Reporter
The team finished their regular season strong with five first place finishes. The Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship is approaching very quickly.
The Roadrunners prepare themselves with great results this weekend as they traveled to the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday, Apr. 28 in Clovis, California.
Coach Marcia Mansur-Wentworth answered for the team’s success with, “It’s so simple. They show up every day, they work really hard, they have great attitudes, and they are successful.”
Ariana Mariscal, redshirt-senior, finished the women’s 800m at first place with a recorded time of 2:13.90. Curtis Threlkeld also earned first place in the men’s 800m run. The sophomore finished with a recorded time of 1:54.75.
Another first-place finish came from senior, Angel Valdez, in the women’s 3000m run with a time of 10:20.19. Right behind her trailed Alejandra Frausto. The sophomore finished in second in 10:28.33. Camille Campos made sure she was not counted out and managed to finish at fourth place, less than twenty crucial seconds behind.
Redshirt-junior Gabe Gaeta brought showed his determination for success and finished first in the 400m hurdles with 53.47. Sophomore, Justin Fobel also finished first in the triple jump with a distance of 13.81m.
Redshirt-senior, David Sellens III earned two top five finishes. He earned second place in the men’s hammer throw with a thrown distance of 56.00m. As for the discus throw, he earned fifth place with a recorded distance of 42.03m. Tristan Watson set a personal best in the 110m hurdles. The senior also finished second with a recorded time of 14.49.
Adding to the several second-place finishes, freshman Arturo Valencia threw a distance of 4.15m in the men’s pole vault. Alec Benavides, senior, finished the javelin throw with a distance of 56.40m. Pole vault specialist Julianne Finch, sophomore, also finished at second place with a distance of 3.50m.
“I feel like our team has been doing really well, so I’m really excited to see how everyone is going to do,” said Finch. “We’re at the peak of our season, so that’s where everyone is going to do awesome.”
Benavides said “I feel good. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, faster than I’ve ever been, and throws are going far. If I could just keep a good mentality, I think I’ll perform well.”
Corbin Chronister, freshman, finished the meet with a trio of top five finishes. He earned third place for both the discus and hammer throw (55.07m), and a strong fifth place for the shot put (14.78m). The Roadrunner set a new personal best for the discus throw with a distance of 51.26m.
Falon Wilson, sophomore, earned two top five finishes at the invitational, with second place in the 100m dash (11.84) and third place in the 100m hurdles (14.01). Wilson and sophomore Mariah Lesure finished the 100m dash in under twelve seconds, which is a season first. Lesure finished at fourth place with a recorded time of 11.99.
Freshman Caleb Melson earned fourth place in the 400m dash with a time of 52.83. Two strong fifth places finishes from Ronnie Lesure and senior Susannah Vera. Lesure earned fifth place in the 400m dash with a recorded time of 53.76. Vera finished fifth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:07.36.
The Roadrunners begin the WAC Outdoor Championships on Wednesday, May 9 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Photo courtesy of Michael Glasgow
