Strong performances at Mt. SAC Relays
4/17/2016 3:39:00 PM | Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The Sam Houston State men's and women's track and field programs headed west over the weekend, taking part in the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays from Walnut, Calif. With an opportunity to compete on the same stage as some of the nation's best athletes, the Bearkats were well represented.
Garrett Larson impressed in the pole vault, finishing as the top collegiate at 5.35 meters. Danielle Demas also secured a top spot, doing so in the 100-meter hurdles with a mark of 13.40. In the men's high jump, Tyler Adams finished fourth at 2.05 meters.
On the opening day of the Relays, Ana Moreno finished 11th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 11:00.23 while Evan Arambula ran 9:15.22 for 13th for the men in the same event.
Ashley Thompson notched an impressive performance, taking third at 3.90 meters in the pole vault while Tristyn Allen secured second in the long jump at 5.83 meters. Allen was followed closely behind by Khalaya Williams in fifth at 5.49 meters and Courtney Lord's seventh-place 5.34 meters.
In the shot put, Kristine Hanks captured second at 15.14 meters before taking ninth in the discus throw at 41.84 meters. In the men's discus, James Endsley took second at 52.96 meters.
Demas added to her strong day along with Elizabeth Ene, Melicha Smith and Paula Smith in the 4x100-meter relay. In the event, the squad secured second and first among collegiate competitors in Section 2 at 45.69. The women's 4x400 squad also went second at 3:39.27.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Ruth Amaku secured the top spot in Section 5 with a time of 1:00.27. On the men's side, Justin Jenkins finished sixth in the 100 meters (10.36) while Jeffrey Moore secured fifth in the 800-meter run (1:49.68).
In the 110-meter hurdles, William Stark took eighth (14.70) in Section 2 while Damian O'Neal checked in at sixth in Section 4 (15.25). Stark also took eighth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.19), while the men's 4x100-meter relay tandem of Dedrick Brooks, Justin Jenkins, Kevin Beasley and Eric Pouncey took sixth (41.01).
In the women's 100-meter dash, Melicha Smith took fourth in her section at 11.79 as did Paula Smith in the 200-meter dash (23.80). In the 800 meters, Camry Grigsby finished third in the second section at 2:10.37 followed by Briana McCall in 11th at 2:13.01.
Meanwhile, Chris Speaks and Olivia Olguin participated at the Bryan Clay Invitational, hosted by Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif. There, Speaks took fourth in the 5,000-meter run at 14:42.04 among a field of 15 competitors and Olguin took 12th in the same event at 17:24.86.
Sam Houston will stay closer to home next weekend, making the short trek to the Houston Invitational. The competition will be the last in regular-season action before the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships May 8-10 in Corpus Christi.
