Gold Coast, Australia – Tobi Amusan hit pay dirt as she won gold in the 100m hurdles, crossing the finish line with a time of 12.68 at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia on Friday.
This marks Amusan’s first major victory in her professional career. She continues to train at UTEP under assistant coach Lacena Golding-Clarke, who won the gold medal in the 100m hurdles (Jamaica, 12.77) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Amusan will return to the track on Saturday as a member of the 4x100m relay team, along with former UTEP great Blessing Okagbare.
Okagbare is a three-time medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth games winning gold in the 100m and 200m and earning a silver medal in the 4x100m relay.
Amusan won the first of two heats with a time of 12.73. Her time is the second-fastest qualifying time just behind Danielle Williams (Jamaica, 12.69). The 2017 NCAA Champion was the only athlete in the first heat to clock a time under 13 seconds.
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Soccer may be the No. 1 sport in the world, but it just wasn’t for Tobi Amusan.
“I used to be a soccer player back in high school,” Amusan said. “And my coach used to tell me, ‘This is where you’re going to play (on the field).’ But then I’m all over the place. After practice he told me, ‘I told you to play right there. You were all over the place.'”
Amusan’s coach knew there were track trials nearby and asked her how fast she could run.
“And I just went in there and defeated the fastest girl,” Amusan said. That was the start of her track and field career.
With several Division I college athletic scholarships to consider, it came down to something very simple for Amusan.
“I felt like UTEP was like a home,” Amusan said, noting that the University has enrolled other Nigerian students who have excelled on the track and field team.
In her short time on the team, Amusan made quite an impact. She completed her freshman season at UTEP in spring 2016 with a second-place showing in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships with a wind-aided time of 12.79 seconds. She became only the second athlete for UTEP since it joined C-USA in 2006 to be named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year.
At the Conference USA Indoor Championships, Amusan finished with the third-best time in school history (8.23 seconds) to take gold. She also placed seventh in the long jump (5.84 meters) to earn two additional points. Her 12 total points helped the UTEP women’s team claim its second consecutive C-USA title.
She also competed at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the 100-meter hurdles for Nigeria.
Mika Laaksonen, UTEP track and field head coach, said Amusan had not competed indoors before, but she got better with every competition.
“She is very talented,” he said. “Little by little she worked her way up, trains very hard, is very dedicated and always comes to practice ready to compete. She knows you compete the way you practice.”
Amusan is grateful to have found a family in the U.S. at UTEP.
“I want to thank UTEP for giving me the opportunity to come here in the States and study and then prove myself on the track, because without being here I might not know what I’m capable of doing,” said Amusan, a health promotions major.
She added that education is really important to her because both of her parents are teachers back home in Nigeria.
“They believe education is the key to whatever you want to become in life,” Amusan said. “Even though my parents were the ones pushing me to go to school, I had my own self-motivation. I know one day I’m going to stop track and field and my degree is going to speak for me. Life is not all about sport. It’s going to end some day. Education is really important.”
Track and field has taken Amusan around the globe, including to the Ukraine and Brazil. It also has resulted in surprise perks, such as being one of several African youth athletes to have dinner with the president of Nigeria in 2013. The pictures taken on her camera were lost long ago, but she still remembers the night vividly.
Amusan is no longer competing for UTEP after going pro a few months ago, but she is still taking courses at the University toward her degree and trains with her former UTEP coach with eyes toward qualifying for the next Olympics.
“How I’m preparing for it is the just the same mindset I had for 2016,” Amusan said of the next Olympics. “So, it’s just work harder times two because I know I made it to the semifinals in 2016. If I can make it to the semifinals in 2016 and I have four more years, then I feel I can, with hard work, prayer, and being injury free, do better in Tokyo 2020.”
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Raise the Pick: This is the third article in a series about UTEP student-athletes who share their unique stories and how athletic scholarships have made a difference in their lives. Each of these students reflects on the value of their UTEP experiences and the opportunities they create for the future.
