The dominance of the Texas State track and field team was tested at Texas Relays and Bobcat Invitational this weekend, racking up 24 top ten Sun Belt titles at the two meets.
The Bobcats grabbed 18 top ten Sun Belt titles at home this weekend, including two that pace the conference. Texas State also brought back six conference-ranking marks at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin as well as one conference best.
Long jumper Live Hilton held down the fort at the home meet with a conference-leading leap of 6.20 m. The freshman also competed in the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 24.53 for a fifth-ranked time in the Sun Belt.
Also topping the Sun Belt at home was freshman Tina Sierra, whose 5,000-meter run time of 17:17.34 not only paces the conference but also ranks seventh in the school record books.
Junior Naomi Ferdinand was also successful in the long jump at the Texas Relays in Austin, jumping 6.14 m for a fifth place title at the meet and a second place spot in the conference. Also ranking in the Sun Belt was junior Javlyn Cameron, who moved up from her previous top ten slot to sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.3 seconds.
Senior Kylah Smith rose to No. 2 in the conference for the heptathlon in Austin, accumulating 4728 points overall. The athlete now ranks in two events for the conference, including a fourth-place mark in the 100-meter hurdles.
Team leaders in the men’s included senior Ben Collerton, who finished seventh in the decathlon at Texas Relays with 7,218 points overall. Collerton, who rewrote the school and conference record books as the indoor heptathlon champion earlier this season, currently tops the Sun Belt in the outdoor competition and ranks sixth in the Texas State record book. The junior now ranks in the top ten for four separate conference events.
Junior Michaele Reyes also improved his rank in the conference in the 400 m hurdles at home, finishing in fifth place with a time of 53.83 seconds.
Texas State has now accumulated 50 top ten Sun Belt marks after the first three meets of the season. The Bobcats are also tied with Troy and South Alabama for the most No. 1 spot in the conference with six top marks. However, senior sprinter Kaylee Krenek says that these meets are more focused on practice, improving their form and preparing for the season’s finish line at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championship meet on May 10-12 in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
“It’s all about staying warm, not only for our events today but also the end (of the season),” Krenek said. “Our coaches stress to us that they’re not looking for PR’s or anything amazing right now, as long as we’re getting towards our goal for the conference. The conference meet is where everything comes together and really matters.”
The Bobcats will take a weeklong break before heading to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational on April 12-13.