On a day where 8 PRs were set, sophomore’s Taylor Scaife and Amere Lattin rose into the top fifteen of the NCAA rankings for their respective events. | Courtesy of Stephen Pinchback
On Friday, the Cougars traveled to College Station for the Charlie Thomas Invitational. Senior Cameron Burrell, senior Cameron Cornelius, freshman Nathaniel Mechler and others received rest from their respective events, but the open spaces provided opportunities for others to test themselves. In total, the two teams had four top 3 finishes while eight PRs were set.
Sophomore thrower Taylor Scaife has been making headlines all season long.
Saturday, she claimed the largest so far as she took home the school record in the weight throw. Her throw of 20.44m, while only good for second place on the day, crushed Emily Nnokwam’s 2013 record of 18.99m. Scaife currently sits at No. 13 in the NCAA with her throw.
Sophomore hurdler Amere Lattin had the biggest result for the men.
After running the fastest time in the preliminaries, 7.91, Lattin set a new PR of 7.82 in his 60m hurdles victory. College Station seems to bring out the best in Lattin as he previous best of the season, 7.86, was set at the Reveille Invitational in December.
Lattin now owns the No. 5 school record in the hurdles and is No. 14 in the NCAA.
Distance runner sophomore GJ Reyna took home the only other event win for both teams on the day. His 8:26.64 in the 3000m, while also being a new PR, was fifteen seconds better than his previous best.
Sophomore John Lewis III, while not setting a PR, did take home third place in the men’s 60m with a 6.79 run. In his first top three finish of the season Lewis took advantage of his teammate’s absences and did not disappoint.
Juniors Blake Contreras and Jennifer Dunlap set new PR’s in the men’s and women’s 1 mile respectively. Contreras, 4:14.04, and Dunlap, 4:58.45, both placed eighth in their respective events.
Sophomores Cameron Laverty and Britani Gonzales earned PR’s in the 800m. Laverty’s 1:51.47 was good enough for a fifth place finish. While Gonzales’ 2:14.66 was good enough for eighth place
Freshman Birexus Hawkins also set a PR in the 400m, 56.15. Her time earned her a tenth place finish.