Visit minerathleticclub.com to learn more about the Raise the Pick campaign.
LONDON – UTEP’s Tobi Amusan made her debut at the IAAF (International Athletic Association Federation) World Championships in the 100m Hurdles Friday afternoon.
Amusan (Nigeria) clocked a time of 12.97 in the final heat of the 100m hurdles qualifiers early this morning. The All-American returned to the track just eight hours later to run in the second of three semifinal heats. Amusan finished fourth (13.04) and took 14th overall.
Also competing with Amusan was former Miner Greta Kerekes (Hungary), where she stopped the clock at 13.15 in the qualifying heats to finish 26th overall.
In the women’s long jump, former Miner Blessing Okagbare finished in eighth place with a mark of 6.55m (21-6). Okagbare has one event left to compete in as part of the Nigerian 4x100m relay team running on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 3:35 a.m. M.T. and the finals of the relay event running at 2:50 p.m. M.T.
The remainder of the World Championships are being streamed across the NBC family of networks with coverage for each day. Be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram for live updates.
The UTEP track and field program will be well represented with five Miners punching their ticket to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships held in London, England, starting Friday, August 1-13.
Emmanuel Korir and Tobi Amusan will be making their first appearance at the world stage. Korir will compete in the 800m on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 5:45 a.m. M.T. The Miner clocked the third fastest time in the world this year at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational (1:43.73). The All-American won back-to-back NCAA titles in both the indoor and outdoor 800m and claimed gold at the Kenyan Trails with a time of 1:43.86.
Competing on the biggest stage is nothing new for Amusan, having competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she placed 11th overall in the 100m hurdles (12.91). The Nigerian native clocked the seventh-fastest time (12.57) in the world this year when she captured her first NCAA title in the 100m hurdles.
The UTEP All-American will be joined by former Miner Greta Kerekes (Hungary), as she clocked a qualifying time of 13.10. Both athletes will take the track on Friday, Aug. 11 at 3:45 a.m.
Making her fourth appearance at the IAAF flagship event, Blessing Okagbare (Nigeria) will compete in the 100m, long jump and the 4x100m relay team. The six-time Nigeria champion won gold in the 100m, silver in the long jump and bronze in the 200m four years ago in Moscow, Russia. Okagbare is a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in the long jump and a two-time NCAA champion in the 100m and long jump (2010).
Okagbare is one of UTEP’s most decorated athletes holding six school records. The sprinter will be the first to take the track on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 4:45 a.m.
Competing in the men’s 200m will be former Miner Churandy Martina representing the Netherlands. Martina qualified for the 200m with a time of 20.27 and has a personal-best 19.81. The Dutchman is a four-time gold medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games (2006, 2010) and a three-time gold medalist at the European Championships (2012, 2016). Churandy hold the school record in the 100m with a time of 9.95.
The World Championships streamed across the NBC family of networks with coverage for each day. Be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram for live updates.
UTEP claimed two superlative Conference USA track and field honors as Emmanuel Korir and Tobi Amusan were named C-USA Male and Female Track Athletes of the Year, announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.
“Both athletes are very special and talented. He [Korir] was the best candidate for our league and would most likely do very well other top conferences as well,” head coach Mika Laaksonen stated. “A lot of work goes into these things and Tobi worked incredibly hard over these past two years and she absolutely deserves this award, they both do.”
Korir ran a world best 1:14.97 in the 600m earlier this year at the New Mexico Cherry & Silver meet, which was his first race on an indoor 200m banked track. The freshman followed that up by capturing the NCAA title in the 800m (1:47.48) at the same track in Albuquerque, N.M., with a time of 1:47.48. The freshman is one of three athletes in the world to run an outdoor sub-45 400m and a sub-1:44 in the 800m.
The Kenyan native won the NCAA outdoor title in the 800m (1:45.03) and is the first Miner to win both titles in the same year.
