COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Track and Field) – Javier Lopez qualified for nationals with an exceptional 60m hurdles performance (7.88) and
Kaina Martinez almost shattered her own record in the 200m, posting a provisional time of 24.39 as No. 13 Texas A&M University-Kingsville men's track and field finished fourth and the Javelina women finished sixth in the season opening Texas A&M University 13 Team Invitational Friday at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
The men recorded 53.50 points and the women finished with 41.0. Lopez and Martinez finished first and second in their respective events and eight others posted provisional qualifiers –
Plaserae Johnson and
Deana Richardson in the 60m dash, finishing in first and third at 7.63 and 7.73, respectively, Martinez won the 400m in 56.31 and placed second in the 200m,
Jeron Robinson in the high jump, winning with a jump of 2.14m (7 ¼),
Kenneth Jackson in the 60m at 6.87 (second) and 200m at 21.69 (fifth), and
Jordan Yamoah and
Bryce Martin in the pole vault with second and sixth place finishes with heights of 4.86m (15-11 ¼) and 4.71m (15-5 ½).
Topping the charts on the women's side was Sam Houston State University with 141.0 points and the men were led by the University of Texas at Arlington (123.50).
"It was a great start to the season," said head coach
Ryan Dall. "We had several excellent performances on both the men's and women's teams and I am proud of how well our teams competed today against all Division I competition."
Lopez led the way in the 60m hurdles and was joined in the top 10 by
Jamey Malvern (sixth at 8.378) and
Courtney Macon (seventh at 8.380). The 60m dash featured Jackson and
Deon Hope (6.943) in the top five on the men's side and Johnson and Richardson on the women's end. Martinez paced the 400m in the women's heat and then set the second best mark in the 200m mark in school history at 24.39. Last season, she shattered the 200m mark previously held by
Lashawndra Ratcliff, 24.71 in 2004, finishing in 24.38 in the Lone Star Conference Championship in Lubbock, Texas. On the men's end, Jackson placed fifth in the 200m and Hope finished ninth (21.97).
Francisco Solis placed ninth in the 800m (1:56.42), the men's 4x400m relay team also finished ninth and
Richard Cervantes posted a weight throw of 14.40m (47-3) for a 10
th-place finish.
Yamoah's 15-11 ¼ and Martin's 15-5 ½ were good for second and sixth, respectively,
Ty Chisum placed eighth in the triple jump at 46-6 ¾ and
LaGa'e Brigance capped the top 10 performances, placing fourth in the high jump at 5-6 (1.68m).
The Javelinas return to action on Jan. 29 in Kansas at the Pittsburg State Invitational.
For full coverage of Texas A&M-Kingsville track and field, please follow
@JavelinaTandF on Twitter and
@JavelinaSports on Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics,
/JavelinaSports and subscribe to the
JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.
