BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA – UT Tyler track & field has started off their season on the right foot, and they seem to be hitting their form at the perfect time as they post another bigtime day at the Samford Invitational.
 
Aerin Thompson looks to be the next great multi-event athlete for UT Tyler, and she had a strong day on Friday. Thompson would miss the cut for the 60 meter hurdles, but made up for it with top 10 finishes in both the long jump and the high jump. A ninth place finish in the long jump was followed by a new school record and a top five finish in the high jump. Her mark of 1.65 meters breaks the school record by .03 meters, and comes just .02 meters of an NCAA provisional mark.
 
The school records continued over in the field events as Mthabisi Mpofu broke his own school record that he set just last week in the long jump. Mpofu this week went for 6.91 meters in his third jump of the day and held on for a third place finish and miss second place by just .04 meters.
 
Amorie Willis joins Thompson in the newcomer category for UT Tyler, but wasted no time in laying claim to her spot in the record books as she takes down the triple jump record. Her mark of 10.36 meters earned a 10^th place finish on the day in her third and final attempt.
 
Calista Segura was the fourth and final UT Tyler athlete to break a school record on the day, this time in the mile run. Segura posted a 25^th place finish and a time of 5:20.54 to clip the school record by over two seconds.
 
In the women's pole vault, Abeni Kratzmeyer continues her dominating form as she furthered her NCAA provisional mark even further on Friday with a jump of 3.88 meters. That jump moves her up to ninth overall in all of NCAA Division II as she continues her march towards qualification for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
Ty McDaniel jumped right back into action this week after a bit of an off week last weekend. He began his meet with a 16.22 meter throw, which would have held up for an eighth place finish. However, McDaniel saved his best throw for last, and launched the weight 17.33 meters and himself into a fifth place finish.
 
Brandon Arenas and Tristan Meadors both got their seasons back on track in the 60 meter hurdles, as both athletes would qualify for the finals of that event. The two athletes would place sixth and seventh on the day as Arenas finished at 8.28 meters and Meadors finished at 8.59 meters.
 
Another solid performance came in the mid-distance category as Marissa Agee placed eighth overall in the 800 meters in a time of 2:20.50. That time finishes less than half a second behind the school record and less than six seconds from an NCAA provisional mark.
 
UT Tyler will now get a week to recover before the Washburn Open on February 3-4 in Topeka, Kansas. That will be the final regular season event of the indoor schedule before the Patriots take on the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships on February 18-19.