TEXAS INVITE: RESULTS | HURRICANE ALUMNI INVITE: RESULTS
CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's track and field teams split up this weekend with the distance runners competing at the Texas Invitational while some of the women's team competed at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.
Roger De La Cruz highlighted the Texas Invitational in Austin, Texas, clearing seven feet to break his own school record and win the high jump at the Texas Invitational. The junior recorded a clearance of 2.14m (7-00.25) to win the event and shatter his previous record of 2.10m (6-10.75) set at the Victor Lopez Rice Classic in March.
Patrick Kimeli also was a winner at the Texas Invitational in the 3000m. He clocked a time of 8:34.90 to place third in the record books while Angel Banda finished in fourth with a time of 8:44.42, which is good for seventh in the Islanders top 10 records.
Philipp Baar finished second in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:59.68 and Paul Hansel placed fourth with a time of 4:00.75. Both Baar and Hansel's times meet the qualifying standards to move on to the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships.
In the women's 1500m, Jasmine Boutte paced the women's team in seventh place with a personal-best time of 4:37.33 to qualify and move into third in the Islanders records. Cecilia Gonzalez finished behind Boutte in 19th place with a time of 4:50.54.
Vanessa Galindo was the first to finish for the Islanders in the women's 3000m with a ninth-place finish. She clocked a time of 10:47.23.
In the men's 800m, Valentinas Rudys placed fourth with a time of 1:52.43 to qualify for the outdoor championships. His time is good for fifth in the Islanders records. Brandon Lacy also competed and finished in 11th with a time of 1:56.11.
Julian Pfeiffer competed in the men's 3000m steeplechase. He placed second with a time of 10:24.38 to qualify for the outdoor championships.
"Roger cleared seven feet in the high jump and Patrick won the 3000," Director of Track and Field Shawn Flanagan said. "On the women's side, Jasmine Boutte had the best event. She beat her previous best time by four seconds in the 1500. All in all it was a good day. The winds made everything slow."
In Miami, Fla. at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, the women's 4x100 team broke the school record with a time of 45.94 to finish sixth. Kassandrea Son, Shakelia Coleman, Ernestine Cray and Ashley Rosebrough teamed up to break the school record. The four improved their previous mark of 47.13 set back at the Texas relays and broke the school record of 46.15 set at the Texas State Invitational by Coleman, Son, Cray and Brianeka Harris.
Son also recorded season-best times in the 200m and the long jump. She placed third in the long jump with a season-best jump of 6.13m (20-01.50) to move into second place in the record books. She holds the school record with a mark of 6.35m (20'10") set back in 2008 at the conference championships. In the 200m she placed 19th with a season-best time of 24.70, which qualifies for the outdoor championships and places second in the record books.
Cray also competed in the triple jump and picked up a third-place finish. The sophomore marked a distance of 12.37m (40-07.00) which ties her mark from the Victor Lopez Rice Classic in March.
Rosebrough and Coleman also ran in the 200m with Son. Rosebrough crossed the line with a time of 25.17 and Coleman clocked a time of 25.29.
"We had our ups and downs today," head coach Randy Bungard said. "We broke the school record in the 4x100. They hit their handoffs pretty well. Kassandrea had a season best in the long jump and in the 200. She had three consecutive series in the long jump where she marked over six meters, which is the best series she has had in a long time. In the 200 I was hoping they would run better as a group. Kassandrea's time of 24.70 is the best opener she has had."
The Islanders will split up again next weekend with some competing at the Mount SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. while others will be traveling to Houston to compete at Rice University.
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