SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA Invitational marked the commencement of UTSA Track & Field’s outdoor season, with the two-day event taking place on Friday and Saturday at the Park West Athletics Complex.
The Roadrunners competed against athletes from Texas A&M University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, the University of the Incarnate Word, Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Texas State University. A total of 58 ‘Runners competed and 20 earned top-10 finishes, 10 earned top-five finishes and three earned first place finishes.
Freshman Austin Lyda claimed the Roadrunners’ first gold medal Friday night in the 5,000-meter dash with a time of 15:32.85. On Saturday, senior Victor Charo placed first in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:52.95. During the men’s 400-meter dash, sophomore Martin Kouyoumdjian took first place with a time of 46.66. Kouyoumdjian was recovering from an injury leading up to the event but persevered.
“It had been tough training since I was dealing with an injury, but with the help of the trainers and the trust of my culture, I think I was able to do great,” Kouyoumdjian said.
Setting the tone Friday morning, senior Lauralyn Clifford placed third in the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 58.11 meters. She not only made UTSA history with that mark but also topped her own St. Lucia National Record as well.
“Getting this mark of 58.11m was really just showing where I am starting, because I really haven’t thrown collegiately in two years, so this was a big season opener for me,” Clifford exclaimed.
Numerous UTSA athletes competed in various events, including sophomore Edlin Laur who competed in four events and finished in the top 10 in each. On Friday, Laur placed seventh in the women’s javelin throw with a distance of 39.69 meters. She also placed second in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.27 meters. Two other Roadrunners also placed in this category. Freshman Brina Likar placed third with a distance of 6.10 meters and sophomore Nyariek Kur placed fifth with a distance of 5.89 meters.
In regards to her performance, Laur was more than satisfied with her placement and is looking forward to the rest of the season.
“I have been waiting a long time for this, and it’s the boost of competing on the home track and being outdoors gave me the ability to jump that far,” Laur emphasized. “I was really happy with the jump I did before because now it is my personal best.”
Saturday did not hinder Laur in her pursuit of greatness as she tied sophomore Milena Chevallier of Texas A&M for second in the women’s high jump at 1.75 meters. For the women’s 100-meter hurdles event, Laur placed 10th with a time of 14.31.
Junior Nyaluet Diew and graduate student Daisy Monie placed in their two events for UTSA as well, with three fellow Roadrunners placing in the top-10 in their respective categories. Monie placed sixth in the women’s shot put with a distance of 15.09 meters, and sixth in women’s discus throw, obtaining a 48.00 meter distance. Diew placed fifth in the women’s shot put with a distance of 15.35 meters and placed seventh in the women’s hammer throw, achieving a distance of 48.66 meters.
“I love throwing and shot put. Today, my first three throws were pretty consistent,” Diew said. “I am not at my peak yet, so I just expect to keep getting better. I am very consistent in practice. That’s what I was working on, consistency.”
UTSA Track & Field will make a short trip on I-35 to compete in the Charles Austin Classic in San Marcos, Texas, on March 27-28.
