SEGUIN, Texas — The Trinity Tigers' track & field team capped off the weekend of competition with a strong showing at the DIII Challenge at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. On a windy afternoon, the Tigers continued their strong start to the season as the national lists begin to ramp up across the country.
4x100 Dominance
Both 4x100-meter relay squads had themselves a day, as the women's 4x100-meter relay squad of
Nia Scott (Dickinson, Texas / Dickinson),
CC Gray (Scottsdale, Arizona / Notre Dame Prep),
Danya Selber (Edinburg, Texas / Robert Vela) and
Annabelle Lanik (Sugar Land, Texas / St. John's) clocked a time of 47.64, good for second place, a new school record and the sixth fastest time in DIII. The men's 4x100-meter relay team of
Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek),
Orie Piken (Torrance, California / West Torrance),
Ryan Forson and
Price Schultea (Cypress, Texas / Cypress Christian) took first place with a time of 41.43, placing them third in program history and putting them fifth in DIII.
Windy Sprints
In the women's 100-meter dash, Scott finished third in a blazing fast 12.28, which would be tied for second in program history if not for the positive wind reading of 4.5 m/s. Piken had a similar result in the men's 100-meter dash, clocking a time of 10.70 for third place that also placed him second in program history with his wind reading within legal margins.
In the women's 200-meter dash, Lanik and Gray both posted times that placed them on the program's all-time list, running 24.87 for second and 25.33 for third, respectively. In the men's 200-meter dash, Schultea ran another would-be school record of 21.49 for second place, but the wind readings were above 4.0 for the race.
Nicolas Ladreyt (Santa Monica, California / Harvard-Westlake School) and Piken also dipped under 22 seconds, running 21.72 for sixth and 21.76 for seventh, respectively.
The Tigers stole four of the top five spots in the women's 400-meter dash with Gray taking the win in 58.31, followed by
Annette Smith (Houston, Texas / Ridge Point) in 59.49.
Halle Hamilton (1:00.35) and
Lillian Broussard (Houston, Texas / National Christian) (1:00.51) rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively. Schultea and Ladreyt both broke 50 seconds in the men's 400-meter dash, running 49.25 for fourth and 49.39 for fifth, respectively.
Topping the Hurdles
The wind during the women's 100-meter hurdles was legal at 2.2 m/s as Selber clocked a school record of 14.57 for first place. In the men's 110-meter hurdles,
Kaleem Howard (Jacksboro, Texas / Jacksboro) posted a 15.32 for second place and
Kris Duggan (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) followed close behind in 15.47 for fourth.
The duo of Howard and Duggan had a similar showing in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a 58.63 for first and 1:00.83 for third, respectively.
Crushing Mid-Distance
Josette Gurule (Santa Fe, New Mexico / Academy for Technology and the Classics) and
Cali Good (Yucaipa, California / Yucaipa) finished 1-2 in the women's 800-meter run with times of 2:23.58 and 2:27.32.
Thomas Melina Raab (Austin, Texas / McCallum) and
Ryan Tresaugue (Spring, Texas / The Woodlands) finished second and third in the men's 800-meter run, clocking 1:54.59 and 1:54.85. Their times are sixth and seventh in program history, and Melina Raab's time moves him into ninth in DIII.
The Tigers put six in the top 10 of the women's 1500-meter run, led by
Kate Boone (Temple, Texas / Holy Trinity Catholic) in second with a time of 5:10.50. She was followed closely by
Ellie Catron (Spring, Texas / The Woodlands Christian) (5:11.07) and
Stephanie Suarez (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen) (5:11.53).
JT Ahmann (Austin, Texas / McNeil) led the Tigers in the men's 1500-meter run with a 4:17.39 for fourth place. As the women did, the men put six runners into the top 10.
Personal Records Across the Jumps
Sophia Ortiz (Liberty Hill, Texas / Liberty Hill) won the women's high jump with a personal record jump of 1.57m, while
Andrew Mueller took third in the men's high jump with a jump of 1.88m.
Addison Doss (Sugar Land, Texas / Logos Preparatory Academy) won the women's pole vault, clearing 3.42m to set a personal record, while Duggan took second in the men's pole vault with a clearance of 3.85m.
Lanik took the win in the women's long jump with a personal record of 5.78m, followed closely by
Joy Areola (Tomball, Texas / Rosehill Christian School) in second with a jump of 5.59m. Lanik moves to fourth in DIII while Areola puts herself in eighth. Mueller took third in the men's long jump with a personal record of 6.62m. Areola took first in the women's triple jump with a jump of 11.68m, followed in second by
Ciandra Carrico (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) with a personal record of 10.93m. Areola, an indoor national qualifier in the triple jump, already holds the top time in the nation in the event outdoors from the previous week.
Throwing Further
Kate Ballengee (Albuquerque, New Mexico / Bosque School) took fifth place in the women's shot put with a throw of 11.14m, while
Aaron Chang (Fullerton, California / Valley Christian) took first in the shot put with a personal record throw of 14.04m.
Rachel Bell (Manvel, Texas / Lutheran South Academy) took fifth in the women's discus with a throw of 35.43m, while
Caydon Ferrell (Beaumont, Texas / Hamshire-Fannett) took second with a personal record of 43.82m in the men's discus throw. Bell took second in the women's hammer throw with a throw of 41.95m, while Chang took third in the men's hammer throw with a personal record of 42.58m.
Demi Durham (Parker, Arizona / Parker) took sixth in the women's javelin with a personal record throw of 30.60m, while
Pierce Jackson (Addison, Texas / Dallas Jesuit) took first in the men's javelin with a throw of 51.53m.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will return to San Antonio for the Trinity Invitational next weekend on March 28th, while some members of the team will compete at Texas Relays in Austin on the same day. While many times and jumps were wind-aided, the team has jumped out to a strong start with personal records and tops-in-the-nation marks across the board.
