CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word track and field teams closed out the final day of the Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Dugan Stadium with numerous strong performances.  The women's team finished in fifth place with 82.33 points while the men finished in ninth place with 33 points. (Results)

Freshman Dominique Allen (Converse/Judson HS) provided the highlight of the day for the UIW women's team (Watch Video).  She entered the meet as the fourth seed in the 800 meters, but she ran down the leaders over the final 200 meters and edged out Sam Houston State's Briana McCall for the win in a school record time of 2:10.34.

The final day of the conference meet began with the men's high jump where sophomore Jamarkese Williams (Temple/Temple HS) took center stage.  After battling injuries throughout the season, he saved his best for last.  He cleared his first three heights on the first attempt, but then moved up the standings with some dramatic clearances.  He went over 6-9.5 and 6-10.75 on his third and final jumps to finish in third place while tying the school record.

On the women's side, junior Myah Antwi (Huntsville/Huntsville HS) capped off a brilliant meet with a fourth place finish in the discus with a school record toss of 151-4.  She finished the meet with a total of 19 points.  Teammate Gabrielle Estrada (Boerne/FEAST) added two points with a seventh place finish thanks to a throw of 138-0.

The first event on the track was the 4x100-meter relay.  The UIW women's team of LaShawnda Simmons (Pflugerville/Pflugerville HS), Jasmine Waring (San Antonio/Randolph HS), Jasmine Williams (Huntsville/Huntsville HS) and Jane Arinze (Houston/Bush HS) came in seventh with a time of 46.71.  The men's team of Kentonie Thomas (Pearland/Pearland HS), Williams, Uchenna Nnaji (San Antonio/Marshall HS) and Clinton Cole (Temple/Temple HS) picked up a bronze medal with a time of 41.18 (Watch Video).

Junior Jacob Ulbricht (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley HS) provided some fireworks for the Cardinals in the pole vault.  On his final attempt at 17-0.5, he cleared the bar to set a new school record and he finished in fifth place (Watch Video).

Both UIW teams added points in the 1500 meters.  First, Keila Rodriguez (Brownsville/Rivera HS) nabbed eighth place with a time of 4:43.75 for the women.  Then, freshman Garett Cortez (Schertz/Steele HS) ran a strong race for the men and showed a great last 200-meter kick to finish in fifth place in a time of 3:57.64 (Watch Video).  He entered the meet seeded 13^th in the event.

The women continued to build points through the middle part of the meet.  In the 100-meter hurdles freshmen Jerica Love (San Antonio/Warren HS) and Mahogani Frazier (Cibolo/Steele HS) took sixth and eighth place, respectively.  Love ran a time of 14.09 while Frazier finished in 14.57.  Ashley Joyner (San Antonio/O'Connor HS) added two points in the 400 meters with a seventh place finish of 56.43.  Then, Allen won the 800 meters while Rodriguez added a point with an eighth place finish.

The Cardinal men got back in the flow with the 100-meter dash and the pole vault.  Cole and fellow freshmen Andrew Leuthner (Copperas Cove/Copperas Cove HS) each made the final.  Cole ran a wind-aided 10.36 to take fifth place while Leuthner came in eight in a time of 10.61.

Following the elation of the women's 800 meters, the Cardinals got back to business in the women's 200 meters.  Senior Jasmine Waring capped off a marvelous career with a fourth place finish in a time of 24.14 to put the team back in fourth place in the team standings with two events remaining.

Closing out the meet, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Tiffani Mays (Temple/Temple HS), Allen, Simmons and Joyner took fifth place with a time of 3:45.05.  The men's relay team of Charles Hall (San Antonio/St. Anthony's HS), Cole, Thomas and Austin Sandoval (Crane/Crane HS) finished in seventh place in a time of 3:20.16.

The women's meet was won by Sam Houston State with 147 points and they were followed by Northwestern State (112.33), Stephen F. Austin (104.5), Abilene Christian (101), UIW, McNeese (62.83), Southeastern Louisiana (57), Lamar (56), Nicholls (26), Houston Baptist (24), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23), New Orleans (16) and Central Arkansas (7).

Stephen F. Austin won the men's title with 172 points and they were followed by Sam Houston State (149), Northwestern State (116), Abilene Christian (79), Southeastern Louisiana (60), McNeese (58), Lamar (52), Central Arkansas (35), UIW, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (31), New Orleans (17) and Houston Baptist (17).
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