March 4, 2008

The University of Texas-Pan American men and women's track and field program came home with top ten finishes from the Border Olympics held at the Student Activity Center in Laredo, Texas this past Saturday (March 1).

"I was very proud of the team. I was happy with how the team performed. They all did what I expected of them," said head men and women's track and field coach Dennis Darling.

Continuing her successes from the indoor season, junior Vanessa Brown finished first in the 200M dash with a time of 25.53 while teammate Cici Lott finished right behind in third with a time of 26.29.

In the 100M dash, Cici Lott finished with second place laurels with a time of 12.34 and newcomer Sara Hernandez finished in eighth place with a time of 12.99.

The women's 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams both finished in second place behind UTSA with a time of 48.26 in the 4x100 and a time of 3:55.85 in the 4x400.

Newcomer Melinda Sarmiento finished in first place for the Lady Broncs in the high jump with a high of 5-3.0 and senior Bethany Anderson finished in sixth with a jump of 5-0.0.

In the field events, Laredo native Michelle Elizondo finished in second in the shot put with a throw of 43-0, fourth in the discus with a throw of 127-7 and second in the hammer throw with a throw of 159-7.

On the men's side, newcomer Jameson Strahon finished in first place in the 200M dash with a time of 22.56 and Ryan Guthrie finished in seventh with a time of 24.35.

In the men's 1500M run, the Broncs took three of the top five positions. Sophomore Wally Gonzalez placed first with a time of 4:01.25 with Rolando Vela finishing in third with a time of 4:03.48 and senior J.J. Hernandez placing fifth with a time of 4:10.88.

In the 5000M run, the Broncs as well took five of the top ten positions. J.J. Hernandez placed first with a time of 14:57.40 along with senior Luis Nava placing third with a time of 15:31.41. Newcomer Angel Ramirez finished in fifth with a time of 16:02.57 and fellow teammates Jorge Rodriguez and Vidal Ruiz finished respectively in eighth and ninth with Rodriguez finishing with a time of 16:42.37 and Ruiz with a time of 16:51.83.

Two-time UTPA All-American Will Littleton took the high jump competing unattached with a jump of 7-0.0 along with teammate Noel Reyna finishing fourth with a jump of 5-11.0

The men and women's track and field program will be heading off to San Marcos, Texas for the Bobcat Relays hosted by Texas State University. The meet will be an all-day event with field events beginning at 11:30 a.m. and running events at 3:30 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information