BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of the Incarnate Word men's and women's track & field teams concluded their indoor season at the Southland Conference Championships, closing out the meet with five medals between both squads. The final day was highlighted by
Matthew Hernandez claiming gold for the individual title in the 800-meter run.
"I think we may have broken our record for the most number of school records personal bests and freshman records set at a conference meet," coach Dr. Derek Riedel said. "Our young team was prolific doing that this weekend. Unfortunately, we didn't score as many points as we normally would have under similar circumstances because the conference is so strong right now."
"I believe the Southland is one of the top two or three non Power 5 conferences in the nation. I'm encouraged because we learned a lot this indoor season and we got a lot of good reps for our young athletes. We will reap those benefits outdoors. We are always a stronger team outdoors so I'm encouraged as we get healthy and add a few indoor redshirts back to the mix that we will be firing on a different level come May."
The women finished sixth overall with 47.75 points, while the men finished 11th overall with 31 points. SFA won on the women's side by a margin of 21.25 points and Southeastern Louisiana took the men's team title with 99 points, ahead of Sam Houston State.
Three program records were broken to go along with multiple personal bests set over the course of the two-day championships. A full list of personal bests set by the Cardinals can be found below.
THE MEDALISTS
The men's squad had its first individual champion in the 800-meter indoor event when Hernandez kicked it into high gear in the final 200 meters of the race, finishing with a personal best time of 1:52.54.
On the first day of the meet, freshman
Jeremiah Gilliam was the first Cardinal to earn a medal when he cleared 2.08 meters in the high jump. The freshman was perfect in all of his jumps leading up to the 2.11-meter height cleared by the first-place jumper.
Alia Henderson claimed the silver medal in the mile event, setting a new UIW record of 4:56.78 minutes. Henderson kept a steady pace with the runner from SFA up until the final lap, where she broke away and finished strong.
Ivette Alcantar-Herrera also opened the second day in the mile, where she ran a personal best. Her shining moment, however, came later in the day when she ran a personal-best 2:13.70 in the 800-meter, which was good enough to earn her a spot on the podium for bronze.
The women's 4x400-meter team was the last of the women's team up on the podium as they earned bronze. The relay squad of
Erekha Sebastion,
Afiah Brathwaite,
Rhea Miles and
Deja Keys worked in the first two legs to get a comfortable lead in their heat, which they won with a time of 3:45.38. The time was good enough to claim the bronze medal and set the second-best time in UIW history.
DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS
With three Cardinals in the one mile run on the women's side, Henderson was breathing down the neck of the leader from SFA. Henderson went on to cross the finish line second.
Katherine Ramirez was not far behind as she maintained a steady third place throughout most of the race, but she narrowly missed a podium finish and came in fourth; Alcantar-Herrera crossed the finish line shortly after, placing fifth. All three scored points to add to the team total.
Kiera Taylor-Mathis notched a personal-best 12.26-meter distance in the triple jump, taking fourth in the event. Long jumper
Oghale Omakor placed seventh in the long jump with a 5.62-meter distance. Both jumpers placed high enough to contribute to the team total.
Freshmen duo
Dallas Williams and
Parker Barrett competed in their first heptathlons at the meet. Williams placed first in the 60-meter dash portion of the event and finished with a 4,386-point total – a new freshman record.
The Cardinals closed out the meet with the men's relay squad of
Richard Kuykendoll,
Matthew Hernandez,
Marquis Watson and
Jordan Cherin setting a new program record with a time of 3:14.03. They beat their own record, which they set last time out at the Texas A&M Invitational.
For highlights from day one, click
HERE.
PERSONAL BESTS SET/RECORDS SET
*Program Record
# Personal Best
^ Top 5 in program history
$ Freshman Record
UP NEXT
UIW opens the outdoor season on March 20-21 in Abilene, Texas, at the Wes Kittley Invitational.
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up to date information on UIW Athletics, visit
uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWTrackXC and on Instagram @uiwtrackxc.
