CORPUS CHRISTI - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi track and field teams got their 2015 outdoor
season underway this weekend as they hosted the Islanders Open at Dugan Track and Soccer Stadium Friday and Saturday.
For the second-straight year, the teams put together a great showings at the showcase event of the spring. As a squad, ten Islanders cracked the top-10 in the record book; five student-athletes on the women's side, and five on the men's side.
Things got started Friday afternoon with the hammer throw as sophomore Omesha Locke notched a personal-best and school record in the event with a distance of 45.16 meters.
Freshman Ben Clark also posted a career day in the hammer throw. The Spring Branch, Texas native finished fourth in the event with a throw of 34.18 meters which set a new school record by nearly 16 meters. Clarke went on to win the shot put with a distance of 15.0 meters.
Locke went on to win the discus competition, defeating Incarnate Word's Myah Antwi by three meters with a distance of 45.29 meters to open competition on Saturday. Canyon Lake, Texas native Kaelin Simmons took third in the discus (41.84 meters).
After an impressive indoor season, freshman James Whiteside of Corpus Christi continues his dominance in the long jump. The Roy Miller High School product bested his competitors with a score of 6.53 meters. Whiteside went on to win the triple jump (14.57 meters) as well.
Senior Brandi Huff continues to impress in her respective field events, the senior took first place in the shot put event with a distance of 12.80 meters. Simmons took third (12.12 meters) while Locke garnered fifth (10.99 meters). Adrienne Nickleson placed seventh (10.48 meters) in the event. Huff also took first in the javelin competition (40.62 meters) while fellow Islander Isabella Baptiste took third with a throw of 24.57 meters.
Elmaton, Texas native Kerissa Wiley once again hit 1.67 meters in the high jump. The sophomore took third in the event. Baptiste finished second in the long jump with a distance of 5.18 meters.
Freshman sensation Kemar Mowatt picked up his first career outdoor win in the 200 meter dash, also moving up to fourth all-time on the schools top-10 list with a winning time of 21.52.
Valentinas Rudys picked up his first outdoor win of the year in the men's 800 event with a time of 1:53.94. The senior edged the competition by nearly two seconds. Logan Pittdman took third in the event, running a 1:58.30. Stephen Galli garnered a second-place finish in the men's 1500 with a time out 4:00.60.
Freshman Jake Sprague finished second in the pole vault with a 4.10 meter jump. The 6-foot-7 Silver Lake, Ohio native notched his name in the record books with his performance at second all-time.
San Antonio, Texas native Chloe Young finished first in the 100 meter hurdles (14.72), good enough for sixth all-time in school history.
Tashonna Williams went on to win the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.98 while fellow Islander Shanice Pendergast took third (59.19). Junior Ebony Collins finished first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.51 while Williams took fourth (25.04).
Jackson Davis, Andres Salazar, Javier Reyes and Mowatt picked up the Islanders only relay win of the Open in the 4x400. The group bested Incarnate Word's quartet by five-seconds on their way to a comfortable win with a time of 3:17.56.
It was an all A&M-Corpus Christi field for the women's 4000 meter event as Del Rio, Texas native Liz Romo (14:38.8) took home first place. She was followed by Taylor Hawes (14:55.4) and Nancy Jepkemboi (15:18.6) who finished second and third. Shelby Polasek took fourth (15:21.9) followed by Alexandria Rossi (15:40.7) and Samantha Hardin (15:42.5) rounding out the field for the Islanders at fifth and sixth.
On the men's side of the 4000 meter race, Daniel Guerrero took home first place with a time of 12:02.4. Logan Pittdman (12:15.8), Jordan Wright (12:29.3) and Eleazar Martinez (12:32.1) finished behind Guerrero. Steve Medlin took sixth.
Salinas placed first in the women's 7000 event with a time of 26:11.0 while Martinez (22:09.2) won the event on the men's side.
Galindo also took second in the steeplechase, finishing just behind UIW's Lindsey Frost with a time out 7:36.43.
Galli (4:00.60) took second in the men's 1500 while while Regina Salinas (4:50.1) and Romo (4:55.73) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Freshman Diego Gomez took third in the discus with a distance of 40.20 meters, while fellow freshman Clark finished fifth (39.06 meters).
To view complete results from the Islanders Open click here.
For the latest information, follow the teams on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersTFXC) and Facebook (Texas A&M Corpus Christi Track & Field/Cross Country). Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the Islanders Front Row App at GoIslanders.com/frontrow.