Amusan was the leading scorer for the Miners with 25 points at the C-USA Indoor Championships and notched a meet record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.01. The sophomore helped her team win its third consecutive conference title. Amusan qualified to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles where she notched a sixth-place showing.
The outdoor season started with a bang, as she set a school record (12.63) in the 100m hurdles at the UTEP Springtime meet. She followed that with a first-place finish at the 2017 Clyde Little Field Texas Relays in the 100m hurdles, setting a meet record time of 12.72. The Nigerian native scored 24.5 points at the C-USA Outdoor Championships leading the women’s team to its first ever outdoor conference title.
Both athletes were named semifinalists for college track and field’s high individual honor, The Bowerman Award. The women’s three finalists will be announced on Wednesday, June 21 and the men’s finalists will be announced Thursday, June 22.
For more information on UTEP track and field, follow the Miners on Twitter (@UTEPTrack) and on Instagram (uteptrack).
EL PASO – UTEP’s Tobi Amusan has been named one of 10 semifinalists for The Bowerman Award, announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Wednesday afternoon.
In her second appearance at the NCAA Championships Amusan, the 2016 runner-up in the 100m hurdles, captured the 2017 title with the fourth-best performance in the event in collegiate history. Her time was 12.57 seconds. The last Miner to win the event at the NCAAs was Kim Turner (1984). Amusan edged defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.58).
The Nigeria native broke the UTEP school record in the event earlier this year at the UTEP Springtime Meet, stopping the clock at 12.63. Her time of 12.57 demolished that record and set a personal best.
Amusan is the first UTEP female on The Bowerman Watch List since Blessing Okagbare on May 7, 2010.
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Eugene, Or. – Tobi Amusan finds redemption as she won her first NCAA title in the 100m hurdles at historic Hayward Stadium on the final day of the NCAA Championships, Saturday evening.
“Amusan is another special talent. She executed her race very well and all the hard work she put in this season paid off,” head coach Mika Laaksonen said. “This was her closest race yet and she stepped up to the challenge.”
The freshman exploded out of the blocks and held onto a narrow lead over the defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Kentucky). In the closing moment of the race Amusan leaned over the finish line to clock a time of 12.57, while Camacho-Quinn was close behind at 12.58.
The Nigerian native broke the UTEP school record in this event earlier this year at the UTEP Springtime stopping the clock at 12.63. Her time of 12.57 demolished that record and sets a personal best.
The last time UTEP track and field had multiple individual NCAA Champions was back in 1978 (Peter Lemashon, 800m, Michael Musyoki, 10,000m, Jennifer Smit, Shot Put and Ria Stahlman, Discus).
Korir and Amusan add to UTEP’s total of NCAA Champions to 107. Korir becomes just the second Miner to ever win the 800m NCAA title, while Amusan is the first to ever achieve the NCAA crown in the 100m hurdles.
Two other Miners competed on Saturday evening. Samantha Hall in the women’s discus throw and Lucia Mokrasova completing the final three events in the women’s hepthathon.
Hall showed poise in the first flight of two in the discus event. The senior launched the discus out to 54.66m (179-4), placing 10th overall and just narrowly missing out of the top nine who advance to the event’s final. The Jamaican native finishes her career at UTEP ranking fifth on the all-time list for the indoor shot put (14.90m), fifth in the outdoor shot put list (14.77m) and holds the school record in the discus throw (58.50m). Hall is a two-time Conference USA Champion in the discus throw. Hall garnered All-American second team honors.
In just her second appearance at the NCAA Championships, Mokrasova finished in 17th place with a total of 5,172 points. The junior started the day off by leaping 5.34m (17-16.25) in the long jump for 654 points. She followed that up with a javelin heave of 37.10m (121-9) and closed out the event with an 800m time of 2:13.46 (915 points). The Slovakia native finished the season with a new school record in the event, when she scored 5,671 points earlier this year at the Texas Relays.
