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San Marcos, Texas – After a season of school records and many improvements, the Texas State men's and women's track and field teams will get its last chance to qualify more athletes to the NCAA Championships as the team heads to Norman, Okla., for the Southland Conference Indoor Championships, Feb. 24-25.
“We want to continue to get better and improve,” said head coach Dana Boone. “I just want them to step up and grab the opportunity that is before them. We know it is a big deal to the university and to us so we want to represent Texas State well.”
Through four meets, junior pole vaulter Logan Cunningham is the lone Bobcat to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Cunningham put together a school record performance in his last outing at the Tyson Invitational as he vaulted a height of 5.51 meters (18-01) to tie for the second-best mark in the NCAA this season. Cunningham enters competition Friday looking for his first SLC title after tying for second at the SLC Outdoor Championships last year. Joining Cunningham in the pole vault will be junior Landon Ferguson, who is also among the top in the league coming into the championships.
“We knew coming in that Logan was a good athlete, but the height he vaulted recently was just incredible,” Boone said.
Freshman Charles Grethen is also a leader in the SLC with his school record time of 1:50.14 in the 800 meters. Grethen is joined by junior William Taudien, who is second in the conference and recorded an indoor season-best at the Tyson invitational.
“Charles, as a freshman, has really stepped it up and done a good job for us,” Boone said.
Also among the top in the conference this season has been junior Timothy Young, who has blossomed into a versatile athlete for the Bobcats. Young is third in the league in the 60 meters and 60-meter hurdles and will try and contend for a SLC title this weekend in Norman. In the 200 meters, sophomore James Johnson began his season off strong when he broke the school record with a time of 21.36. Johnson is third in the conference and will also look to be a top finisher for the Bobcats.
In the throws, freshman Darian Brown and junior Chaz Laijas will look to be scorers for the Bobcats as Brown is ranked ninth in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw while Laijas is third in the weight throw.
On the women's side, senior vaulter Elena Horn will look to capture her fourth SLC title in three years. While at Texas State, Horn has placed in the top two in every championship meet she has competed in. Also in the pole vault will be freshman Anicka Newell, who comes in ranked sixth in the conference.
The Bobcats have many top athletes on the field as Danessa Lyssy (high jump), Adrina Davenport (triple jump), Allie Saunders (triple jump) and Kelsey Titzman (shot put) all rank in the top-five in the conference in their events.
On the track, distance runners Steffanie Armstrong and Sandra Venegas are positioned to be high scorers for the Bobcats as Armstrong is ranked third in the 3,000 meters and Venegas is fourth in the 5000. Also on the track will be sophomore Tina Valenzuela, who is fifth in the league in the 60-meter hurdles after posting a personal record of 8.85 at the Houston Indoor Invitational. The women's mile relay team will look to challenge for a title as well, coming in as the fourth seed with a season-best time of 3:48.99.
“I'm still waiting for them to exceed my expectations,” Boone said. “They need to believe they're ready and that they're just as good as anyone else out there.”
Texas State will begin competition Friday at 8:30 a.m. on the campus of the University of Oklahoma and conclude the meet Saturday afternoon. Results will be posted at www.txstatebobcats.com at the conclusion of each day.
