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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – The UT Arlington men's and women's track and field teams will host and compete at the UTA Invitational beginning on Thursday, with the event being held at the Maverick Stadium.
After a successful indoor conference championship that resulted in the men's (T-2nd) and women's (2nd) squad to finish the best since 2020, the Mavericks will kick off the first outdoor meet of the season at a home event. With an already talented roster, getting school-record holders
Jade Bontke (Heptathlon) and
Lucas Van Klaveren (Decathlon) back for the outdoor season have the Mavericks primed for another run at both the men's and women's titles
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COMPETING TEAMS
Along with UTA, the following teams are scheduled to compete: DBU, Dallas University, Hill College, Houston Tillotson, Jarvis Christian College, North Central Texas College, Ranger CC, Southwestern Assemblies of God University, SW Christian College, TAMU- Texarkana, Tarleton State, Texas Lutheran, Tulsa, UT Dallas, .
THOUGHTS FROM COACH
"I'm excited to get going," said head coach
John Sauerhage. "We got after it during the indoor season, so I'm looking forward to seeing how we compete in the first outdoor meet. I'm glad to have
Jade Bontke and
Lucas Van Klaveren back for the outdoor season too. We have a very talented roster and I can't wait to get going."
STORYLINES
- After missing the indoor season, Jade Bontke and Lucas Van Klaveren will compete for the Mavs during the outdoor season. Bontke currently has the school record for the outdoor heptathlon with a mark of 5,692 points which she set in 2022. Van Klaveren also broke the school record in the decathlon with a 8,015 point outing during the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships back in 2022.
- Winnie Kipsang looks to build off her successful indoor season after she claimed the WAC Indoor Freshman of the Year this Tuesday, Mar. 5. Her 2:06.99s pace during the 800m at the Jarvis Scott Open at the beginning of February is the 2nd fastest time in school history.
- Randon Gray claimed the indoor school record in the men's pole vault a couple weeks ago at the WAC Indoor Championships with a 5.37m leap. His current personal record in the outdoor pole vault is 5.00m, nearly 15 inches less than his spectacular performance during his first-place finish at the conference championships.
NEXT UP
UTA will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the TCU Alumni Invitational on Mar. 15-16.
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Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on X (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).
