LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UTSA track & field teams finished exceptionally strong on Saturday during the third day of competition in the Golden State, earning four event victories, a pair of collegiate winners, a pair of elite-tier national marks and a school record in the final day of action at the Beach Invitational at Jack rose Track.
The most notable finish of the day at the Beach Invite belonged to Fredrikstad, Norway freshman Ida Breigan, leaping her way to the strongest long jump measurement in school history, eclipsing the iconic Tameka Roberts’ 1994 record (6.66m/ 21-10.25) with a 6.74m (22-1.5) distance. That mark tops all jumps across NCAA DI this season, edging out Illinois’ Tacoria Humphrey and her 6.73m mark from this weekend. If not for the 2.3m/s wind, Breigan would also have possession of the American Athletic Conference and Norwegian National records.
Also in elite company, Smithville, Texas junior Brice Chabot won the 100-meter at the Beach Invitational, becoming only the second Roadrunner to breach the 10-second limit, hitting a wind-aided 9.99-second clocking to win the event in a photo finish with six-time NCAA DIII national champion Sam Blaskowski from Wisconsin-La Crosse. The previous UTSA sub-10 belongs to the first Roadrunner to play in the NFL, Teddy Williams, who clocked a wind-aided 9.90 for the program record at the 2009 UTEP Invitational. His time registers in a tie for the second-fastest 100m time recorded this season across the nation. Also delivering a highlight performance in the event, Dennis Phillips cut his career-best to 10.12 seconds to finish fifth.
Roodepoort, South Africa junior Christiaan Le Roux locking in the second-longest leap in The American with a career-best 7.80m (25-7.25) measurement in the men’s long jump, finishing as the top collegiate performer and second overall only behind three-time Big West long jump champion Kemonie Briggs (unattached). Le Roux’ performance on Saturday lifts him to fourth on the UTSA all-time performers list with the top mark for the Roadrunners this season – an event group that ranks third in the nation. Le Roux wasn’t the only one from the squad in the top tier, as Gabriel Binion was third among collegiate athletes (eighth overall) at 7.62m (25-0), while Dylan James was sixth among collegians (12th overall) at 7.44m (24-5).
Another collegiate winner, Round Rock, Texas junior Jacob Jenkins delivered a career-best 15.68m (51-5.5) triple jump measurement to finish second overall behind 2023 British Champion Efe Uwaifo. His jump is the second-longest in the AAC this year and the fourth-best performance in school history. In addition, James was at 15.46m (50-8.75) for sixth and Jemuel Miller was seventh on his 2024 debut at 15.37m (50-5.25).
Earlier in the day, St. Thomas, Ontario junior Mike Roth won the 400-meter in 47.0 seconds for his first individual quarter-mile of the season. The 2023 Conference USA 400m champion raced to the top of UTSA’s performances this year and moves into sixth among AAC marks for the year. Meanwhile, first-year UTSA sprinters Nabil Tezkratt (47.78) and Martín Kouyoumdjian (47.94) crossed the line in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Wrapping up the day’s events, UTSA’s 4x400m-relay team of Kouyoumdjian, Noah Rhodes, Tezkratt and Roth struck gold once again in their third performance together. Two weeks out from winning the Texas Relays, the squad earned the Beach Invitational victory on a combined 3:10.74. The quartet remains ranked second in the AAC event standings.
Throughout the day, UTSA registered numerous top-10 finishes, starting early with a fourth-place crossing for the women’s 4x100-meter relay team of Ibiso David-West, Thennelle Williams, Emily Loredo and Lauren Roy, clocking in at 46.01 – moving UTSA up to the fourth-fastest time in the conference to date. Ayumi Kobayashi notched a seventh-place 100-meter hurdles finish in 13.56 seconds, while Gabriel Green went 54.64 for ninth in the 400-meter hurdles. Lauren Roy was also 10th in the 100-meter at 11.65.
Up next, the Roadrunners will see some big-time in-state meets as time ticks down until the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at Park West, May 10-12. In the interim, UTSA travels next week to Texas A&M’s Alumni Muster on April 20, then wraps the regular season back in Austin at the Texas Invitational on April 27.
-UTSA-