UTSA Track and Field vied for top-three finishes on Thursday and Friday at the Texas Invitational at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Day one:
Estonian sophomore Edlin Laur served as the shining light among the Roadrunners on an otherwise gloomy day. Between practice, weather delays and resumption of the competition, Laur managed to return and outperform those around her, including junior Madelen Sveinungsen, to take first place in high jump.
Despite earning her gold-medal finish, she was humbled by the rain and the cold weather, convinced that it was the factor keeping her from achieving her goal of reaching a new height: 1.80 meters.
“I’m happy because this season, high jump has not gone as well as freshman year,” Laur said of her first-place finish. “I’m satisfied even if the result wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to get over 1.80, but I’m so happy that I’m progressively getting better.”
Norwegian sophomore Ida Breigan — known for her success in long jump at UTSA — faltered as she fell to fifth place after consistently holding the first-place title through her first two long-jump attempts. Fellow Norwegian freshman Mia Lien — who has been steadily improving her long-jump game since the 44 Farms Team Invitational — surpassed Breigan to stake a claim for third place with a 6.15m distance during her second round.
Despite recording personal and season bests, track athletes dropped to last place across the board in events such as the women’s 200m, men’s and women’s 3000m steeplechase and the women’s 5000m race. Most notably, freshman Zane Hodges surrendered his first-place lead in men’s 400m hurdles after tripping on the second-to-last hurdle.
Day two:
Thursday’s loss became Friday’s win for sophomore Martin Kouyoumdjian. The Chilean native did not start his scheduled race on Thursday but set a personal best the following day with a time of 46.70 seconds in the men’s 400m.
Italy’s Olympic representative — junior Fatoumata Kabo — lived up to the title and finally finished top three in her event for the first time during the outdoor season. Raking in a time of 53.46 seconds, Kabo took third place in the women’s 400m race.
An additional first for the season arose when freshman Mifri Veso, competing for the first time in outdoor this season, found success during her second try at triple jump. She came out on top with a distance of 12.33m to close out her event and take home fourth place.
Among the 35 UTSA athletes who competed, a meager eight secured top-five finishes in events featuring more than five competitors. The Roadrunners have continuously struggled in long-distance running events since entering the outdoor season, coming in last place against big universities. Few women participating in field events have posted winning scores this season while the men have claimed tail-end results.
UTSA will return to College Station to compete in the Alumni Muster Saturday at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
