DAY 1 RESULTS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas State had a strong first day that saw the Bobcats medal in five separate events and continue the team's onslaught on the school record books. Seth Arnold and Danielle Candelaria led the Bobcats, each winning gold in their events. The women are currently in second place with the men sitting fourth but there are plenty of events left on the final day.
 
"We had a solid day," said Head Coach Dana Boone. "A lot of the kid did a great job with lifetime and season bests. You can't ask for much more than that. It was a good start for us and we're looking forward to competing tomorrow."
 
There were a number of Bobcats who finished high enough in the preliminaries to continue on tomorrow, but there were a few Bobcats who took medals home today.
 
Arnold took the top spot in the men's pole vault, clearing 17-feet (5.18 meters) and forcing a three-way tie for second place which not only helped the Bobcats score points, but kept teams from some points. Candelaria, coming off an Athlete of the Week award, cleared a season best and near personal record 5-feet-9.25-inches (1.76 meters). She was able to take gold on missed jumps from Sandra Akachukwu of WKU. Candelaria cleared the height on her first attempt.
 
The throwers brought home points for the Bobcats as well, doing it with personal records. Darian Brown broke the Sun Belt Championships men's weight throw record with a distance of 20.30 meters, but unfortunately Justin Victor of UL Lafayette threw farther than Brown to take the event. Brown still finished second for silver and Jordan Huckaby came through in fourth to add five points to the Texas State total with a personal record of 18.90 meters.
 
Talore Kelly will bring a medal back to San Marcos, finishing third in the women's weight throw, tossing it a distance of 18.93 meters while Jalisa Hall added points in sixth with a distance of 17.33 meters.
 
The distance medleys had a strong day for Texas State with the women winning second and the men taking third but also breaking a Texas State record. The men, made up of Joseph Rodriguez, Anthony Johnson¸ Alec Saucedo and Cameron Shoppach, finished with a time of 10:07.98, just 1.87 seconds from the top spot. That time beat the previous record 10:09.70, a time that had stood since 1995.
 
Keila Rodriguez, Briana Adams, Amber Gilmore and Michelle Jones took second on the women's side with a time of 11:56.78 to score eight points for Texas State.
 
The Bobcats will have a full slate on the second day. Chelsea Stephen broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles again, this time with the second fastest qualifying time at the meet of 8.41. Antonisha Stewart qualified just behind Stephen at 8.68 while Tina Valenzuela finished with a qualifying time of 8.86.
 
Briana Sharp put down the fastest qualifying time in the 800-meters at 2:09.69, more than two full seconds ahead of the closest competitor. It was a lifetime best for Sharp.
 
Larron Black ran a season best 8.23 in the 60-meter hurdles to qualify for tomorrow. He was also one of four Bobcat men to qualify in the 400-meter dash along with Anthony Johnson (48.54), James Hilliard (48.74) and Reggie Reed (49.12).
 
Erica Martin will carry the torch for the women in the 400-meters. She ran a 57.06 for the third fastest qualifying time. Amber Gilmore just missed the cut at 57.56.
 
Freshman Marika Brown continued her great season, qualifying in the 60-meter dash (7.56) and the 200-meter dash (24.40). She had the third and fourth fastest times in the events.
 
Another Bobcat to watch will be Aaron George. He currently sits third in the heptathlon, but he finished first in the 60-meter dash and second in the high jump Monday.
 
The women's team is 24 points behind leader Western Kentucky (55), and two points in front of third place UL Lafayette. The men are 19 points behind leader UT Arlington and just less than two points behind third place South Alabama while leading fifth place UL Lafayette by eight.
 
For Tuesday, check live results here and video here. Tournament Central is here.