Indoor Season Opens With Record-Setting Performances

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 2018 debut started off with a bang this Friday, as the Islanders' performance was highlighted by program records and a plethora of personal bests.
 
Freshman Kameron Johnson got the party started for the Blue and Green in the long jump. The newly arrived Islander set a new freshman record for the program with a leap of 6.81m during his first meet since arriving to the Island. Johnson's distance led Corpus Christi in the event, while placing 10^th overall for the field. The first-year Islander was followed by fellow freshman Sergio Alcorta (6.26m) in the event, as junior Bryan Wersterfer set a PR with his leap of 6.20m.
 
The Blue and Green would impress later in the afternoon on the track, with Kendall Rodriguez, Sierra Pruitt and Makalah Griffin all setting personal records in the 400m. Rodriguez' and Pruitt's respective times of 59.24 and 59.29 were good enough to earn the pair 14^th and 15^th place finishes, and currently sit as the second and fourth fastest indoor times in school history.
 
One of the two biggest Islander performances of the day came from standout long distance runner Allyson Girard. In her first indoor meet as a member of the Corpus Christi contingency, Girard ran to first in the women's 3000m with a program record time of 9:58.79. Transferring to the Island just this past offseason, Girard has been a force for the Blue and Green since stepping on campus, recording top performances for the Islanders' cross country team in four meets earlier this season.
 
After a year of hiatus, thrower Kaelin Simmons returned to the circle this Friday, proceeding to crush the school's previous record in the weight throw. The current graduate student's distance of 15.37m beat the previous program record she set in the 2016 Southland Conference Championship by over a meter, finishing the event with the sixth longest throw of the afternoon.
 
In all, the Corpus Christi side recorded 16 top-10 finishes on the day, while the Islanders' eighth-place run time of 3:58.00 in the women's 4x400m (Rodriguez/Brown/Pruitt/Williams) ranks as the second-fastest time in Islanders' indoor history.

A number of Islander athletes set PRs on the afternoon including sophomore sprinter Terrion Spivey, whose time of 22.35 was good enough to land on the Islanders top-10 performances of all-time in the indoor 200m.
 
Kevin Jaymez, Bjoern Adden and Brandon Wersterfer each set personal records of their own in the 60m hurdles, with Jaymez leading the Islander runners with a time of 8.55

Top Islander Performances

Men's 60H
14. Kevin Jaymez (8.55) - PR
17. Bjoern Adden (8.77) - PR
20. Bryan Wersterfer (8.86) - PR

Women's 400m
14. Kendall Rodriguez (59.24) - PR
15. Sierra Pruitt (59.29) - PR
26. Makalah Griffin (1:00.78) - PR

Men's 200m
18. Terrion Spivey (22.35) - PR

Women's 3000m
1. Allyson Girard (9:58.79) - SR

Men's Long Jump
10. Kameron Johnson (6.81m) - FR

Women's Weight Throw
6. Kaelin Simmons (15.37m) - SR

Men's Shot Put
29. Nick Vasquez (11.16m) - PR

SR: School Record
FR: Freshman Record
PR: Personal Record

COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders head to the Texas Tech Red Raider Invitational next Friday to compete in the campus' recently renovated Sports Performance Center. Corpus Christi's trip to Lubbock will be its first in the indoor season since 2013, where the Islander men and women competed in the Texas Tech Open.

For more information on Islanders women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersTFXC), Instagram (@go_islanders) and like their Facebook page (Islanders Track & Field/Cross Country).