Sophomore Christyan Sampy got second-place at the Texas Invitein the men’s pole vault with a height of 5.41 meters, breaking the program record previously set by David Gatch in 1987. | Courtesy of UH athletics
Two days of competition at the Texas Invite saw the Houston track and field team produce new personal-best and program records, as the Cougars managed to secure several top 10 and podium finishes over the weekend in Austin.
Highlighting the first day of action were two personal-best times, with the first belonging to junior Devin Vallejo-Bannister who clocked in a time of 3:49.40 for an eighth-place finish in the men’s 1500-meter run.
Sophomore Brandon Seagreaves soon followed in 10th place with a time of 3:55.42.
On the women’s side on day one, graduate student Meredith Sorensen also recorded a personal-best time in the women’s 5000-meter, as she finished third with a time of 17:13.11.
Three more Cougars followed Sorensen with top 10 finishes in the event, with juniors Regan Lobodzinski (seventh) and Madeline Castleberry (ninth) finished with respective times of 18:04.63 and 18:25.75, while sophomore Claire Meyer (10th) rounded out the top 10 at 18:31.76.
The Cougars put on a stronger day two of the event led by sophomore Christyan Sampy, who grabbed a second-place finish in the men’s pole vault with a height of 5.41 meters, breaking the program record previously set by David Gatch in 1987.
Senior Sarah Howe recorded a personal best in the women’s pole vault with a height of 4.05 meters, giving her third place in the event.
Freshman Rachel Maciejeski was not far off from Howe, as she finished fifth-place with a height of 3.90 meters.
Sophomore Destiny Lawrence picked up a second-place finish in the women’s triple jump with a distance of 12.80 meters.
In the men’s triple jump, freshman Caleb Malbrough and sophomore Quinton Stringfellow each produced almost identical personal bests in the event, as Malbrough grabbed third place with a distance of 15.32 meters while Stringfellow finished fourth with a jump of 15.31 meters.
Junior Johnny Howell finished fourth in the men’s hammer throw with a toss of 45.36 meters
Graduate student Brianne Bethel picked up a top 10 finish in the women’s 100-meter dash, placing seventh with a time of 11.62.
Graduate student Dayo Akindele and junior DJ Akindele both made podium appearances through personal-best performances, finishing second and third place in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with times of 13.82 and 13.97 respectively.
DJ Akindele later recorded his second personal-best time of the day in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.65.
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Imari Chatman and graduate student Erin Derrow finished fourth and fifth-place with a slim margin between the two, as Chatman clocked a time of 1:00.18 while Derrow finished at 1:00.33.
Both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams managed to secure second-place finishes in their respective runs.
The men’s team finished their run with a time of 3:11.62 led by graduate student Antonio Ruiz, senior Tyrell Valentine, sophomore Joshua White, and junior Jordan Booker, while the women’s team clocked in a time of 3:39.01 ran by Bethel alongside juniors Aliyah Taylor, Payge Side and Cecilia Tamayo-Garza.
The UH track and field team will now head home for its final regular-season competition in the Tom Tellez Invitational on May 7 at the Carl Lewis International Complex.
