Bobcats place second, break meet records at Sun Belt Indoors

The Texas State men’s and women’s track and field teams each placed second this week at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala.

The Bobcats took 18 trips to the podium altogether, winning gold medals in eight events.

Senior sprinter Dominick Yancy finished as the men’s overall top scorer at the meet with 20.5 points, taking second place in the men’s 200 meters at 21.34 seconds, setting a meet record with a 46.89-second 400-meter dash, helping the maroon and gold set a meet record in the men’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:11.29 — along with Donald Rolle, Taahir Kelly, and Brian West.

“The driving force behind our success this weekend was a simple formula of hard work and dedication,” Director of Track and Field John Frazier said in a statement. “Our staff and student-athletes have worked extremely hard this season and as a team we have shown our dedication and commitment to being the best. Our goals are always to win but this was a great start on that pathway.

“Dominick (Yancy) is an amazing talent. Both he and Coach (Trent) Edgerton are shining examples of what hard work, dedication and competitive spirit looks like. Coach Edgerton recognized Dominick’s talent early on and together they worked on a plan, which lead to his record-breaking performances.”

Two other Bobcats set meet records in their respective events. Graduate thrower Alyssa Wilson etched her name into the conference history books with a 21.65-met (71-0.50) throw in the women’s weight throw. She also won the women’s shot put with a distance of 16.15 meters (53-0) to finish the meet with 20 points — the highest among all women’s field athletes and tied for third overall.

Sophomore Simon Thor edged out the previous record by 0.02 meters in the heptathlon pole vault at 5.07 meters (16-7.50). Thor finished the event in fifth place with 5,086 points.

On the women’s side senior Anayah Washington took first place in the women’s long jump, leaping for 6.21 meters (20-4.50). Sophomore distance runner Lee-Anne Blake also earned a gold medal in the women’s mile, clocking in at 4:49.02.

Senior thrower Will Blaser finished in first in the men’s shot put at 17.02 meters (55-10.25). And senior Pedro Osorio Lopez won the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:51.01.

Arkansas State swept the team titles, its men’s team finishing with 162.5 points and its women’s team with 127 points. Texas State’s men’s team posted 127 points, its women’s team posting 93 points.

The Bobcats being the outdoor track and field season next month when they head to UTSA for the Roadrunner Invitational on March 18-19.