ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – The UIW Track and Field teams posted remarkable performances on their final day of competition in New Mexico. In addition to the school records set by Sarea Alexander (women's long jump) and Matthew Hernandez (men's 600m), a number of Cardinals ran personal bests and moved up in conference rankings. (Results)
 
LEADERS
 
Deja Keys got the Cardinals off to a fast start in the 60m dash. Keys outran competitors in her heat and posted a time of 7.75 to shatter her previous PR (7.97) in the event. She now has the sixth fastest time in school history and is positioned to score points for the women's team at the conference championships in February. Freshman Breanna Ransom recorded a 7.97 to better her time from her collegiate debut in the event at the Ted Nelson Invitational last weekend.
 
Tiffani Mays continued her dominance in the 400m with a new PR of 56.81 and currently sits second in the Southland. Erekha Sebastion's momentum from her big PR in the 200m last night carried over into today's competition. The freshman crossed the line in 58.32 for a collegiate best and is now ranked top eight in conference standings for both events. Gracen Odendahl also secured an indoor best in the 400m with a solid 58.74.
 
Freshman Matthew Hernandez's weekend of glory continued as he claimed a new PR in the 800m. Hernandez finished sixth overall with a time of 1:56.38 and is now ranked third in the conference. Kelechi Emeodi had a successful day in the men's triple jump. He shattered his previous indoor PR (13.68m/44-10.75) with a big leap of 14.29m/46-10.75. Emeodi finished fifth overall, and now sits seventh in Southland rankings. Jamari Gilbert also moved up in conference listings as he recorded a time of 49.19 in the 400m.  The men's hurdle squad showed significant improvement in the 60H. David Gallegos registered a new best of 8.71, Ricky Waer 8.89 and Collin Sepulveda 8.94. 
 
QUOTES

Head Coach Derek Riedel on team's performance in New Mexico: 

"We had a solid weekend at UNM! The track is very fast and the UNM staff runs an efficient meet. I'm proud of every one of our student-athletes for continuing their momentum from week 1 at A&M. We talked about being more assertive at UNM and improving our confidence going into each event. I saw excellent improvements in those areas this week and we have great momentum heading into Texas Tech next Saturday. We will have our largest squad of the season at Tech and will focus on fine tuning a few things before we take a short break heading into our last invite of the indoor season at UH. Our focus at Tech will be to perfect our execution and focus." 


COMING UP
 
UIW track and field will take a trip to Lubbock, Texas for the Texas Tech Invitational. Action is scheduled to take place on Jan. 26-27 at the Sports Performance Center.
 
 STAY TUNED
 
UIW track will travel to Houston, Texas for competition at the Howie Ryan Invitational. The meet will take place in the Yeoman Fieldhouse on Feb. 9-10.
 
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