WALNUT, Calif. – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi track and field teams sent five runners to compete in the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays on Thursday and Friday, with multiple athletes setting new personal records at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
"All in all it was a pretty good outing here on the West Coast," head coach Shawn Flanagan said. "I was really pleased with the way Philipp Baar ran today, as well as Paul Hansel, both breaking personal records. I thought we showed some improvement, and I hope we can keep it going at Baylor tomorrow."
Both men that competed for the Islanders improved on their career bests, as it was Baar capping off Friday night with a time of 14:17.81 in the 5000-meters, breaking his old PR by nearly eight seconds. The mark now puts him at second in the conference, and was good enough for a ninth-place finish.
Hansel had a strong showing earlier in the day for the Islanders in the 1500-meters, as the junior ran his way to a new personal record in the event with a time of 3:52.57. The mark was also good enough to put him third in the Southland Conference and have him finish 57th out of a massive field of 118 competitors.
For the women, Cecilia Jones had the best showing Thursday, as she did not quite run a personal record, but crossed the line with the second fastest time of her career in the 3000-meter steeple. The senior clocked an 11:01.34 in the event, which was her best time since the 2012 Southland Conference Championships.
Finishing in 15th place, the time also marks the sixth best in Islanders history, and currently sits as the fifth quickest mark in the Southland.
Lara Huelsebusch and Regina Salinas had a tough go of it on day one of the meet. Huelsebusch struggled with the water jumps during the 3000-meter steeplechase, while Salinas battled injury and eventually had to withdraw during the grueling 10000-meters.
The rest of the Islanders will turn their sights on the Michael Johnson Classic on Saturday; however, none of the student-athletes that will compete in the Relays will participate in the Classic.
The Islanders are scheduled to compete in several events throughout the day, as they are set to occupy 63 slots during the meet. Among those are 16 A&M – Corpus Christi student-athletes that rank in the top 10 in the Southland in their respective events.
This also includes five different Islanders, as well as a relay team, that rank in the top five in the league. The individuals are Justin Adame in the 5000-meters (4th, 14:50.92),Kerrisa Wiley in the high jump (4th, 5' 5.25"), Jasmine Boutte in the 800-meters (5th, 2:14.29), Shelby Polasek in the 10000-meters (5th, 40:01.13) and Omesha Locke in the discus (5th, 146' 9"). The relay team is the men's 4x400-meter relay, which has the second fastest time in the league at 3:12.92.
The action on the track will begin at 1 p.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles followed by the men's 110-meter hurdles. The afternoon races are set for a rolling schedule, concluded with the 1500-meters at approximately 3:30 p.m.
The rest of the races will then begin at 5 p.m. with the 3000-meter steeplechase. All events besides the 5000-meters will be ran with the women and then the men. The 5000m is split up into two times, with the men running at 6:35 p.m. and the women at 7:45 p.m. All events throughout the day are heats versus time and will be run fast to slow.
For a full schedule of the Michael Johnson Classic, as well as other information, click HERE for the meet central page.
As always, fans can find the latest information on the teams by following the Islanders on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).
