SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA track & field teams will travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the Conference USA Indoor Championships, which will be held on Saturday-Sunday Feb. 19-20, at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
The Roadrunners will compete against league foes Charlotte, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP and WKU on both the men's and women's side, with Florida Atlantic, Marshall and UAB only having a women's team.
UTSA is under the leadership of Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Aaron Fox, a veteran of the UTSA track & field staff since 2000 who is in his 14th year overseeing both the men's and women's programs.
Saturday's action will get underway at 9 a.m. with the first event — 60 meters — in the men's heptathlon, followed by the women's pentathlon 60m hurdles at 9:15 a.m. Field events will begin at 1 p.m. with the men's pole vault and running events are slated to start at 3 p.m. with the women's mile.
On Sunday, the final day of the heptathlon will begin at 8:30 a.m. while field and track events are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.
Men's Preview
UTSA finished third at last year's C-USA Indoor behind gold-medal performances from Grant Szalek in the triple jump and heptathlon champion Jack Turner, who was named 2021 C-USA Indoor Field Performer of the Meet. It marked the Roadrunners' seventh straight top-three showing at the league's indoor meet.
The Roadrunners will travel several of the league's top performers including nine top-three marks.
UTSA anticipates big points in the horizontal jumps with the second- and third-best measurements in the conference this season in each event. Sam Healy enters the meet ranked second in the long jump after his indoor personal-best leap of 7.60 meters (24-11.25) that won the Houston G5 & Super 22 Invitational, while Christiaan Le Roux is right behind with a season-best 7.23m (23-8.75) effort from the Charlie Thomas Invitational. The Roadrunners stand 2-3 in the triple jump, as well. Jemuel Miller owns the second-best mark in the league when he measured 15.59m (51-1.75) to win the Charlie Thomas Invitational, while Szalek — the defending champion — is third with a 14.92m (48-11.75) mark.
The Roadrunners boast four of the six fastest times in the 200m, with Dennis Phillips (21.29), Diego Pettorossi (21.30) and Joe Garcia (21.34) ranking 2-3-4 and Trevion McCalla standing sixth (21.57).
Bashiru Abdullahi, the 2020 C-USA champion and runner-up last year, enters the meet with the third-best clocking in the 60m hurdles, a 7.87 posted at the season-opening Ted Nelson Invitational.
UTSA has recorded the league's second-fastest time in the distance medley relay, as the quartet of Victor Charo, JD Corona, Daniel Morales and Michael Paredes clocked a time of 10:19.30 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational. In the 4x400m relay, the foursome of Phillips, Noah Rhodes, Pettorossi and Garcia enter with the fourth-best time of 3:16.57.
UTSA won eight straight conference indoor crowns from 2006 to 2013, the first seven as a member of the Southland Conference before grabbing gold in its only year in the Western Athletic Conference.
As a member of Conference USA, the Roadrunners placed seventh in 2014 before finishing second in both 2015 and 2016 and third in 2017. UTSA earned a runner-up finish in 2018 and '20 and placed third in 2019 and last year, making it seven consecutive top-three finishes.
UTSA has a total of eight runner-up conference finishes and since 2005 has finished third or better at all but one league indoor meet.
The Roadrunners have combined to win 86 individual and relay league titles indoors, including Szalek (triple jump) and Turner (heptathlon) at the 2021 C-USA Indoor. UTSA also can claim five high-point scorer, four athlete of the year, three outstanding track performer, three outstanding field performer, a pair of freshman of the year, two freshman of the meet, one field athlete of the year accolades in its history. Additionally, Fox has been named conference coach of the year eight times during his tenure.
Women's Preview
UTSA finished third at the 2021 C-USA Indoor Championships for the program's best showing at a league indoor meet since a runner-up effort at the 2014 C-USA Indoor. The Roadrunners earned seven podium finishes, headlined by Ingeborg Gruenwald's gold medal in the long jump.
The Roadrunners will take 11 of the league's top-eight performances into this weekend's meet led by two-time C-USA Field Athlete of the Week Gruenwald, who leads the circuit in the long jump with her school-record leap of 6.35m (20-10) posted at the Charlie Thomas Invitational.
Danielle Spence returns for her curtain call in the triple jump with the second-best leap in the conference, a 12.56m (41-2.5) measurement at the Charlie Thomas Invitational. The All-American won the 2019 title and has finished third and second at the last two league indoor meets.
Oreoluwa Adamson ranks in the top six in both jumping events, standing fourth in the triple (12.30m/40-4.25) and sixth in the long (5.82m/19-1.25).
Lacee Barnes enters the weekend ranked second in the shot put with her season-best mark of 14.44m (47-4.5) posted at the Charlie Thomas Invitational, while Acacia Astwood stands fifth in the weight throw after an 18.23m (59-9.75) heave at the Ted Nelson Invitational.
On the track, the distance medley relay team of Chante Dixon, Maddy Blair, Brooke Lomax and Maddie Boswell own the second-fastest time in the conference with their winning clocking of 12:17.10 at the Houston G5 & Super 22 Invitational. Boswell also boasts the fifth-best time in the 3,000m with a 9:45.53 at the Charlie Thomas Invitational.
Marie Duvigneau ranks fourth in the 400m with a season-best 55.58 and she helped the 4x4 — along with Ibiso David-West, Mackenzie Grimes and Alanah Yukich — register the fourth-fastest time in C-USA (3:49.43).
The Roadrunners have won three team titles (1992-94) and finished second five times during their history as a member of a conference, which dates back to 1992. UTSA has turned in a top-five showing at 22 conference indoor meets including five times as a member of C-USA. The Roadrunners were the runner-up in their first C-USA Indoor in 2014, one year after also finishing second at the 2013 WAC Indoor.
UTSA has captured a combined 66 individual and relay titles at conference indoor meets on the women's side, including Gruenwald's gold medal in the long jump one year ago. The Roadrunners have earned six outstanding track performer, five athlete of the year and five high-point scorer certificates to go along with one outstanding field performer accolade and a newcomer of the year honor.
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