LUBBOCK, TEXAS – The UT Tyler women's track & field program equaled their best finish in program history and the men's team finished just one position off equaling their best finish at the 2023 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The women's team got their first six points of the day in the high jump event after
Aerin Thompson took home a bronze medal. Thompson took just one effort to clear the first height of 1.52 meters, and then took two jumps to clear the second. She took just one jump again to clear 1.60 meters, but was unable to jump over the bar at 1.64 meters and took home a solid third place finish.
The second third place run of the day for the Patriots women came in the 800 meters, as
Calista Segura rewrote the UT Tyler record books yet again. Her time of 2:17.01 finishes well ahead of the fourth place competitor and narrowly misses out on second place. That takes down her own school record by over a second and collects six big points for the Patriots.
The final points of the day for UT Tyler came in the 4x400 as
Natalie Jones, Segura, Thompson, and
Marissa Agee all paired up to complete a seventh place run in the event. Their time of 4:02.55 earned two points for the team and placed second overall in their heat.
Over on the men's side, they picked up five critical points thanks to
Randy Canady in the mile run. Canady ran a steady race never falling below fifth and got himself as high as second before settling into a fourth place finish. His time of 4:22.32 to finish almost three seconds ahead of fifth place.
Just a few minutes later, both
Ashton Turner and
Brandon Arenas took their chances at the 60 meter hurdles. The pair would finish third and fourth, as Turner ran a time of 8.06 seconds and Arenas finished narrowly behind at 8.09. That meant that the Patriots would get 11 points out of the event and help them move further up the leaderboard.
The final point of the day for the Patriots came from Turner yet again, as he brought home an eighth place run in the 400 meters. His time of 50.36 seconds narrowly missed out on seventh and secured the 35
th point of the weekend.
UT Tyler will now play the waiting game as those with provisional marks will see if they have done enough to gain qualification into the NCAA Indoor Championships. Those will take place on March 10-11 in Norfolk, Virginia for those who qualify. For those who do not qualify, they will get a month off before taking on the Ice Breaker Classic hosted by UT Tyler to open up the outdoor season.
