Field PRs Highlight Day One of Texas Tech Shootout

LUBBOCK, Texas - In its third trip to Lubbock this season, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi recorded a six-pack of personal records this Friday, highlighted by a program best from Kaelin Simmons in the weight throw.

Simmons beat her PR and the Islander school record for the fourth time this season, tossing a 6.44m in the circle in the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center. The Canyon Lake-native has improved her school's all-time best in each of the meets she's participated in this indoor season, while her most recent mark in Lubbock ranks 10th in the Southland Conference for 2018.

Coming in seventh at the Texas Tech Shootout, Simmons finished one place ahead of fellow Blue and Green athlete Diamond Thomas, who set a personal record of her own at 15.63m in the weight throw. The Houston product was one of the Islanders best throwers in 2017 and while her teammate still owns the school record, Thomas secured herself in the record books this week, with the fourth-farthest weight throw in school history. 

The Islander men have been one of the top pole vaulting squads in the conference this year, and freshman James Manders continued to boost that reputation with a clearance of 4.90m. His tally finished fourth overall behind a trio of Red Raiders, and further improves on the Islander freshman record he set earlier this year (4.87m). Manders is currently the number five pole vaulter in the SLC, sitting just behind teammate Colton Cohea for the fourth spot (5.05m).

Coming in just a few places behind his fellow vaulter, Logan Jorgensen set his own personal best after clearing a height of 4.75m. That's the second time Jorgensen has set a PR at Lubbock this year, after posting a 4.72m at the Red Raider Invitational in January. 

Rounding out Corpus Christi's set of PRs on the day, Kendall Rodriguez ran a 58.70 in the 400m to beat her previous best by over half of a second and finish 10th among collegiate runners.

COMING UP NEXT
Day two of the Texas Tech Shootout is set to start this Saturday at noon, opening with the women's pole vault, as senior Hannah McWilliams looks to further improve on her SLC second-ranked 4.02m.

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