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LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's and women's track and field teams opened competition today at the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships in the 10k. The women's team jumped out to a great start, scoring eight points to move into second place Friday morning at the McNeese Cameron Communications Track and Field Complex.
"The girls are off to a good start," Head Coach Shawn Flanagan said. "Alex Rossi had a great performance with a personal-best time and Regina, Kayla and Samantha all had lifetime performances. All-in-all it was a good start for the girls."
Freshman Regina Salinas led the Islanders in fifth place with a personal-best time of 38:51.30 and Vanessa Galindo followed in sixth place with a time of 39:11.03. Alexandria Rossi put together a personal-best performance with a time of 40:01.99 to finish in eighth place while Kayla Fischer and Samantha Hardin followed in 10th and 11th place, respectively. Fischer clocked a personal-best time of 41:49.68 and Hardin crossed the line with a personal-best time 41:53.86.
In the men's 10k, Jason Garcia led the Islanders in ninth place with a personal-best time of 31:29.28, which is good for third place all-time. Daniel Barlow followed in 14th place with a season-best time of 32:20.19 and Justin Adame crossed the line in 15th place with a time of 32:31.26. Rounding out the Islanders was Jacob Abrego with a personal-best time of 33:09.60 to place 16th.
"The men's team had a tough field of competition," Flanagan added. "Jason had the best finish with a lifetime best. We just didn't rise to the occasion and we will look to improve as the meet continues."
The Islanders will continue competition tomorrow with both teams opening competition in the 1500m. BreAnna Briggs and Alexandra Fernandez will compete for the women's team. Briggs has a season-best time of 4:45.09 while Fernandez holds a season-best time of 4:48.32.
Patrick Kimeli will lead the men's team in the 1500m. Last season at the championships, Kimeli placed second in the event. In the Islanders final outdoor regular-season meet, the senior clocked a personal-best time of 3:46.74, which stands in fourth place in the conference. Also competing for the Islanders is Paul Hansel, Abel Koskey and Barlow.
Michael Diamond will open the Islanders field events in the long jump and will look to improve his personal-best distance of 6.80m (22' 3¾").
Shanice Prendergast is slated to compete for the women's team in the 400m while David Carrillo will run in the men's 400m. Both set personal-best times this season at the Bobcat Classic.
In the women's 100m, Ashley Rosebrough and Ebony Collins are set to run while school-record holder Eric July is scheduled to run in the men's 100m.
Following the 100m, Jasmine Boutte, Kayla Castillo, Ashley Mills and Teresa Tauriello will compete in the 800m while six Islanders are slated to run for the men's team. Boutte sits in fourth place in the conference with a personal-best time of 2:12.08 while Castillo, Mills and Tauriello have all set personal-best times this season. On the men's side, the Islanders hold five of the six top times in the conference in the 800m with Brandon Lacy holding the top spot with a season-best time of 1:51.97. Valentinas Rudys (3rd SLC), Cordarius Edmondson (Franks) (5th SLC), Paul Hansel (6th SLC) Bryce Johnston and Wesley McGhee are all set to compete. Last season at the championships, Lacy placed fifth while Rudys crossed the line in seventh place.
Scheduled to compete in the men's and women's 400 meter hurdles is Sidney Siepert and William Scott. Siepert clocked a personal-best time of 1:05.34 at the Texas State Invitational while Scott broke the school record at the meet with a personal-best time of 53.31. His time sits in fourth place in the conference.
The Islanders will then round out Saturday's events in the 200m and the 3,000 meter steeplechase. On the women's side, Collins and Rosebrough are slated to compete while July will run for the men's team. Collins clocked a personal-best time of 25.32 this season while Rosebrough set a season-best time of 25.56. July set a personal-best time of 21.58 at the Texas State Invitational.
Cecilia Jones and Kim Ward are slated to compete in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase while Philipp Baar is set to compete for the men's team. Last season at the Southland Conference Championships, Jones clocked the second-best time in school history with a personal-best time of 10:54.96 to place second. Ward set a personal-best time of 11:48.26 this season while Baar clocked a personal-best time of 9:06.63, which was good for second place all-time on the men's side and fourth best in the conference this season.
Micah Nolan and Allison Baker will open Sunday's field events in the women's high jump and Southland Conference Indoor Champion Roger De La Cruz and senior Quincy Obeng will open competition in the men's high jump. De La Cruz currently holds the top mark in the conference with a clearance of 2.10m (6' 10¾"). Last season at the Southland Conference Championships, De La Cruz broke the school record with a mark of 2.15m (7' 0½") to place third. Obeng sits in sixth place in the conference with a season-best clearance of 2.01m (6' 7").
The Islanders will then compete in the men's and women's 4x100 meter relays. Siepert, Collins, Prendergast and Rosebrough are scheduled to compete for the women's team while Scott, Carrillo, Diamond and July are slated to team up on the men's side.
The finals of the men's and women's 1500m will follow before Diamond competes in the men's triple jump. He holds a personal-best mark of 13.60m (44' 7 ½"). The 400m, 100m, 800m, 400 meter hurdles and 200m finals will begin at 3:45 p.m. and continue through 4:40 p.m.
10 Islanders will then compete in the women's 5k while four are slated to compete in the men's 5k. Briggs, Salinas and Galindo are set to lead the way for the women's team. Briggs sits in fifth place, Salinas in sixth place and Galindo in seventh place in the conference. Briggs placed eighth last season at the championships and holds a season-best time of 17:48.54 while Salinas and Galindo each clocked personal-best times this season. Also competing in the 5k are Rossi, Hardin, Fischer, Fernandez, Jones, Mills and Ward.
On the men's side, Christoph Hintz, Baar, Garcia and Adame are set to compete. Baar sits in third place in the conference after clocking a personal-best time of 14:25.60 this season at the Mt. SAC Relays. Hintz (13th SLC), Garcia (14th SLC) and Adame (15th SLC) all clocked season-best times at Rice University this season.
The Islanders will then wrap the championships in the men's and women's 4x400 meter relays Sunday evening. Prendergast, Siepert, Castillo and Boutte are set to team up for the women's team while Scott, Carrillo, Edmondson and Johnston are slated to compete for the men's team.
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