UTEP T&F Wraps Up First Day of Competition with Eight Miners Moving On at the CUSA OTF Championships, Thursday

5/14/2026 10:13:00 PM

DAY 1 RESULTS | HEAT SHEETS FRIDAY

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The UTEP track and field team saw eight Miners advance to their respective finals on day one at the 2026 Conference USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Field on Thursday.

In the men's 1500-meter preliminaries, the Miners went 3-for-3. Paul Rotich posted a personal-best time of 3:58.61 to finish sixth and qualify for Saturday's 5:15 p.m. MDT final. Juan Leal also qualified, placing seventh (3:54.20). Carmelo Corral also advanced with a personal-best 3:55.91.

In the men's 110-meter hurdles prelims, Arion Hill finished sixth with a personal-best 14.31 to qualify for Saturday's 5:35 p.m. MDT final.

In the women's 100 hurdles prelims, Grace Culver clocked in a PR 13.96 and placed fourth to qualify for Saturday's 5:40 p.m. MDT final. Cydni Martin, who entered the championships ranked third in the 100H, had an unfortunate accident and didn't finish the event. However, Martin returned to the track and competed in the women's 100 prelims later in the day.

In the 100-meter dash prelims, Elias Munoz (10.40) was sixth among the men and qualified for Saturday's 6:05 p.m. MDT final. On the women's side, Londyn Colon (11.82) was seventh, and Oghenekaro Brume (11.86) finished eighth, advancing to Saturday's 6:10 p.m. MDT final. Martin finished outside the top eight, also with a time of 11.86, but fell behind Brume by .004 of a second (11.858 to 11.854).

Zacarias Velasquez leaped 7.15 meters (23-5.5), finishing eighth in the men's long jump and tallying a point for the Miners.

Oleksandr Blonskyi sits in third overall in the men's decathlon with 3,623 points. Blonskyi was third in the 100 (11.29), second in the long jump (6.89m [22-7.25]), fifth in the shot put (10.96m [35-11.5]), second in the high jump (1.98m [6-6]), and fourth in the 400 (52.33). Liberty's Gabriel Willis (4,007 points) and Jake Nicholson (3,799) are first and second, respectively.

Andrea Gurrola clocked a personal-best 30:33.95 in the men's 10,000-meter run. Salma Licon posted a PR 4:47.21 in the women's 1500.

In the women's heptathlon, Elijah Ebow-Renich tallied 2,659 points, and Braela Sargent recorded 1,914.

"Day one is in the books, and overall, it was a strong and competitive start for our group. We had eight athletes advance to the finals, along with seven personal best performances, which is always encouraging at a championship meet," first-year UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "We also had a great first day in the multi-events from Sasha [Oleksandr Blondskyi] and Elijah [Ebow-Renich], who both competed with toughness and consistency throughout the day. The day definitely had its ups and downs…it was a bit of a roller coaster ride, but this is a young team that continues to work hard and give everything they have. We're asking them to compete aggressively, take risks, and trust themselves, and sometimes that comes with mistakes or setbacks. What I'm most proud of is that every time something didn't go our way, this group got back up and kept fighting. That mindset is what being Miner Built is all about, and we're looking forward to continuing the fight tomorrow for day two."

COMING UP FRIDAY
Blonskyi will finish the decathlon with the 110H (8 a.m. MDT), discus (8:45 a.m.), pole vault (10 a.m.), javelin (12:15 p.m.), and conclude competition with the 1500 (1:15 p.m.).

Michael Kpomassy will see action in the men's shot put, starting at 2 p.m. MDT. Kpomassy made his season debut at last week's Arkansas Twilight. Malorie Richardson-Clay will compete in the women's shot put at 4 p.m. MDT.

Sarah Dovenbarger will compete in the women's pole vault at 4 p.m. MDT, Peace Ewa in the women's high jump at 6:30 p.m.

In the men's 800 prelims, Jacob Yeager (heat 1), Paul Rotich (heat 1), and Evan Avitia (heat 3) will compete at 5:30 p.m. MDT. Andrea Castillo (heat 2) will see action in the women's 800 prelims.

In the 400 hurdles prelims, Kalix Robinson (heat 1) is leaping for the men at 6:05 p.m. MDT, and on the women's side, Samahri Foster (heat 1) and Cailee Phillips (heat 2) will jump at 6:20 p.m.

In the 200 prelims, Timothy Grice (heat 1), Deondre McIntosh (heat 2), Elias Munoz (heat 3), Amari Taylor (heat 5), and Joshua Ford (heat 5) will sprint at 6:40 p.m. MDT. On the women's side, Addison Stricklin (heat 2), Oghenekaro Brume (heat 2), Amai Newman (heat 5), Cydni Martin (heat 5), Juantai-Shay Williams (heat 5), and Peace Ewa (heat 5) will compete at 7 p.m.

After day one, Liberty leads the men's side with 54 points. Kennesaw State is second with 40, and WKU (20.5) is third. On the women's side,

CUSA CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION
LIVE RESULTS | SCHEDULE | ESPN+: Fri, Sat

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