WACO, Texas – School records and PRs were aplenty on Saturday afternoon as the UT Arlington track and field team put together an outstanding showing on the final day of the Michael Johnson Invitational at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.
"Each week we add to our repertoire of options for potential points at the conference tournament in a few weeks," said Head Coach
John Sauerhage. "Out top people are performing well, but overall we have what it takes to contend for both championships."
Arthur Petersen stole the show for the Mavs as he had a mammoth throw of 79.90, breaking his previous school record and moving up to second in the nation in the javelin. His throw overtook the previous stadium record of 76.08 and would have been tops in the nation if not for Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi of Baylor, who hit on a throw of 81.07.
Petersen hit his season's best of 73.45 on his first throw and one-upped that on his third throw, going for 74.88. It was his fourth throw where Petersen reared back and put everything he had behind his huge throw, falling to the track after letting go.
It was worth it as Petersen hit the new mark.
On the track side,
Iyana Gray had another huge day, making an impact in two different events. Gray got the day started along with teammates
Adeyemi Talabi,
Tatyana Terrell, and
Vanessa Ugorji as they blazed to an impressive 44.62 in the 4x100, the second-fastest time in school history and just .03 seconds off the school record of 44.59.
Gray followed that up with an incredible run in the 100-meter dash, setting a new PR, and again, the second-fastest time in school history at 11.31, just .01 seconds off the school record. Her time was good for 25th in the country at the time.
Bryson DeBerry took a win in the high jump at 2.17m. DeBerry attempted to break a new PR at 2.22, but fell just short. Meanwhile,
Joel Bengtsson also picked up a gold for the Mavs, earning a win in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.59.
Five Mavs set new PRs in the 100-meter hurdles led by
Krystal Igbo at 13.88 followed shortly by
Shelby West at 13.93.
Jade Bontke crushed her PR at 14.17, while
McKinley Novacek (15.45) and
Julia Glenn (16.58) set new bests.
Liv Cantby got the day rolling strongly with a throw of 49.60 in the javelin to take a fourth place finish, while
Obi Ugwu was part of a strong day in field events as he set a new PR in the triple jump at 14.50.
The 400-meter dash saw three new PRs on the men's side as
Jarvis Miles led the way at 47.65 followed by
Adam Herrera at 48.63 and
Devien Davis at 49.86.
Along with Gray, four other Mavs set PRs in the 100-meter dash in
Madison Pippins (11.76),
Adeyemi Talabi (11.77),
Mikeya Washington (11.84), and Terresia Grant-Corsey (12.06).
The 4x400 team of
Lucas Van Klaveren, Herrera, Bengtsson, and Miles set a season-best in the event with a time of 3:10.95.
UTA will set their focus on their home meet coming up as the UTA Under Armour Invitational comes to Maverick Stadium.
Click here for the official home page and more information on the upcoming event.
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