Feb. 27, 2010

At the end of day one of the 2010 Great West Conference Indoor Championships, the men's and women's team stand at fifth and third respectively, including two conference titles and multiple top-10 performances at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, SD.

The men's distance medley relay returned after capturing the title last year and defended it this year as they crossed the finish line in first with a time of 10:12.58, 24 seconds ahead of Houston Baptist. The men's DMR was comprised of Andrew Lopez, Isai Pina, Gilroy Martinez, and Omar Doria.

"The men defending the DMR title was very special. The guys pushed when they needed to and they showed a lot of heart in the heat of the battle," said head men's and women's track and field coach Dave Hartman.

After ranking fourth in the Great West Conference Performance List, Melinda Sarmiento came out and took the women's high jump title with a jump of 5-5.25. Teammate Abigail Garza finished two spots behind Sarmiento with a jump of 5-4.25.

"I am extremely proud of Melinda and Abby for finishing first and third today. They did an incredible job for us and I also want to thank Coach Richardson for his guidance with these young ladies," Hartman said.

Showing some improvement, the women's distance medley relay took home the bronze after registering a time of 12:42.48. South Dakota took the women's DMR title by a time of 12:10.32. The women's DMR was comprised of Daphne Payton, Destiny Schulze, Mekka Edwards-White, and Cinthia Adame.

Moving onto finals for the women's team is Sylvia Alboniga in the 400-meter run and in the 60-meter hurdles. Alboniga posted a time of 59.73 in the 400 and heads into finals in eighth. Alboniga also broke the school's record in the 60-meter hurdles as she clocked a time of 9.06 and stands in fourth heading into finals.

Junior Sara Hernandez missed qualifying for finals in the 60-meter hurdles as she posted a 9.44, the ninth best time amongst all the heats.

Jameson Strachan, who had yet to run a meet in the indoor season, debuted today in the 400-meter dash and clocked a time of 50.99 to qualify him for finals tomorrow. Strachan qualified the fifth best time for finals.

"Both of these athletes did a tremendous job. Sylvia came out today and ran very aggressively and it showed in the results," added Hartman.

Other top-10 performances for the men's and women's team include two top-10 finishes for Samantha Villarreal. Villarreal clocked a time of 8.03 in the 60-meter dash and a 26.13 in the 200-meter dash.

Cecilia Lott took him a seventh place finish in the long jump as she recorded a jump of 17-0.50. Freshman Brittany Talamantez also took him a seventh place finish in the weight throw with a toss of 42-8.25. Oscar Barrera took a bronze medal for the men's team in the weight throw with a toss of 52-1.25.

"The entire coaching staff was impressed by these young individual's performances today," said Hartman.

"During conference championships, you see ups and downs, but today our team competed aggressively and with heart, which made us see more ups than downs."

At the end of today's events, the women have accumulated 26 points, while the men have 16. The men's and women's team will wrap up the 2010 Great West Indoor Championships tomorrow at the DakotaDome.

UTPA Media Relations