Track and Field takes third place at C-USA Indoor Championships

+Joel+McFarlane+begins+his+run-up+to+launch+his+javelin+during+last+year%E2%80%99s+Roadrunner+Invitational.+

Ryan Garza/The Paisano

Joel McFarlane begins his run-up to launch his javelin during last year’s Roadrunner Invitational.

Julia Maenius, Assistant Sports Editor

The UTSA track and field team claimed third-place finishes at the Conference USA Indoor Championships. Both teams left the two-day meet, Feb. 19-20, with bronze medals and 18 podium finishes.

The men’s success was highlighted by gold medal finishes from Bashiru Abdullahi in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.77 and Jemuel Miller with a triple jump of 16.09 meters. Joining them on the podium were Diego Pettorossi and Jose Garcia in the 200 meters, the 4×400-meter relay team of Brice Chabot, Logan Masters, Noah Rhodes and Pettorossi, Sam Healy and Christiaan Le Roux in the long jump, Grant Szalek with his leap in the triple jump and Jeol McFarlane with 5,480 points in the heptathlon. The Roadrunners also had 10 other top 10 finishes at the meet.

Ingeborg Gruenwald gave the women’s team their only gold medal finish. Gruenwald championed the long jump with a 6.42-meter leap, .40 meters ahead of UTSA’s second-place jumper Oreoluwa Adamson with a 6.02-meter jump. UTSA had five others on the podium at the championship with a third-place mile finish from Abby Balli, a bronze finish from Maddie Boswell in the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters, a bronze medal for the 4×400-meter relay team of Mackenzie Grimes, Marie Duvigneau, Ibiso David-West and Alanah Yukich, a silver medal throw from Lacee Barnes in the shot put and a third-place weight throw from Acacia Astwood. The Roadrunners recorded 12 other top-10 finishes.

The Roadrunners set to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships have yet to be announced. Those who qualify will travel to Birmingham, Ala. March 11-12.