The UTEP track and field team close out the 2017 campaign with two women conference titles both indoor and outdoor. The 2017 C-USA Outdoor Championship title was the first outdoor conference title in women’s program history. The Miners finish with three outdoor All-Americans, Michael Saruni, Korir and Amsuan and a second team All-American (Hall).
For live results and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
Eugene, Or. – Tobi Amusan’s dazzling sophomore season continues as she earned an automatic qualifying spot in the 100m Hurdles on day two of the NCAA Championships on Thursday evening.
Amusan was tasked with running in the second and most competitive heat of three in the 100m hurdle semifinals. The sophomore clocked the fastest qualifying time of 12.79, beating the likes of Drior Hall (USC) and the 2017 (60m hurdle) NCAA Indoor Champion Sasha Wallace (Oregon).
Last year the Nigerian native finished runner up to Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (12.84), who also qualified to the final. Amusan will take the track again on Saturday at 5:10 p.m. MT live on ESPN.
Sophomore 800m runner Lilian Koech’s season came to a halt on Thursday evening. The Kenya native clocked a time of 2:09.30 to finish 23rd overall.
Winny Koech’s season also came to an end as she ran a time of 34:51.32 in the 10,000m final on Thursday evening.
Friday’s action will see three Miners compete. Emmanuel Korir and Michael Saruni will run in the men’s 800m final set to start at 7:45 p.m. live on ESPN. Saruni (1:46.38) and Korir (1:46.63) qualified to the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in tomorrow’s final.
Lucia Mokrasova will also be in action as she will complete the first of four events (100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m dash) of the heptathlon. The heptathlon competition can be viewed on espn3.com and begins at 1:30 pm.
For live results and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
AUSTIN, Texas – UTEP’s Tobi Amusan continued her dominance on Saturday afternoon at the Mike A. Myers Stadium for the NCAA West Region Preliminaries. The sophomore sprinted to a first-place finish in her 100m hurdle heat with a wind-aided time of 12.57 to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
“Tobi ran exceptionally well today, executing her race at this level,” Head Coach Mika Laaksonen said. “This will be the largest team we take to the national stage and once we get there anything can happen.”
Amusan’s time was the fastest in the 48-athlete field. The Nigeria native will make her second trip to Eugene, Ore. Last year the sophomore clocked 12.79 to finish runner up to Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.
Amusan ranks No. 2 in the country and will compete at the NCAA Championships June 7-10.
The men’s 4×400 relay team consisted of Asa Guevara, Michael Saruni, James Bias and Emmanuel Korir. The mile relay team placed third overall with a time of 3:03.15. Korir anchored the team running a split-time of 43.34 bringing them back from sixth-place to finish second in their heat giving them the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
In the men’s 1,500m run, Jonah Koech nearly missed out qualifying to the NCAA Championships. The sophomore clocked 3:49.66 to earn an eighth-place showing in his heat.
Linda Cheruiyot registered a time of 4:36.56 to finish 12th in her heat.
The women’s 4x400m relay team of Lucia Mokrasova, Florence Uwakwe, Imani Adams and Ada Benjamin. The team ran a time of 3:45.16 to finish in eight-place in their heat.
Seven individuals and one relay team advanced to Eugene, Ore., Amusan, Samantha Hall, Lilian Koech, Winny Koech, Mokrasova, Korir and Saruni. Mokrasova’s 5,671 ranks her tied for 12th in the nation in the heptathlon, the top 24 heptathlon scores automatically advance to the NCAA Championships. Korir and Saruni will compete in both the 800m and the 4x400m relay.
The Miners will compete at the NCAA Championships June 7-10 at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.,
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AUSTIN, Texas – Tobi Amusan and Emmanuel Korir had huge performances breaking meet records at the West Region Preliminaries at Mike A. Myers on Friday afternoon, in their respective events.
