CONWAY, Ark. – The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi track and field teams closed out the 2014 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships in style Sunday, as on the last event of the day the men's 4x400-meter relay team shattered the school record and won the title in the event.
"We now not only have a track, we have a track team" head coach Shawn Flanagan said. "I was incredibly pleased with the way the men and women competed this entire weekend. We scored in events we have never scored in before and showed some great fight and determination. I am very proud of this group, especially the men who had the best all-around meet for the Islanders in recent history. I am very excited for the future of this program"
The 4x400 team comprised of Andres Salazar, David Carrillo, Javier Reyes and Angelo Garland — three freshman and one junior — shaved two seconds off their own school record with a time of 3:10.03.
The relay team's first-place finish helped the men accumulate 49 points, which was the third highest point total in school history, while their placing of eighth tied for the highest finish.
The women's team matched its mark from last year by racking up 26 points during the Championships to finish 11th in the meet.
Individually, Garland and Carrillo each scored for the Islanders in the 400 as well. Garland medaled in the event, breaking his school record once again, becoming the first Islander to break the 47-second mark with a time of 46.82 to finish third in his lap around the track. His mark also gives him one of the top times in the west region, and should be good enough to qualify him for regionals in the event.
Carrillo scored three points for the men's team by clocking a time of 47.95 in the event to finish sixth.
Another Islander who will wait to see if she will qualify for regionals will be Ebony Collins, as she set a personal record for a second straight day in the 100-meters with a time of 11.72. It was a very fast race among the Southland competitors, as her mark placed her sixth in the event.
Two school records fell out in the field, with each record being broken by its previous owner. Kerissa Wiley earned the bronze in the high jump by clearing a bar of 1.71m (5' 7.25") to break her previous mark by .01 meters.
Then, after breaking her school record in the javelin during Saturday's action, Brandi Huff bested her top mark in the shot put Sunday with a throw of 14.32m (46' 11.75") on her final attempt to give her the fourth-best mark in the competition.
Two other Islanders were able to set new personal bests on the day, as Brandie Garcia did so in the 1500-meter finals. After shaving significant time off her PR during the prelims, she cut two more seconds off with a time of 4:41.19 to finish sixth.
Natasha Atkins did so in the triple jump with a mark of 11.69m (38' 4.25), narrowly missing the finals by .11 meters to finish 11th.
The highest finish aside from the men's relay team was by Philipp Baar in the 5000-meters, coming in second after winning the steeplechase the night before. Baar earned the silver medal with a time of 14:59.46 in the event.
William Scott just missed the podium, but scored five points for the men's side by finishing fourth in the 400-meter hurdles by clocking a time of 53.53. Daniel Rhodes also tallied some points to add to the total, finishing in a tie for sixth in the 800-meters by clocking a time of 2:01.01.
The conditions were extremely tough for the long distance racers on the final day of competition, as temperatures approached 90 degrees with high humidity as well. Aside from Baar placing second, the second-best finish in the long distance races on the day came out of Cecilia Jones. In the final race of her successful career, the senior finished ninth in the 5000-meters by passing at least three other competitors during the final stretch of the race to clock a time of 18:47.44 in the scorching heat.
The Islanders will now have to wait to see if anyone has qualified for the west regionals, which will take place in Fayetteville, Ark., on May 29-31.
To keep up with the A&M – Corpus Christi track teams, be sure to follow the Islanders on Twitter and Instagram (IslandersTFXC) and like the team on Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country).
