent running this season in distance. He placed fifth in the mile on Saturday, another new PR, finishing with a time of 4:09.29.
Junior
Joel Bengtsson had what may be considered a slow week by his standards, but a terrific one nonetheless. Bengtsson finished second in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 7.85, good for the fourth-best time in school history, only behind his three runs the previous week in Lubbock.
Bengtsson now holds the top five runs in the 60 meter hurdles in UTA track history.
On the women's side, freshman
Iyana Gray continued her excellent start to the season, making a 60 meter final for the fourth straight week. Gray placed fifth in the final with a time of 7.44.
On Friday, Jade Bontke broke her own school record as she put together a terrific performance in the pentathlon.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
UTA will take a week off and prepare for the Sun Belt Indoor Championships. The two-day event gets started on Monday, Feb. 21 at the Birmingham Crossplex.
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).