In the men’s 800m, Emmanuel Korir set a meet record with a time of 1:45.88. The previous record was held by Oregon’s Elijah Greer (1:45.98) set in 2011. Korir adds to the list of records he has set this year, which includes the 600m indoor world record. The Freshman will make his first appearance at the NCAA Championships where he ranks No. 1 in the nation.
Tobi Amsuan broke the meet record (all conditions) in the 100m hurdles with a wind-aided (4.3 m/s) time of 12.63, that ties her personal-best. Amusan clocked the same time earlier this year at the UTEP Springtime, which ranks her No. 2 in the country. The sprinter qualified for to Saturday’s quarterfinal at 6:05 p.m. MT.
Michael Saruni used a last-minute kick in the final 800m to finish in second place with a time of 1:47.32 to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Saruni will make his first trip to the national stage, ranking No. 6 in the nation.
Hall started the day for the Miners in the women’s discus throw. Hall tossed the disc out to a season-best of 56.60m (185-4) to garner a seventh-place finish overall. The Senior will return the national stage after finishing 13th overall during the 2015 season.
Lilian Koech qualified in the 800m with a time of 2:07.68 finishing 13th overall and third in her heat, which gave her the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. This will be the first trip to the national stage for the sophomore.
In the 400m hurdles, Yanique Bennett clocked a time of 59.19 to finish fifth in her heat. Ada Benjamin clocked 54.48 to finish seventh in her heat in the 400m.
Asa Guevara shaved .45 seconds off his time from yesterday to register a personal best of 46.31 to finish 17th overall in the 400m. Daniel Cheruiyot clocked 9:22.46 in the 3,000m steeplechase finishing 10th in his heat.
With one day left the Miners have a total of six student-athletes qualified to the NCAA Championships taking place on June 7-10in Eugene Ore.
The action continues tomorrow starting with the women’s 1,500m at 5:30 p.m., Linda Cheruiyot will look to punch her ticket to Eugene, Ore. Followed by Jonah Koech in the men’s 1,500m at 5:45 p.m. Both men’s and women’s 4x400m relay will compete tomorrow, the women’s race starts at 8:25 p.m., followed by the men at 8:45 p.m.
Be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram for live updates and breaking news.
UTEP’s sophomore Tobi Amusan was named Conference USA Female Track Performer of the Meet for her stellar showing at the conference championships, announced the league Friday afternoon.
The All-American led the Miners by scoring 24.5 points, helping the women’s team capture its first outdoor title in program history. The sprinter took gold in the 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay, silver in the 200m (22.92) and fifth place in the long jump (5.81m).
The Nigerian native, will return to the track next week at the NCAA West Regional Preliminaries in Austin, Texas. Amusan will compete in the 100m hurdles where she ranks second in the west region. She qualified by clocking a personal best of 12.63 at the UTEP Springtime earlier this year.
For live updates and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
Football’s Aaron Jones and Track & Field’s Tobi Amusan were named the UTEP Male and Female Athlete of the Year, respectively, at the 43rd annual “Dinner With the Miners” banquet on Thursday night at the Wyndham El Paso Airport.
Soccer’s Aleah Davis received the Golden Miner Award, presented to UTEP’s top all-around senior student-athlete based on athletics, academics and community service. Former Miner volleyball player Christine Brandl was recipient of the Silver Anniversary Award.
Houston Baptist vs UTEP
Jones became UTEP’s all-time leading rusher (4,114 yards) in 2016, breaking a school record that had stood for 28 years. He ranks seventh on the all-time Conference USA rushing list. Jones set a school single-season record with 1,773 rushing yards. He was named a third team All-American by the Associated Press and first team All-Conference USA.
Jones became only the second player in school history to rush for 300 yards in a game, and the first in 51 years, when he rambled for 301 yards against North Texas. He was named the Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week for his effort. Jones compiled 17 rushing touchdowns (third in school history), 2,006 all-purpose yards (fourth) and scored 120 points (third).
He led Conference USA and rated third nationally in rushing this season, collecting 147.8 yards per contest. He went over the 100-yard rushing mark seven times, and had 200+ yards in three games.
