ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – The UT Tyler track and field teams closed out the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships with another strong day of performances Saturday, stacking podium finishes and capping the meet with a program-best runner-up finish on the women's side and a top-four showing for the men.
The Patriots opened the day in the throws, where Kaden Adams placed fourth in the men's shot put with a mark of 15.44 meters to earn five points, while Robert Myers followed in fifth at 14.97 meters to add four more. On the women's side, Jada Owens secured two points with a seventh-place throw of 12.60 meters.
In the women's triple jump, UT Tyler added five points with a fourth-place leap of 11.49 meters from Maren Ware. The women's high jump produced a pair of podium finishes as Juliane Frueh and Zakaiya Hunt tied for third at 1.63 meters, each earning 4.5 points.
Gracie Ladner scored three points in the women's mile with a sixth-place finish in 5:08.20. The men's mile proved to be a major point event for the Patriots, as Chris Kopecky claimed silver in 4:17.72 to earn eight points. Kason Miles followed in fourth with a 4:19.18 effort for five points, and David Soto added two points with a seventh-place finish in 4:24.16.
In the hurdles finals, Isabel Jakobsen captured a podium finish in the women's 60-meter hurdles, placing third in 8.80 to score six points. On the men's side, Dameon Smith Jr. also finished third, clocking 8.21 to earn six points.
Aerin Thompson delivered another standout performance in the women's 400 meters, racing to a third-place finish in 53.84 to collect six points. Dylan Bennett added a podium effort in the men's 60 meters, taking third in 6.69 for six more points.
Thompson doubled back in the women's 200 meters to place fifth in 24.25 and earn four points, while the men's 200-meter final resulted in a fourth-place finish and five additional points with a time of 21.15.
In the distance events, Austin Ponder turned in a strong performance in the men's 3,000 meters, finishing second in 8:43.32 to claim eight points for the Patriots.
The relays once again delivered big moments to close the meet. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Hannah Lakin, Kamaria Carr, Jasmine Haywood, and Aerin Thompson raced to a second-place finish in 3:38.98, earning eight points. The men's 4x400 squad of Corbin Parker, Zachary Paul, Preston Ayers, and Jakai Timmons placed third in 3:10.70 to add six points.
When the final points were tallied, the UT Tyler women secured second place overall with 82 points — a program record for the highest finish in LSC Indoor Championships history. The men finished fourth with 84 points, tying their best team placement at the conference indoor meet.
With multiple podium finishes across both days and historic team results, the Patriots wrapped up one of their strongest conference championship performances to date.
