LUBBOCK, TEXAS – Nine UT Tyler athletes earned top 10 finishes on Saturday and two school records fell in the final day of the Texas Tech Corky Classic to wrap up a solid weekend of competition for the Patriots after the long winter break.
Abeni Kratzmeyer was the first Patriot to compete on Saturday where she took on the pole vault. Kratzmeyer launched herself into a fourth place finish at a mark of 3.83 meters after she was unable to clear 3.98. Kratzmeyer's mark of 3.83 meters is an NCAA Provisional Mark, and improves her standing as she tries to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the first time.
The first school record of the day came down at the B section of the men's long jump, where Mthabisi Mpofu launched himself into the record books with a mark of 6.81 meters. That long jump came in just his second attempt of the day and was good enough for a sixth place finish. His mark clears the school record by .12 meters and his own personal best by .13 meters.
The second record of the day would fall in the men's edition of the 60 meter hurdles.
Ashton Turner has already made waves in just his second season of competition for the Patriots, and he wasted no time on Saturday doing it again. After a slow time of 8.45 seconds in the first round qualfiers, Turner was the last man into the semifinals. There, he blistered the track, running a time of 8.05 seconds to shatter the school record by .15 seconds and place himself into the final round.
That final round would see the second fastest time in school history as Turner ran a time of 8.14 seconds to finish eighth overall. Turner's semifinal time also goes down as an NCAA Provisional Mark, and he can now set his sights on potentially reaching the NCAA Indoor Championships.
In the women's 800 meters, five Patriots made up the 15 person field, and all five would place inside the top 7 of the event in a strong showing for UT Tyler.
Calista Segura would just lead the pack with a time of 2:22.26, and
Marissa Agee would nip at her heels in a time of 2:27.36.
Charlisa Teagle rounded out the top five finishers for UT Tyler in the event at a time of 2:30.36, and she would be followed by
Natalie Jones and
Tiffany Vargas in sixth and seventh at times of 2:31.35 and 2:31.63, respectively.
The final top 10 finish of the day came from freshman
William Davis in the men's edition of the 800 meters. Davis competed in the second heat and came away with a heat victory in a time of 1:54.92. That time would place him seventh overall in the event and would finish exactly two seconds behind a school record.
Next up for Patriots Track & Field will be a trip out to Birmingham, Alabama to the Samford Invitational. That event will take place on January 20-21 at the Birmingham CrossPlex, where the Patriots competed at in their first event of the season.
