SEGUIN, Texas – The Tiger men's and women's track & field teams enjoyed a successful day at the D3 Challenge on Saturday, hosted by Texas Lutheran University.

Trinity won seven events during the day, while also producing 38 top-five performances. There were 20 men's performances in the top five, which included three victories. The Tiger women's team had 18 individuals in the top five and won four events.

Joy Areola (Tomball, Texas / Rosehill Christian School) had one of the best days of her career at Trinity, winning both the long jump and the triple jump. She set a new personal record with a mark of 5.60 meters to win the long jump, remaining in fourth on Trinity's all-time list. Her triple jump of 12.20 meters broke the Tiger record set by Brittany Sullivan in 2018. Ciandra Carrico (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) and Emilie Mireles (Brownsville, Texas / Hanna Early College) finished third and fourth with new personal records in the triple jump behind their teammate, reaching 10.48 meters and 10.23 meters, respectively. Tias McClarty (Norman, Okla. / Norman) was second in the men's long jump with a mark of 6.74 meters.

Trinity swept the men's and women's 1500-meter run, with Allison Fortman (McKinney, Texas / Boyd) winning the women's race in 4:48.11, and Joseph Herlin (Ft. Worth, Texas / Boswell) winning the men's in 4:00.69 for a new PR. Fortman's time moves her up to seventh in school history in the women's 1500.  Gianna Keena (Lakeway, Texas / Lake Travis) was third in a time of 4:50.73 that would have cracked the top 10 if not for Fortman moving onto the list. Diego Flores (San Antonio, Texas / Great Hearts Monte Vista North) finished as the runner-up in the men's race with a time of 4:02.09.

The 400-meter dash saw another new Trinity record as CC Gray (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Notre Dame Prep) broke her own record with a time of 57.29 to win today's event. Annette Smith (Houston, Texas / Ridge Point) was fourth in 1:00.36 in the 400, and was just over a second from cracking the top 10 as well. Price Schultea (Cypress, Texas / Cypress Christian) was the men's runner-up in the 400 and nearly broke his PR, while Nicolas Ladreyt (Santa Monica, Calif. / Harvard-Westlake School) broke 50 seconds with a time of 49.97 for a new PR. Jackson Gallagher (Ft. Worth, Texas / Southwest Christian) also had a new PR with a time of 50.07 to finish sixth in the race. Gray and Schultea also finished fifth in the 200-meter dash. Gray ran her race in 26.27 seconds, while Schultea was just 0.06 from his PR with a time of 22.03 seconds.

Trinity dominated the men's 800-meter run with the top four finishers, as well as sporting 10 of the top 16 runners. Fresh off of his All-America performance in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Will Salony (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) nearly matched his PR that has him second all-time at Trinity, finishing with a time of 1:53.82 to win the event on Saturday. Ryan Tresaugue (Spring, Texas / The Woodlands) finished second with a time of 1:54.59 that moves him up to fifth in school history, while Jared Gallagher (Ft. Worth, Texas / Southwest Christian) also cracked the top 10 with a time of 1:55.85 that placed him third. Ben Whittemore (Georgetown, Texas / Georgetown) snagged a new PR as well with a time of 1:56.75 to finish fourth. Emily Gnecco (Livermore, Calif. / Livermore) finished fourth in the women's 800 with a time of 2:24.14.

Justin Johnson (Houston, Texas / Manvel) nearly broke his personal best with a time of 54.01 to win the 400-meter hurdles at the D3 Challenge. Azariah Anderson (Saint Charles, Mo. / Francis Howell North) was less than two seconds from breaking into the top 10 in the event with a time of 56.98 seconds that was good for fifth place. Anderson also posted the third-fastest time of his career in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 14.39 seconds. Kris Duggan (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) was fourth with a new PR time of 15.08 seconds that moves him up to seventh in school history.

Both of Trinity's 4x100-meter relay teams made their way into the Tiger top-10 list with their performances today that earned each team fourth place. The women's team of Gray, Areola, Hayley Huck (Prosper, Texas / Prosper), and Yasmin Subawalla (Houston, Texas / Singapore American School) finished in 49.05, while Johnson and Anderson brought in Orie Piken (Torrance, Calif. / West Torrance) and Brian Rainey (Cedar Hill, Texas / Cedar Hill) for a time of 41.96 in the men's race.

Rachel Bell (Manvel, Texas / Lutheran South Academy) was out to do damage to the record book today as she flew into the top three in school history in two different events. She finished third in the discus with a throw of 38.55 meters that puts her third at Trinity, while also reaching 42.22 meters in the hammer to finish fourth. Her throw in the hammer also has her up to second in school history as one of just three Tigers ever to surpass 40 meters in the event. Jack Witkow (Port Washington, N.Y. / Paul Schreiber) also jumped into the top 10 in the men's discus with a throw of 42.86 meters to finish fourth today. Heath Schake (Wimberley, Texas / Wimberley) was fifth in the men's hammer with a throw of 39.38 meters.

Aaron Chang (Fullerton, Calif. / Valley Christian) remained eighth in school history in the shot put, despite improving his PR on Saturday, throwing 13.80 meters to finish as the runner-up. Kate Ballengee (Albuquerque, N.M. / Bosque School) led Trinity in a tough women's event, reaching 11.09 meters for eighth place in the meet, but she's now ninth in school history with the throw.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Lillian Broussard (Houston, Texas / National Christian), Vanessa Garcia (Seguin, Texas / Navarro), Aliya Jackson (Houston, Texas / Shadow Creek), and Smith was the runner-up with a time of 4:04.84 to close out the day's events.

Maddie Wietstruck (Houston, Texas / Northland Christian) and Seth Jacobs (Santa Fe, Texas / Santa Fe) both finished in the top five of the pole vault, clearing 3.20 meters and 4.20 meters, respectively. Victoria Baker (San Antonio, Texas / Alamo Heights) was sixth on the women's side with a height of 3.05 meters that matches her PR set just last week. Pierce Jackson (Addison, Texas / Dallas Jesuit) was third in the javelin with a throw of 48.58 meters, while Hallie Martin (Little Rock, Ark. / Little Rock Christian) finished fourth after clearing 1.40 meters in the high jump.

Up Next

Trinity will be back in action next weekend with two possible meets to compete in. Select Tiger student-athletes will compete at the Texas Relays, hosted by the University of Texas. The majority of the men's and women's teams will be at the Bobcat Invitational, hosted by Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.