Junior multi-event athlete Carla Guerrero competes in the women’s 100-meter March 14 during the UTA Invitational at Maverick Stadium. Guerrero finished in 28th place with a time of 12.94 seconds.
UTA track and field came out blazing in its outdoor season debut at the UT Arlington Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Maverick Stadium.
On day one of the competition, the Mavericks earned three first-place finishes and personal bests, setting two UTA records. Jordan Durham, women’s associate head coach, said the success was expected from the program heading into the 2026 season.
“We knew today we could go out and dominate most of the races, but ours was more about execution,” Durham said. “Obviously you want fast times, but getting faster depends on if you’re adapting to the techniques and the trainings that we’re doing, so looking for if we’re reacting or getting out of the blocks or running to the finish, those are all big things.”
Senior Jaalah Puryear led UTA with a first-place performance in the women’s hammer throw with a throw of 54.31 meters. An additional podium finish came from sophomore Esther Adedire in third with a throw of 47.86 meters.
Freshman hurdler Devin Payne runs the 110-meter hurdles March 14 during the UTA Invitational at Maverick Stadium. Payne finished in first place with a time of 14.96 seconds.
The strong winds did not keep UTA from taking the top spot in the women’s javelin throw, thanks to junior Eliza Lemberga, who set a personal best with a throw of 44.36 meters.
Men’s discus featured a second-place throw from freshman Lucas Cano in his debut with 53.74 meters.
“I like to hold myself to a high expectation, follow along the lines of ‘shoot for the stars, land at the moon’ kind of deal,” Cano said. “But right now, just coming in, just want to get used to things and do the best I can every day.”
UTA showed out with multiple standout performances on day two of the invitational. Leading it off was the men’s 4×100-meter relay team, composed of freshman Joshua Sinclair, junior Eli England, freshman Donal Martin and senior Jayden Blakey, placing second in heat one with a time of 40.95 seconds.
Junior multi-event athlete Christian Coker lands a long jump March 14 during the UTA Invitational at Maverick Stadium. Coker finished third with a jump of 6.61 meters.
The 1,500-meter race saw sophomore Abigail Perez take home second place with a 4:50.35 time. The men’s team dominated with four top 10 finishes, with freshman Angel Sanchez coming in first place with a time of 3:59.98, narrowly outpacing sophomore Toby Eaton, who finished second with a time of 4:00.42.
The Mavericks continued their prominence in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with junior Indyia Walton bringing home first, posting a time of 14.10. Junior Eliza Lemberga placed third, posting a time of 14.49 seconds.
Walton, who also placed third in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, said the team has become much closer.
“We do things outside of track together and we help each other build each other’s confidence up, cheer each other more at practice to make the environment more lively and family-oriented so it can flow into our races,” Walton said.
Sophomore multi-event athlete Grace Bettencourt, left, and junior multi-event athlete Eliza Lemberga run the 100-meter hurdles March 14 during the UTA Invitational at Maverick Stadium. Lemberga finished third with a time of 14.49 seconds, while Bettencourt placed sixth in 14.96 seconds.
In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, UTA brought in another first-place finish from freshman Devin Payne, who clocked a time of 14.96 seconds. In the women’s 100-meter dash, senior Alexis Cain placed second, running 11.64. Eli England led the way for UTA in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.52, also placing second.
The Mavericks asserted themselves in the 800-meter as junior Emilia Mandl and freshman Linn Adolfsson finished as the top two finishers, with Mandl coming in first at 2:11.88 and Adolfsson coming in second with a time of 2:16.50.
The men’s team completed its 800-meter race with a pair of top finishers as well. Junior Alex Kalmar took home first, running 1:50.67, and junior Leo LeGrand placed second with 1:52.41.
With UTA’s first meet of the season wrapped up, the program is set to take part in the TCU Alumni Invitational Friday and Saturday in Fort Worth.
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