Track and Field | 2/7/2015 9:58:00 PM

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – On the second day of competition at Texas A&M, the women's team put together a great day with Marika Brown and Talore Kelly breaking school records and many of the runners turning in strong performances. In addition to the great work by the women, the men's team finished second at the meet in front of top regional competition like Baylor, UTEP, Rice, Houston and TCU. The Bobcats also beat conference competition UT Arlington and edged out Clemson.
 
"This was a good meet for the Bobcats. As we move closer to conference, it is good to see many of the athletes are putting some things together," said Head Coach Dana Boone. "We have one more meet left before conference to do some fine-tuning, but the team is moving in the right direction."
 
Kelly broke her own school record in the weight throw with an improved distance of 19.26 meters (63-2.25) to stay in control in the Sun Belt Conference. That's not all though, as she set a new personal record in shot put and leaped to the top of the SBC list in the event with a throw of 16.02 meters (52-6.75). Her counterpart, Julie Lange, improved on her personal record in weight throw with a toss of 16.97 meters (55-8.25).
 
On the track, the Texas State women took great strides. To start, Marika Brown, Macahla Wesley, Alexus Hebert and Nia Dorner all made an impact in the 200-meter dash. Brown broke the school record in the indoor 200m and moved into first place in the SBC with a season best time of 24.06 while Wesley moves into third with a personal record 24.26. Hebert jumped into fifth in the conference with an indoor best of 24.76 while Dorner made sure she was in the conference's top 10 with a 25.07. Briana Adams set a personal record in the 200m with a 25.18.
 
In the 4x400-meter dash, Texas State's top team of Brown, Wesley, Amber Gilmore and Sydni Willis ran a 3:45.32, a full second faster than anyone else in the conference to put the Bobcats atop the SBC. The team of Dorner, Erika Martin, Esther Oyetunde and Kimberly Krtinich ran a 3:49.50 which would put them third in the conference.
 
Gilmore would go on to run a 2:14.66 in the 800-meter run for a new indoor personal record, settling into fourth in the Sun Belt. Krtinich settled into ninth in the conference with a season best 2:16.53 in the 800m. Willis continues to pace the Bobcats in the 400-meter dash, running a 56.59 Saturday. Martin clocked in at 56.85 for a season best and putting her sixth in the conference. Dorner ran a 56.89 for eighth while Adams set an indoor best with a 57.31 to get into the top 10 in the conference in the 400m.
 
Antonisha Stewart and Victoria Johnson bettered their times in the 60-meter hurdles. Stewart ran a season record 8.91 to get to fifth in the conference while Johnson's personal record 9.09 puts her in the top 10.
 
To cap off the women's competition, Courtney Johnson improved her standing in the conference with a high jump of 1.68 meters (5-6), the highest of her young career to move from seventh to fourth in the conference.
 
Other personal bests for the women include Nikki Sanchez's 5:06.62 in the mile, besting her previous personal record by six seconds, and Elizabeth Havenhill's 2:18.22 in the 800-meter run. She is a dual-sport athlete for Texas State and set a new indoor best.
 
Runners stood out on the men's side as well. De'Quad Binder ran his season best in the 800-meters to better his top standing in the conference with a time of 1:51.02. Alec Saucedo improved from 13^th to seventh in the SBC with an 800m time almost two full seconds faster, running an indoor personal record 1:54.53.
 
In the 200-meter dash, De'Marcus Porter improved upon his best time in his young career with a 21.52. Anthony Johnson ran the same time, a personal record, to tie him with Porter for fifth in the conference.
 
Many of the Bobcats turned in solid performances in the field events. Darian Brown won the shot put event with an indoor personal record throw of 18.68 meters (61-3.5) to better his second place standing in the conference. In weight throw, Brown finished second at the meet while Huckaby took third with solid performances, but neither reached their season bests.
 
Seth Arnold finished second at the meet, just six inches beneath the leader and 1.5 inches under his season best. Aaron George also took second in his event, the long jump, just a half inch behind first place. Meanwhile, Sean Spiehler set a new personal record in high jump with a height of 2.04 meters (6-8.25) for a 1.5 inch improvement, bumping him from fourth to third in the conference.
 
Joseph Pena ran his fastest 3,000-meter, finishing in 8:44.88, a personal record by 11 seconds.
 
The Bobcats will next be in action Friday, Feb. 13, at the Houston Invitational, the team's final tune-up before the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 23-24.