Amusan made her mark during the 2016 outdoor season, receiving numerous accolades including first team NCAA All-American,
UTEP’s Tobi Amusan in the Women’s 200 meter dash at the 2017 UTEP Invitational, Kidd Field El Paso, TX
Conference USA Track Athlete of the Year and C-USA Freshman of the Meet. She competed at the 2016 Olympics and World U20 Championships. She broke a 33-year old school record, and posted the fourth-fastest time in the nation in the 100-meter hurdles (12.83 seconds).
She claimed titles in the 100-meter hurdles and the 200 meters at the C-USA Championships, while adding a runner-up showing in the long jump. She was NCAA runner-up in the 100-meter hurdles. Amusan achieved another school record in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season (7.98 seconds). She claimed six first-place finishes during the indoor campaign. She won two events (60-meter hurdles, 200 meters) at the C-USA Indoor Meet for the champion Miners. Her time in the 200 meters (23.35 seconds) was a UTEP record.
Amusan was the C-USA High Point Scorer of the Meet. She recorded a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn All-American honors.
Davis earned All-Conference (first team) and All-Region (second team) accolades for the fourth time in as many years, making her the first Miner to achieve the feat. She started all 22 matches, tallying six goals and eight assists for a team-high tying 20 points. She posted five game-winning goals.
She helped the Miners register their most wins (13) in seven years and advance to the semifinals of the Conference USA Championships. She was voted to the NSCAA Senior Women’s College Scholar All-America Team and the C-USA Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team. Davis also compiled over 100 community service hours during her UTEP career.
The Silver Anniversary Miner Award is presented to an individual who had a distinguished college athletic career, and has continued to contribute to UTEP and the El Paso community.
Brandl played for the Miners from 1988-91 and is the school’s all-time leader for assists (4,210) and service aces (148). She was a second team Verizon Academic All-American as a junior and senior and was the recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 1992.
Brandl finished her Premedical Education at UTEP in 1992. She completed her Medical Education from Texas Tech in 1996 and her Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas in 2000. She became a certified OBGYN in 2002 and today operates her own private practice, Lifesteps OBGYN, in El Paso. She has received numerous awards in the medical field and is a former Vice Chairman for Providence Hospital.
Brandl has also volunteered as a volleyball coach at St. Mark’s School and Mount Franklin Christian Academy in El Paso.
The grade point average award was presented to the tennis team, and the community service award went to volleyball.
In addition, team MVP awards were presented to Dominic Artis (men’s basketball), Sparkle Taylor (women’s basketball), Jonah Koech (men’s cross country and outdoor track & field), Winny Koech (women’s cross country), Emmanuel Korir (men’s indoor track & field), Tobi Amusan (women’s indoor and outdoor track & field), Aaron Jones (football), Frederik Dreier (men’s golf), Lily Downs (women’s golf), Bailey Powell (rifle), Alyssa Palacios (soccer), Kaitlin Ryder (softball), Raven Bennett (tennis), Lindsey Larson (volleyball), Bailey Sarver & Omar Gardea (Cheerleading), Jeanna Mullen, James Bias & Will Hernandez (strength & conditioning) and Ariana Rodarte (athletic training).
“Dinner With The Miners” is made possible by the El Paso Downtown Lions Club. The event was inspired by past Lion president John Phelan. In 1979, a $10,000 memorial endowment was established. Due to the overwhelming community support of the event, the memorial fund was raised to $100,000 in 1983.
A second endowment has already been established and continues to grow each year. These two endowments provide funds annually to offset the cost of student-athlete scholarships.
Tobi Amusan continues to dominate the 100m hurdles as she clocked the fastest qualifying time in the 100m hurdles (12.75) Friday morning at the 90th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, presented by Spectrum.
The sophomore will compete at 1:17 p.m. (MT) and will be televised on the Longhorn Network.
