BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – The University of the Incarnate Word men's and women's track and field teams each had their best ever showings at the Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships that concluded on Tuesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. (
Results)
The UIW women finished with 52 points and took fifth place an improvement of 21 points and two places from last year. Sam Houston State took the team title with 162 points and was followed by Abilene Christian (112.5), Stephen F. Austin (106) and Lamar (63).
The Cardinals opened the day with two runners in the 60-meter hurdle finals. Freshman
Mahogani Frazier (Cibolo/Steele HS) took sixth in a time of 8.99 while
Spring Lucky-Dania (Round Rock/Cedar Ridge HS) was eighth in 9.06.
Freshman
Dominique Allen (Converse/Judson HS) was on the track next for the team as she started a big day. In the 800 meters, she bolted past a pair of runners in the final 50 meters to finish in fourth place in a school record time of 2:11.83. Allen closed out her day in the 4x400-meter relay. She ran the second leg of the relay and pushed the team into the lead of their heat. She joined
Tiffani Mays (Temple/Temple HS),
LaShawnda Simmons (Pflugerville/Pflugerville HS) and
Ashley Joyner (San Antonio/O'Connor HS) in crushing the school record in a time of 3:47.84 to take fifth place.
Senior
Jasmine Waring (San Antonio/Randolph HS) closed out her indoor track career with a strong performance. She took seventh in the 200 meters with a time of 24.68 while she was in the middle of the high jump competition. She cleared 5-7, tied for the best clearance of the meet and took third due to misses. Joyner also placed in the high jump with a mark of 5-5.
The other two scorers for the UIW women on the final day were junior
Myah Antwi (Huntsville/Huntsville HS) and
Rainy Castaneda (Laredo/United South HS). Antwi took seventh in the shot put with a school record toss of 45-9. Castaneda finished sixth in the 3000 meters in a time of 9:58.69, a second off her own school record.
"The women have now moved up the conference team results for the third straight year," said UIW head coach
Derek Riedel. "We crushed our team score record with 52 points and showed that we are continuing to build the way we have always planned - build with strong freshmen classes and develop those that have committed to being at UIW. We are excited because we have a lot of experience and talent returning for a run at top three next year. "
"
Dominique Allen and
Rainy Castaneda ran with so much composure this weekend! They competed a ton and ran great times every time they competed. Dominique now has some college experience to help her go for the conference championship outdoors and that has been the goal since she got here," said the coach.
"The 4x4 quartet ran so great! We have been waiting for that performance for a long time so it was satisfying to watch them come together and run a five-second school record. That group is going to be even stronger outdoors," added Riedel.
The Incarnate Word men did not have as many scoring opportunities as the women, but finished with 19 points to take 10
th place. Sam Houston State won the men's title with 121 points. Southeastern Louisiana (98.5), Stephen F. Austin (94), Northwestern State (89.5) and Lamar (82) rounded out the top five teams.
Ryan Haese (San Antonio/St. Anthony's HS) got the men started with an eighth place finish in the heptathlon. He scored a school record 4,683 points.
Deion Hardy (Temple/Temple HS) added an eighth place time in the 800 meters crossing the tape in 1:53.99.
In addition to Haese's school record, the team set two other school marks. First,
Garett Cortez (Schertz/Steele HS) clipped the record in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:36.12. Then,
Robert Allen (San Antonio/Brackenridge HS) broke his own school record in the triple jump with a mark of 48-1.25 to take seventh place.
The Cardinals 4x400 relay team of
Jamari Gilbert (Baytown/Lee HS),
Clinton Cole (Temple/Temple HS),
Kentonie Thomas (Pearland/Pearland HS) and
Austin Sandoval (Crane/Crane HS) ran the second fastest time in school history, 3:17.54. They won their heat thanks to a strong kick by Sandoval and edged out Abilene Christian for fourth place.
"Our men increased their team score for the third consecutive year, which continues to move us in the right direction," said Riedel. "However, our men know we need to make a bigger jump next year and this outdoor season so that we can be in the top four. We are close. We have built this team the right way - with high levels of talent across all events. We are the youngest team in the conference and while we don't use youth as an excuse we know now that these freshmen and sophomores have the experience for big scoring potential next year.
"The men's 4x4 team really came together when it counted. I'm proud of their effort. I'm also pleased with
Deion Hardy (for running the mile, 800 and DMR and making the finals in the 800). I've told him many times that his talent is special. When his confidence and experience catch up with his talent he'll be a force in anything he does," concluded Riedel.
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