Stephen F. Austin
Roadrunners Invitational
Men and Women Both Finish Fifth in Roadrunner Invitational
3/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin Track and Field team took part in the Roadrunner Invitational, a three-day meet hosted by the University of Texas San Antonio. The Lumberjacks saw improvement in multiple events, taking one individual title with Caleb Pickett in the men’s 2000 meter steeple chase and second place finish by Taryn Surratt in the women’s steeple chase. SFA had thirteen top five finishes, including a fourth and fifth place mark in the running relays.
Friday afternoon heralded SFA’s first points of the meet after Maggie Okul threw a 52.26m (171-05.48) hammer throw to claim four place for the Lumberjacks. She extended her reach over six feet more than her best mark at the TCU Invitational and sits her with the third best throw in the Southland Conference. Derek Orlando followed the fashion with the men’s hammer throw, taking fifth with a 52.54m (172-04.5) throw. The rest of the Lumberjack men fell in step behind Orlando in the next four spots, taking sixth through ninth. In the shot put, Jake Allen monstered a new personal record throw of 16.64m (54-7.12), two feet more than his throw a week ago in Fort Worth. The fifth place finish for Allen moves him up to sixth in the Southland.
Noah Gilfillan once again had a terrific day in pole vault. He cleared 5.30m (17-4.66), a new PR, tying with Baylor on the clearance, but he dropped to third in the tiebreaker. Antonio Ruiz maxed out at 5.15m and tied pass for pass with Texas A&M, so they spilt the points for their team.
Trenton Bridges continues to improve his throwing distance, adding three feet to his personal record in the discus with a 51.13m (167-9.0) throw. Bridges would finish fourth and move himself to the third best discus throw in the league for the outdoor season.
The running events got underway on Saturday afternoon, and Caleb Pickett would claim his first individual title in the men’s 2000m steeple chase with a time of 6:29.99, winning all 10 points for SFA. For the women’s steeple, Taryn Surratt took second with a 7:13.56 time, by-passing the third place Texas A&M by six seconds.
SFA had two top finishers in the sprints. Aliyah Davis had a fourth place finish in the women’s 100m dash with a time of 12.01 seconds, placing her fifth in the league after her first outdoor 100m run this year. Jordan Washington ran a 53.66 seconds 400m hurdles that placed him fifth. The run would become a new PR for Washington, breaking the 54.20 he ran in last year’s Southland Conference Outdoor Championship.
For the relays on Saturday, the women and men’s 4x100m relay were fourth and fifth, respectively. The women’s squad of Dominique Jackson, Imani Nave, Chelsi Gill, and Aliyah Davis shaved .30 seconds off their TCU time to cross the line at the 45.90 second mark. The men’s 4x100 squad included Isaiah Pittman, Jared Love, Khalil Lacy, and William Gibson. The men finished with a time of 40.55 seconds, making a huge jump in Southland Conference standings to second overall. To cap the night, the women’s 4x400m relay team of Imani Nave, Tiffany Williams, Chelsi Gill, and Aliyah Davis ran a 3:44.03 mile to place them in fourth.
The Lumberjack Track and Field team will next participate in the 90th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays next week, March 29 through April 1. After then, SFA will be looking to host its annual Skecher’s Carl Kight Invitational meet the following week, starting on April 6.
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