The women’s 4x400m relay team also qualified for Saturday’s final, advancing with the sixth-fastest time (3:41.20). Despite a shaky handoff, the team comprised of Dreshanae Rolle, Florence Uwakwe, Madison Gibson and Ada Benjamin were able to stay composed and win their heat.
The 4x100m relay team of Israel Ramsay, (Tobi) Amusan, (Florence) Uwakwe and(Madison) Gibson just missed out of reaching the final by less than a second. The Miners clocked a time of 45.40. The last qualifying time came from Virginia Tech at 45.37.
Saturday’s slate will feature Samantha Hall in the women’s discus, which has a 1:30 p.m. (MT) start. Lilian Koech will participate in the 1,500m final set to start at 2:40 p.m., followed by the men’s mile run featuring Jonah Koech and 800m champion Michael Saruni. The meet will conclude with the 4x400m relay at 3:40 p.m.
Irving, Texas – UTEP sophomore Tobi Amusan was named the Conference USA Track Co-Athlete of the Week as announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
In her first outdoor race of the season, the sprinter ran the nation’s fastest time this year in the 100m hurdles (12.63).
Before the race could start there was a 30-minute delay due to a camera malfunction, but that didn’t freeze Amusan from running the ninth-fastest time in NCAA (outdoor) history.
The sprinter set the school record and looks to carry that momentum with her to Austin, Texas, where she will compete against some of the best around the nation at the Texas Relays. Amusan will compete in the 4x100m relay and the 100m hurdles on Friday.
This year’s meet will be available online at espn3.com and via the WatchESPN app for smartphones and tables.
UTEP sophomore hurdler Tobi Amusan clocked the fastest 100m hurdle time (12.63) in the world for 2017 on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Field in the UTEP Springtime.
Amusan exploded out of the blocks and dashed to a first-place finish, setting a school record in the process. The previous standard was held by Kim Turner (12.95, 1983) and had stood for 34 years.
Getting the day started was Fayon Gonzales in the hammer throw. The senior notched a fourth-place finish with a throw of 50.16m (164-7), followed by Adebola Akomolafe (157-1.25) in fifth place. Gonzales also captured silver in the javelin with a toss of 39.37m (129-2.25).
The Miners swept the 1,500m run with Linda Cheruiyot (4:31.81), Winny Koech (4:34.41) and Gladys Jerotich (4:51.60). Melanie Crittenden notched fourth place in the high jump with a mark of 1.53m (5-0.25).
Senior Ada Benjamin clocked the clocked the fourth-fastest time (53.16) in the nation in the 400m. She also took silver in the 200m (24.02). Lucia Mokrasova tied for second (14.00) in the 100m hurdles and secured a fourth-place finish in the 200m with a time of 24.52.
Lilian Koech notched the seventh-fastest time nationally (2:08.98) in the 800m. Samantha Hall took home gold in the discus by throwing for 52.61m (172-7.50). Israel Ramsay (5.88m, 19-3.50) and Tyler Ragin (5.79m, 19-0) took second and fourth overall in the long jump.
On the men’s side, freshman Karol Koncos won gold in the hammer throw by tossing for 61.84m (202-11), followed by Kevin Rincon with a toss of 49.70m (163-1) to finish third overall. Rincon returned in the javelin to take silver, launching for 59.31m (194-7.25).
Austin Ondijo took second in the high jump leaping over 1.97m (6-5.50). The 1,500m run featured the most Miners in one event. Cosmas Boit (3:49.46) took home silver, Antony Kosgei (3:56.28) finished fifth, Daniel Cheruiyot (3:57.44) finished sixth and Evans Kiprono (3:59.90) finished seventh overall.
In the 200m Asa Guevara took the number one spot running 21.06, followed by James Bias (21.50) to finish fourth overall.
UTEP has a short rest before returning to the track, this time in Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays March 28-April 1. Be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter for live updates.
El Paso Herald-Post El Paso News & Opinion
