RESULTS
LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's track and field teams qualified several more runners to the Southland Conference Indoor Championships Friday after a successful day at the Jeff Davis Bank/Cowboy Indoor Invite II in Lake Charles, La. at the McNeese State Rec Complex.
"Across the board everyone improved their times significantly, so I was pleased," Director of track and field Shawn Flanagan said. "We came here and did what we wanted to do."
The Islanders qualified four runners in the 3000m, sealing the top four spots. BreAnna Briggs led the Islanders with a time of 10:23.18 and Cecilia Gonzalez placed second with a time of 10:26.74, improving her previous time of 10:28.22. Freshman Vanessa Galindo finished third to advance with a time of 10:37.23, improving her previous mark of 10:41.00. Freshman Shelby Polasek placed fourth qualifying with a time of 10:39.32. Alexandria Rossi and Marie Eulitz rounded out the Islanders in eighth and 15th places, respectively.
"The highlight of the day was sweeping the 3000m," Flanagan said. "Cecy and BreAnna improved their times and the two freshmen Shelby and Vanessa did really well making their way into the top four."
In the men's 3000m, the Islanders took spots two, three and five. Daniel Barlow finished second to qualify with a time of 8:34.26, which is good for fourth place in the Islanders Top 10 indoor records. Barlow improved his previous time of 8:48.59. Paul Hansel also qualified, placing third in his first outing of the season. The freshman clocked a time of 8:40.25 to tie for sixth place in the Islanders record book. Sophomore Justin Adame finished in fourth behind Hansel with a time of 8:51.41. Angel Banda finished ninth, Adrian Marquez placed 10th and Jason Garcia rounded out the Islanders in 12th place.
In the women's 800m, Jasmine Boutte and Sarah Kimaiyo both qualified with fourth and sixth place finishes. Boutte clocked a time of 2:19.68, which is good for third place in the Islanders Top 10 records. Kimaiyo broke into the Islanders Top 10 in sixth place with a time of 2:22.86. Chelsey Arambula finished 12th with a time of 2:28.93, Maeghen Wedgworth clocked a time of 2:30.49 for 15th place.
The Islanders also improved their times in the women's one-mile. Senior Julia Sambu returned to the track after two days of training after suffering an injury. She placed 11th with a time of 5:32.07.
"She's not up to her usual standard but she will eventually get to where she needs to be," Flanagan said. "She got in a good workout today."
Joining Sambu was Kayla Fischer with a time of 5:36.79 to place 13th and Melissa Jones followed Fischer in 14th place, clocking a time of 5:37.21. Rounding out the Islanders was Julia Wohlschlegel in 19th place and Teresa Tauriello in 21st place.
Jacob Abrego was the lone Islander competing in the men's one-mile. The junior finished with a time of 4:32.04 for eighth place.
"We are making progress," Flanagan said. "We just have to keep after it and keep on rolling. We are on track to have a really good outdoor season. We are better than three weeks ago and we will be even better in three weeks."
The Islanders who have qualified will be competing at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 24th and 25th in Norman, Okla.
The jumpers and sprinters will be in action tomorrow at the Texas Tech Red Raider Open in Lubbock, Texas.
For the latest information, follow Islanders Track and Field on Twitter (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).
