SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's and women's track teams made the short
trip up I-37 to take part in the UTSA Challenge Invitational in San Antonio hosted by UTSA, Friday and Saturday.
The Islanders women finished fifth, while the men took home sixth place among some of the top competition in the South in Texas Tech, Texas, Kentucky and host UTSA.
Highlighting the action for the Islanders were several underclassmen, including Kerissa Wiley and Kemar Mowatt, along with the men's 4x400 relay teams.
"It was a rainy day but the kids still went out and competed very well against some high-caliber competition," head coach Shawn Flanagan said. "I was really impressed with a lot of our underclassmen, especially Kerissa Wiley and Kemar Mowatt. As a whole, we had a pretty good showing, and we'll build on this going into the Texas Relays next week."
Wiley, who is only a sophomore, once again made a statement in the high jump after securing first place against competitors from Kentucky, UTSA and Texas Tech. The Elmaton, Texas native just missed a personal best and the school record in the outdoor circuit, at a height of 1.70 meters (5' 7'').
San Antonio, native Ebony Collins had a homecoming of her own during competition today as well. In a field stacked with top runners in the area, the junior ran an 11.92 to take sixth place, finishing just .46 hundredths of a second out of first.
Jackson Davis, Andres Salazar, Javier Reyes and Mowatt recorded a second-place finish in the 4x400 relay. The foursome, all of which are sophomores or younger finished ahead of three University of Texas teams with time of 3:21.95.
Mowatt also competed individually for the Islanders. The Kingston, Jamaica native finished fourth in the 400 meter hurdles at a blazing 52.84. Mowatt set a new personal best and now holds the school record in the event after the performance.
Another freshmen on the men's side had a solid day on the track. Corpus Christi product Logan Pittdman took fourth in the 3000 meter race with a time of 8:41.89, setting a personal best in the event and just missing the top-10 cut in the Islanders record book. Also running with Pittdman in the 3000 were Edgar Martinez (8:53.50), Cesar Gonzalez (8:54.77) and Daniel Guerrero (8:55.57) who finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively.
On the women's side in the 3000, Liz Romo took fifth in the race with a time of 10:37.84 while Shelby Polasek finished just behind in seventh at 10:48.58.
The women's 4x400 relay team of Prea Petitt, Shanice Pendergast, Chloe Young and Tashonna Williams finished fifth with a time of 4:09.94.
Omesha Locke finished the hammer throw with the second best mark in school history with a distance of 37.80 meters as well as the fifth best mark in the discus at 42.94 meters.
On the men's side, Ben Clark took eighth place in the shot put with a mark of 13.99 meters; the fourth best performance in school history.
Senior Brandi Huff took sixth in the shot put on the women's side with a throw of 13.08 meters. Adrienne Nickleson (12.34m) and Kaelin Simmons (11.40m) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
To view complete results, click HERE.
Up Next The Islanders men's and women's track teams will return to action next week as they take part in the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.
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.
Women's Team Scores
1) Kentucky 168.5
2) Texas Tech 165.5
3) Texas 101
4) UTSA 50
5) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 28
6) Manhattan 25
Men's Team Scores
1) Texas Tech 175.5
2) Kentucky 122.5
3) UTSA 99
4) Texas 83.5
5) Manhattan 44.5
6) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 26
