BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Texas State men's and women's track and field teams finished in second place at the 2021 Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championships in the Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
"We are proud of this group and the way they competed," said head coach Jody Stewart. "We went three days without basic necessities due to the snowstorm and brought the necessary toughness and resilience to compete for a championship. We are aware that we left points on the board and will be better outdoors."

Brandon Busby was a Sun Belt Conference Men's Co-Top Performer at the championship after scoring 20 points with wins in the shot put on Tuesday and men's weight throw on Monday.
 
Pedro Osorio Lopez set a Sun Belt Conference record when he won the 800-meter dash in a time of 1:50.65. He broke the previous record set by Ryan Hastings of Appalachian State in 2018.
 
Bervensky Pierre broke Texas State's indoor record in the men's 200 meters with a time of 21.33 seconds. He eclipsed the previous record of 21.36 seconds set by James Johnson in 2012.
 
Mathilde Canet also broke her school record when she scored 3,831 points in the women's pentathlon. Her point total ranks 21st in the nation and beat her previous record of 3,771 points that she set at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational earlier this season.
 
Texas State also won the men's 4x400-meter relay when Taahir Kelly, Pierre, Osorio Lopez, and Jaylen Allen combined for a time of 3:15.12.
 
Busby won the shot put with a mark of 16.75 meters (54' 11.50") after winning the men's weight throw with 19.64 meters (64' 5.25"). UTA distance runner Cole Klashinsky also was named the SBC Men's Top Performer after winning the 3,000-meter and the 5,000-meter races.
 
The Bobcats won two other individual championships on Monday.
 
Katherine Stuckly posted one of the NCAA's top 11 heights in the high jump when she won her second consecutive Sun Belt title with a career-best clearance of 1.81 meters (5' 11.25"). Shelby Smith was the women's long jump champion with a leap of 6.14 meters (20' 1.75").
 
Osorio Lopez scored 17.5 points overall with his victory in the 800 meters, a fourth-place finish in the mile, and the 4x400-meter relay.
 
The Bobcats scored 17 points in the 200 meters, with Pierre finishing in second place, Myles Anders posting a fourth-place time of 21.57 seconds, and Allen finishing in fifth place with 21.65 seconds.
 
Justin Botello netted nine points for the Bobcats on Tuesday when he finished in fourth place in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:33.57 and fifth place in the mile with a time of 4:16.17
 
Ben Collerton also tallied nine points with a second-place finish in the men's heptathlon and a sixth-place finish in the high jump. He scored 5,348 points in the heptathlon and cleared 2.00 meters (6' 6.75") in the high jump.
 
The women's team started Tuesday with 12 points in the women's pentathlon, with Canet placing second and Luize Opola placing fifth (3,539 points).
 
Texas State added 11 more points in the women's 60-meter dash. Smith finished in third place with a time of 7.52 seconds. Anayah Washington finished in fifth place with 7.59 seconds, and Sadi Giles was eighth in 7.66 seconds.
 
Chermariea Hardy accumulated 10.5 points when she finished third in the 400-meters (55.92 seconds) and sixth in the 200 meters (24.64). Hardy also ran the second leg on Texas State's 4x400-meter relay that finished in third place with a time of 3:49.13. The other members were Christine Irving, Paige Kimble, and Breanna Clark.
 
Texas State tallied nine points in the women's triple jump when McKenzie Pearson placed second with a leap of 12.46 meters (40' 10.50"), and Opola finished eighth with 11.97 meters (39' 3.25").
 
Lee-Anne Blake made her Bobcat debut and netted seven points with a fourth-place finish in the mile run (5:03.28) and a seventh-place showing in the 800-meters (2:20.58).