STARKVILLE, Miss. – The University of West Alabama Track and Field team wrapped up a competitive weekend at the AI Schmidt Bulldog Relays, hosted by Mississippi State University, securing 11 top-10 finishes across two days of competition.
On Friday, UWA earned four top-10 finishes, highlighted by freshman,
Mercy Lomuria, who claimed second place in the women's 5000m run with a time of 17:50.97.
Gary Mata secured a podium finish in the men's 5000m run, placing third with a time of 15:49.49.
Augusta Arnold finished eighth in the women's 400m dash, clocking 57.35, while
Caleb Vann placed ninth in the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.58m.
Saturday brought another strong showing for the Tigers, with seven more top-10 performances.
Yakubu Balikis led the way with a pair of third-place finishes in the women's 100m dash (11.59) and 200m dash (23.75). The women's 4x100m relay team of
Mikia Hutchings,
Gabriel Stephens,
Erica Smith, and
Yakubu Balikis placed fourth with a time of 47.24.
In the field events,
Jaxson Lovelace finished fifth in the men's javelin with a throw of 55.10m.
Jentzen Moore ran a time of 4:04.01 in the men's 1500m run, securing a 10th-place finish. In the men's 800m run,
Sha'Kenye Darden placed ninth with a time of 1:55.55, followed by
Brian Easter who finished 10
th with a time of 1:56.43.
The Tigers will look to build on this momentum as they head to Carrollton, Ga., for the Meet of Legends, hosted by The University of West Georgia, on April 4-5.
