March 29, 2008
Jumpers Blessing Okagbare and Mickael Hanany set 2008 all-conditions world-best marks today in their respective events, setting the tone for the outdoor track and field season at the home-hosted Springtime Invitational.
Okagbare, in her first outdoor track and field meet as a Miner, jumped a UTEP record-setting mark of 6.78m (22-3) in the long jump for the world's best mark of the year. The regional qualifying mark is also a new Kidd Field record.
After redshirting last outdoor season, Hanany made his comeback by posting two personal best marks. His world-best mark of 2.31m (7-7) in the high jump ties the Kidd Field record.
Hanany also posted a regional-qualifying mark of 8.03m (26-4 1/4) in the long jump, putting him ahead of Bob Beamon for second in the UTEP record books. The mark is the current NCAA best.
All together, the Miners posted 13 regional qualifying marks and won 13 titles at the meet. The men's team entered the event ranked 24th in the nation by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coach's Association.
"I think we had some really great marks, and we had some marks that are really good. As a coach, you want to start on a positive note and we put our best foot forward today," Head Coach Bob Kitchens said.
Keisha Walkes set a UTEP record in the shot put, posting a regional-qualifying mark of 16.00 (52-6).
Nelly Tchayem followed Okagbare in the long jump, coming in third with a personal best and regional-qualifying mark of 6.14 (20-1 3/4). The mark is the fourth-best mark in the NCAA this season.
Ismaila Halimat and newcomer Gladys Nwaubani both posted regional-qualifying marks in the women's 100-meter dash. Halimat finished first with a time of 11.21 seconds and Nwaubani crossed third in the event at 11.65 seconds.
Nina Schvedoff, in her last season as a Miner, finished second in the women's hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 60.41 (198-02), good for second in the record books.
On the men's side, Hans Eriksson and freshman Dimitrios Fylladitakis earned regional-qualifying marks in the hammer. Eriksson's personal-best mark of 62.97m (206-7) was a meet-best. Fylladitakis followed at 61.92m (203-2).
Alex van der Merwe achieved a personal-best in the men's javelin, posting a regional-qualifying mark of 74.62 (244-10). The mark is fourth in the UTEP record books.
All-American Elias Koech posted a meet-best regional time of 46:36 in the men's 400-meter dash and All-American Dominic Tanui took gold in the 800-meter run with a regional mark of 1:49.56.
Nicodemus Ng'etich and All-American Patrick Mutai finished one-two in the men's 1,500-meter run, with times of 3:54.14 and 3:54.55, respectively.
Kelly Young took gold in the women's 800-meter run (2:12.03), while newcomer Happy Merry Bacia finished silver (2:14.59).
Laura Clarke finished first in the women's 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:33.68. She was followed in the event by Brissia Montalvo in seventh (11:04.41), Megan Chojnacki in eighth (11:10.15) and Crystal Garcia in 11th (11:21.82).
Japheth Ng'ojoy took gold in the men's 3,000-meter race with a time 8:31.81.
Quashanda Welch set a personal-best time of 13.86 in the women's 100-meter hurdles, taking gold in the event, just missing the regional mark.
Terry Contreras jumped the second-best mark of the meet in the triple jump (personal best 11.95m; 39-2 1/2) and finished sixth in the high jump (1.60m;5-3).
"I think what this sets us up as a team where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel," Kitchens said. "We just need to widen the tunnel a little bit, and in a few more weeks we will be a lot better than than we are today."
For complete results, please visit http://www.spato.us/results/c2008/utepspringtime/.
