Flagstaff, Ariz. – The UTEP track and field team had six individual winners on Saturday at their first meet of the season; Jonah Koech (mile), Lilian Koech (800m run), Gladys Jerotich (3,000m run), Antony Kosgei (3,000m run) Nickevea Wilson (triple jump) and Carnell Horn (400m dash) were the first-place finishers. All in all, 18 new personal bests were set at the Lumberjack Team Challenge.
“This meet laid out a very good foundation for us to keep building on for the rest of the season,” head coach Mika Laaksonen said.
Wilson recorded a mark on three of her five jumps with a long bound of 12.96m (42-6.25) before passing on her final attempt.
Both the Koech’s did not disappoint with their first-place showings. Jonah clocked a mile time of 4:14.22 at altitude and Lilian pulled away in the final straightaway to take gold in the 800m run with a time of 2:16.08.
Sophomore Tyler Ragin got the morning started off with a personal best in the long jump (5.61m/18-5.00) to finish third. Fellow Miners Israel Ramsay (5.50m/18-0.50) and Lucia Mokrasova (5.48m/17-11.75) finished sixth and seventh in the event respectively.
Ramsay and Ragin would both go on to set personal bests in the 60m dash shortly after. Ramsay placed 8th with a time of 7.70 seconds and Ragin finished 13th (7.80).
Daniel Tarango dashed to a second-place showing in the 800m run with a time of 1:56.38. Fellow 800m runner, Esteban Montanez, placed ninth with a time of 1:58.40.
The Orange and Blue sent a total of 10 runners (five men and five women) into the 400m dash event. On the men’s side, Horn took gold with a smooth time of 48.60 and he was followed by Asa Guevara, who made his Miner debut, in third place with a time of 49.36. Tommy McCoy registered a personal best in the event with a time of 51.20. For the women, Ada Benjamin took silver with a mark of 54.43 seconds and Florence Uwakwe (55.84) placed seventh. Imani Adams recorded a personal best in the 400m dash with a time of 57.37.
In the 60m hurdles, Bria Love (8.64) and Brittney Trought (8.69) sprinted to a fifth and sixth-place showing. On the men’s side, Sven Zellner missed his personal best by less than one-hundreth of a second (8.08) and went on to finish with bronze.
In the 200m dash, Alexis Roberts, a Arizona native, clocked a time of 25.54 in the 200m dash to finish sixth. Right behind her was Yanique Bennett who registered a mark of 25.59 to place seventh.
In the weight throw, the Miners had two throwers set new personal marks. Fayon Gonzales took fifth place with a mark of 17.57m (57-7.75). On the men’s side, Kevin Rincon launched a terrorizing throw of 14.67m (48-1.75) to cap the day.
UTEP will return to action next weekend at the Cherry & Silver Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M.
Author: UTEP Athletics
