April 14, 2008

The University of Texas-Pan American men and women's track and field program had a solid showing at the Javelina Invitational this Saturday (Apr. 12) at Texas A&M University - Kingsville.

The women had a rough start with a DNF in the 4x100M relay, but we're to recovery quickly with a fourth-place finish in the 200M dash and an eighth-place finish in the 100M dash from Cecilia Lott. Lott ran a 25.88 in the 200M and a 12.87 in the 100M.

Junior Vanessa Brown led the Lady Broncs in the 400M dash with a second-place finish with a time of 56.00. Senior Ashlon Martin trailed right behind Brown with a fourth place finish with a time of 56.85 and newcomer Tylene Green placed eighth with a time of 59.01.

In the distance events, Carolina Izaguirre finished on top for the Lady Broncs. Izaguirre finished first in the 3000M Steeplechase with a time of 11:27.70 and teammate Rose Escovedo finished three spots behind in fourth with a time of 12:15.80.

Diana Galloso collected a sixth-place finish in the 1500M run with a time of 4:56.12. Sara Rodriguez placed second in the 3000M run with a time 10:55.94.

The women's 4x400M relay placed second with a time of 3:49.19.

In the field events, Melinda Sarmiento grabbed a fifth-place finish in the high jump with a jump of 5-02.25 and senior Bethany Anderson finished in sixth with a jump of 5-00.25. Kate Shannon collected a third-place finish in the pole vault with a leap of 10-00.00.

Michelle Elizondo grabbed a first and third-place finish respectively in her field events. Elizondo finished first in the hammer throw with a toss of 164-04 and a third place finish in the shot put with a toss of 41-09.25. Teammate Stephanie Perez went home with a second-place finish in the discus with a toss of 146-00. Senior Brenda Gonzalez finished fourth in the javelin with a throw of 97-06.

On the men's side, Ruben Cantu took home a second-place finishes in the 100M and 200M dash. Cantu ran an 11.21 in the 100M and a 22.48 in the 200M dash.

Jameson Strachan ran his second best time of the season in the 400M dash with a time of 48.88 grabbing a first-place finish.

The Broncs took three of the top-10 spots in the 800M run with Wally Gonzalez taking the top spot with a time of 1:54.90, Gilroy Martinez in seventh with a time of 1:58.67 and J.J. Hernandez in ninth with a time of 1:59.24.

In the 3000M run, Angel Ramirez finished in second with a time of 9:15.36 and teammates Vidal Ruiz, Jorge Rodriguez and Gil Castillo finishing back-to-back in fifth, sixth and seventh. Ruiz ran a 9:33.71 while Rodriguez ran a 9:37.68 and Castillo with a 9:48.26.

Junior J.J Hernandez took the win in the 3000M Steeplechase with a time of 9:19.30 and La Joya native Luis Nava finished third with a time of 9:39.20.

The men's 4x400M relay team ran a close race against Texas A&M - Kingsville with a time of 3:19.25 and TAMUK running a time of 3:19.36.

Noel Reyna took home a third place finish in the high jump with a leap of 6-06.00. Newcomer Oscar Barrera grabbed a 10th place finish in the shot put, a sixth-place finish in the discus and a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw. In the shot put, Barrera threw a 40-04.75, a 136-06 in the discus and a 139-01 in the hammer throw.

The men and women look to travel to Austin, Texas to compete at the UT Twilight on April 19.

UTPA Sports Information