FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The UT Arlington track and field team competed in their first indoor track meet of the 2024 campaign at the Arkansas Invitational, highlighted by some strong performances, including seven top-3 finishes to go along with numerous personal records.
Desmond Frazier opened the meet with a 15.58m hurl in the shot put to claim a 2nd-place finish. His throw currently ranks second in the WAC standings.
Randon Gray had himself a day, placing third in the pole vault with a 4.90m mark, narrowly missing his indoor PR of 4.96m. He also sits tied for second in the WAC standings.
Jackson Cichon cruised to a 1st-place finish in the 800m clocking in an indoor PR mark of 1:50.82, knocking off his previous pace of 1:51.02. Cichon currently sits second in the WAC standings. He now ranks 5th in UTA history in the fastest 800m times.
Khalid Mendez bolted to a 2nd-place finish in the 200m with a speedy 21.59 dash, that time currently ranks as the second fastest in the WAC.
Matro Jepkemboi transitioned quite seamlessly from cross country to the indoor scene with a 2nd-place showing in the 3000m with a 9:52.47 mark. The fastest in the WAC by over 30 seconds. Her mark is also the second fastest all time in the UTA record books.
Marvin Walford eclipsed his previous indoor PR 14.77m with a 14.95m leap in the triple jump. He currently leads all WAC triple jumpers by almost half a meter.
To conclude the meet, the men's 4x400 relay team,
Javaris Bonner,
Adam Herrera,
Jackson Cichon and
Jarvis Miles secured a second-place finish with a time of 3:14.93.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH
"It's a great way to open the season and we will be better," said head coach
John Sauerhage. "We are headed in the right direction, and we will be ready for our next meet in two weeks."
INDOOR PRs
- Lauren Walls-Portillo recorded her indoor PR in the mile, running a 5:09.34, her previous best was 5:12.29.
- McKinley Novacek got her indoor season off to a great start with a 1.65m leap in the high jump, matching her current PR.
- Alexis Cain clocked a 56.74 in the season opener, clearing her previous PR of 58.94 in the 400m dash.
- Adam Herrera paced his way to an indoor PR in the 400m with a 48.77.
- Logan Villalva secured an indoor PR in the weight throw with a 15.76m toss from the El Paso native. His previous best was 14.43m.
- Krianne McBride paced the 800m in 2:17.32, obtaining a new Indoor PR knocking off her former 2:19.00 mark.
- Madison Pippins bested her previous 200m indoor PR of 26.15 with a smooth 25.58 in the season opener.
- Jayden Blakey dashed towards a 22.48 finish in the 200m, passing his former indoor PR of 22.64
- Isabel Borrego outpaced her previous 3000m indoor PR of 10:20.81 mark with a 10:18.34 outing in the season opener.
- Rogelio Aguirre ran an 8:25.04 3000m to secure a new indoor PR by almost two seconds.
- Patrick Estes also dethroned his previous 3000m indoor PR, with an almost four second improvement with an 8:26.49 mark.
- Josue Granados set a new indoor PR in the 3000m with an 8:33.37 trek.
NEXT UP
UTA will travel down I-45 to Space City for the Robert Platt Invitational hosted by Houston on Jan. 26-27.
FOLLOW ALONG
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