SPOKANE, Wash. - The UT Arlington track and field teams close out the two-day Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships with a day full of podium finishes and record-breaking times. 
 
Joel Bengtsson delivered an excellent performance in the 60-meter hurdles to claim the conference title. His incredible start out of the blocks put him in the perfect position to dominate the field with a WAC All-Time Conference record and a personal record of 7.68. This shatters the program record that he set last season and is currently the 8th-best time in the nation.
 
Lucan Van Klaveren was favored to win the Heptathlon coming into day two. Van Klaveren started the day off strong with a first-place finish in the Heptathlon 60m hurdles and a PR of 8:14. But an unfortunate landing in the pole vault would cause a leg injury that left him unable to run the last 1000m event. This dropped him to fifth place with 4,957 total points. 
 
The distance runners had a great day with Alfredo Corona starting off the running events by placing second in the men's mile with a PR of 4:07.48. Jackson Cichon earned a silver medal in the men's 800m with a season's best time of 1:51.02. 
 
Mikeya Washington earned a spot in the program record book with the 5th-best 60m dash time in school history and a PR of 7.45, finishing third in the conference. Not far behind was Diamond Mathis who placed 4th with a time of 7.49. 
 
Freshman, Calen Jones ended his first collegiate indoor season with a bronze medal in the men's high jump with a final mark of 2.11m. Malaiya Jedkins closed her indoor season with a bronze medal in the women's triple jump with a personal best mark of 12.57m. 
 
Other notable performances:

• Abigail Flores set a PR in the women's weight throw with a mark of 59-00.75
• Andres Gurrola set a PR in the men's 5000m with a time of 15:24.99
• Jeriel Algarin-Marquez set a PR in the men's 3000m with a time of 8:54.71
• The men's 4x400m team placed 2nd in their heat and 5th overall with a time of 3:15.65
• The women's 4x400m team finished 7th with a time of 3:49.82
• Jade Bontke placed 8th in the women's high jump with a mark of 1.68m

 
After a competitive two days, the men's team capped off the championships in 5th place with a total score of 72.5, and the women's team finished 7th with a total score of 47. 
 
NEXT UP

The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held in Albuquerque, NM on Mar. 10 – 11 and the outdoor season kicks off at our very own Maverick Stadium on Mar. 9. 

FOLLOW ALONG

Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).