FORT WORTH, Texas – The UT Arlington track and field team throwers wrapped up opening weekend of the 2025 outdoor season with a solid closing to the second and final day of the TCU Alumni/HS Invitational that culminated in six podium finishes along with several top 10 finishes.
McKinley Novacek kicked off day two of the meet for the Mavericks with a leap of 1.75m in the women's high jump to take the top spot on the podium. Staying with field events,
Randon Gray took third place in the men's pole vault with a vault of 5.05m.
Moving over to the running events, UTA swept the top spots in both the men's and women's 1500m. In a common theme,
Alex Kalmar claimed gold with a time of 3:46.96 while
Winnie Kipsang took home gold with a time of 4:23.51.
Rounding out the top three finishers for the Mavs was
Eli England who finished third in the men's 200m dash with a time of 21.19.
The men's 4x100m relay team consisting of
Eli England,
Khalid Mendez, Nick Ross and Brian Brown finished third with a time of 40.92.
Senior
Josh Hoekendorf launched a new program record distance of 58.84m in the men's weight throw while finishing fifth overall to kick off the two-day meet the day before.
ADDITIONAL TOP PERFORMANCES
- Desmond Frazier and Hayden Wilson both finished in the top 10 of the men's shot put. Frazier finished fifth with a throw of 17.77m while Wilson finished sixth with a toss of 17.19m. Both marks were outdoor personal bests for the duo.
- Miles Jones took fourth in the men's high jump with a jump of 2.00m.
- Christian Coker finished in the top 10 in the men's long jump with a leap of 6.84m.
- Three Mavs finished in the top 10 in the women's javelin throw; Eliza Lemberga (Fourth – 40.65m), Kyha Walton-Ravenell (Fifth – 39.76m), Grace Bettencourt (Seventh – 35.71m).
- Sophia Allen finished tied for fifth in the women's pole vault with a vault of 3.65m, tying her outdoor personal best.
- Three Mavs finished in the top 10 in the men's javelin throw; Brady Shadrick (Fourth – 52.59m), Luke Bontke (Fifth – 52.17m), Christian Coker (Eighth – 45.01m).
- Kash Powell finished in the top 10 in a crowded field in the men's 1500m, finishing eighth with a time of 3:55.20.
- In the women's 100m hurdles, Zaire Moore and Indyia Walton both finished in the top five. Moore finished fourth with a time of 13.79 while Walton finished fifth with a time of 14.02.
- In the men's 400m dash, Ayden Nyanasimeibi and Eli England both finished in the top 10. Nyanasimeibi finished seventh with a time of 49.231 and England finished eighth with a time of 49.240.
- Madison Pippins finished in the top 10 in the women's 100m dash, finishing eighth with a time of 11.66.
- Brian Brown finished fourth in the men's 100m dash with a time of 10.49 while Khalid Mendez finished eighth with a time of 10.55.
- Krianne McBride finished ninth in the women's 800m run with a time of 2:21.68.
NEXT UP
The UTA track and field teams will head down to Austin for the highly touted Texas Relays. The three-day event begins Wednesday, March 26, and concludes on Friday, March 28.
– #BuckEm –
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