The Texas State track and field team has had a remarkable start to their outdoor season, and that did not change at the Bobcat Invitational, which was hosted at the Texas State Track & Field Complex from Mar. 27-29.
Each day saw podium finishes for Texas State, and the final day contained three broken records.
Mar. 27 Results
Connor Warzecha placed third overall in the men’s javelin with a mark of 64.77 meters. Warzhecha was the first of seven bobcats to reach the podium.
The women’s javelin squad took the podium by storm. Charlize Goody placed first overall with a mark of 50.23 meters, McKenah Sears finished second with a mark of 45.66 meters and Hannah Kemele completed the Bobcat sweep at the podium and finished third at 43.57 meters.
Henok Hagos placed first overall in the 10,000 meters with a new personal best of 31:14.32. On the women’s side of the race, Kimberly Glora placed first overall with a new best time of 38:01.31.
Freshman Nyomi Garcia finished third in the women’s 5,000 meters with a time of 17:18.30.
Kila Rodas took a trip to the podium as well after she placed second in the 800 meters with a recorded time of 2:10.89.
Abigail Parra participated in a separate track meet, the Texas Relays, hosted in Austin. With a time of 4:26.41, she placed third in the women’s 1500m group A finals.
Mar. 28 Results
Aiden Hayes got the Bobcats off to a fast start with a first place finish in the high jump. Hayes jumped 2.19 meters, good enough for both a first-place finish and the third-best high jump in Texas State history.
Kason O’Riley finished third at the meet with a jump of 2.16 meters and now holds the fourth-best mark in school history.
The uber-talented Parra made her return to the track just a day after placing third at the Texas Relays in the 1500 meters. Parra won the event at the Bobcat Invitational with a time of 4:25.03, the second best time in school history.
Mihajlo Katanic, another freshman making shockwaves in track and field, placed second overall in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.72.
Taejha Badal earned herself a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.68.
Mar. 29 Results
The men’s 4×100 meter relay team, consisting of Drew Donley, Shedrack Akpeki, Daniel Harrold and Daniel Garland, ran a time of 39.66 seconds, which ranks No. 2 in the Sun Belt and is tied for the sixth fastest time in the 4×100-meter relay in school history.
Donley continued his outstanding season and recorded the fastest time in school history in the 100-meter dash, 10.22. He is ranked first in the conference and No. 4 in the NCAA in this event.
Melanie Duron, another standout, recorded a career-best throw of 16.97 meters in the shot put and earned first place at the podium. Duron is first in the conference, and No. 7 in the NCAA in the shot put event.
Flip to the men’s shot put, Henry Buckles recorded a throw of 18.84 meters and placed second overall in the event. Buckles sits at first in the Sun Belt and No. 4 in the NCAA after his outdoor debut.
Chris Preddie performed his best mark ever in the triple jump with a mark of 16.05 meters to finish second in the event. Preddie now ranks third in school history in the event.
Badal made two visits to the podium on the last day of the meet. Badal placed third in the 100 meters with a time of 11.37 seconds, which also nets her the second fastest all conditions time in Texas State history.
Badal was also a member of the 4×400-meter team alongside Parra, Rodas and Kerris Roberts, which placed third overall.
Harrold placed third overall in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.75 seconds. Harrold now sits at No.3 in the Sun Belt in the event.
Next Meet
The next meet on the schedule for the Bobcats is the 44 Farms Team Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M in College Station on April 11-12.
