SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi track & field team completed its weekend of competition at both the 98
th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin and the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos on Saturday, featuring in a few events on a day that ended up being shortened due to weather.
Starting off at Texas State, the Islanders first competed at the beginning of the day in the 4x100m relay, sending the group of
Colin Benton,
Kenya Ford,
Luke Bartnick and
Tanner Crochet to the blocks. The quartet finished with a time of 43.19s, which ended up being just two seconds from getting the into the No. 10 spot in program history in the event. This unit was also set to compete in the 4x400m relay later in the day, but due to rain, the event ended up being cancelled before they could hit the track once again.
At the same time, A&M-Corpus Christi started its first of four throwing events at the Texas Relays, with
Natalia Rankin-Chitar competing in the women's discus and posting a mark of 40.62m. After a weather delay of their own, the Islanders then resumed action in the men's discus, where
Emmanuel Ekuma finished in eighth in the A-section with a throw of 52.73m that was less than a meter away from his personal best of 53.29m set at the UTSA Invitational two weeks ago.
Wrapping things up in Austin was the men's and women's shot put, with Ekuma returning for the former and Rankin-Chitar being joined by
Cyan Green in the latter. On the men's side, Ekuma reached a top mark of 16.50m, while for the women, Rankin-Chitar topped out at 14.69m and Green at 12.77m.
"It was a weekend of highs and lows, but through it all, I am really proud of this team and how they handled those moments," Islanders head coach
Bryan Jackson said. "We had some really good early season moments that included a Texas Relays Champion, a school record, and a number of all-time top 10 performances. The team has trained hard this March and is in a great spot. I really believe we are positioned to see two of the best track & field teams in school history down the final stretch of this outdoor season."
The Islanders will now get back in action next weekend, sending a contingency of its roster right down the road next Saturday for the one-day Cactus Cup, hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville.
#ShakasUp
