FULL RESULTS (DAY TWO) | SUNDAY START LIST
CONWAY, Ark. – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi track and field teams saw Philipp Baar take the Southland title in the 3000-meter hurdles, as well as several other athletes qualify for finals in day two of action at the conference championships Saturday.
"Overall, I thought we had a solid day of competition," head coach Shawn Flanagan said. "I thought Philipp ran a good, controlled race, and I was happy to see him win the race. I felt like the other student-athletes competed up and down the line, and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do in the finals."
Baar came into the event with the top time in the league in the steeplechase, and he proved why as he led the race from the first turn all the way to the finish line, recording a time of 9:12.48, more than seven seconds ahead of second place.
Brandi Huff did not win her competition, but she did break her own school record in the javelin by nearly two meters with a heave of 44.77m (146' 10") to finish in sixth in the event to pick her team up 3 points.
Throwing teammate Omesha Locke also picked some points for the women's side, as she came in sixth in the discus with her best throwing travelling 44.24m (145' 02").
However, the first points of the championships for the women came out of Isabella Baptiste, as she finished seventh in the heptathlon with 2547 points in the competition. This total set a new personal record for Baptiste, but fell just three points shy of the school record.
To round out the final three events in day two of the multis, Baptsite recorded a 5.28m (17' 4") in the long jump, had a toss of 26.42m in the javelin and a time of 2:35.97 in the 800-meters.
For the men, Dustin Smith made history for the Islanders when he crossed the finish line in 5:10.92 during the 1500-meters of the decathlon, as he became the first member of any A&M – Corpus Christi team to complete all 10 events. Smith finished the events with a point total of 6099 to finish ninth overall.
On the day, Smith set a personal record of 15.95 in the 110-hurldes, despite having to run them twice because of a missing hurdle on the track. He also set a huge PR in the pole vault, clearing 4.30m (14' 1.25"), while throwing 35.53m (116' 7") in the javelin.
In the preliminary running events, Daniel Rhodes led all Islanders in qualifying position, as he finished first in his heat and second overall in the 800m with a time of 1:54.01.
Also finishing first in his heat was fellow freshman Angelo Garland, who was unable to break his school record, but did finish in a time of 47.61 in the 400-meters to qualify him fourth going into the finals on Sunday. Teammate David Carrillo barely snuck into the finals for the 400, as he finished in eighth to qualify just .09 seconds ahead of the ninth quickest time.
William Scott also qualified for the finals by making a lap around the track, however, he had some obstacles in the way, as he had the fifth best overall time in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a 53.50. Jackson Davis just fell short of moving on to Sunday's competition, as he finished ninth in the prelims with a time of 54.34, just .22 seconds behind eighth.
Ebony Collins had a very solid day in the 100-meters, as she set a new personal best, by running the straight away in a time of 11.74 to send her into the finals with the seventh best mark overall.
The Islanders saw qualifiers on both the men's and women's side of the 1500-meter. Brandie Garcia was the lone qualifier for the women, coming in ninth with a time of 4:43.30 to set a personal record by three seconds. Ann-Kathrin Ott nearly punched her ticket into the finals, but fell less than a second away from moving on.
For the men, Valentinas Rudys finished sixth overall and second in his heat in a time of 4:01.14, while Paul Hansel finished right behind him, coming around in 4:01.52 in the same heat to seal his spot in the finals.
Sunday will see the conclusion of the field events come first, starting with the men's shot put, as well as the women's high jump at 10 a.m. Kerissa Wiley leads the Islanders in the high jump, as she boasts the second best clearance in the league at 1.70m (5' 7"). Following the women's triple jump, the shot put is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. with Huff and Adrienne Nickleson coming in with the best throws for the team. Huff currently sits in eighth at 13.78m (45' 2.5"), while Nickleson is right behind her at 13.77m (45' 2.25").
The Islanders who have made it to the finals will then compete to close out the event following the opening ceremony at 2 p.m. The only events the remainder of the day that will be the first time they have been conducted without prelims prior to them will be the relays, as well as the 5,000-meters.
The team will have several runners to keep an eye on during the 5000m with nine of the 16 competing for the Islanders ranked in the top 25. Three of those even rank in the top 10, as Baar is second in the league at 14:17.81, with Justin Adame not far back at 14:50.92 with the sixth best time, while Regina Salinas ranks fifth on the women's side with a time of 17:29.28.
The best shot for A&M – Corpus Christi to make the podium in the relays will come in the men's 4x400-meter relay, which is scheduled to close out the Championships at 4:40. So far this season, the Islanders have clocked a 3:12.92, which is a school record and is the third fastest in the conference.
See the links above for full results, as well as the starting list for tomorrow's action.
Live results can be found HERE and will also be provided on Twitter throughout the meet by following the team @IslandersTFXC, while fans can also follow along with pictures and videos on Instagram by following the team @IslandersTFXC as well. Full results and recaps of the final day of action will be posted on GoIslanders.com.
