Trinity Track & Field’s short trip to the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) for the UIW Invitational proved fruitful, with numerous strong performances through the two-day meet just a few minutes away.

Day one saw clear weather and incredible field event action, including a school record. Senior Robert Slaybaugh set a new Trinity University program record in the hammer throw, recording a massive 46.95-meter throw to put him fourth on the day. However, this fourth place was hard-earned, as the top three were all from NCAA Division I schools.

Senior jumper Sean Majors also had a strong performance on Friday, earning a gold medal in the long jump event with a jump of over seven meters. Though she couldn’t get a gold, Junior Jordyn White’s five and a half-meter jump gave her sixth place in the meet and a top-10 position in NCAA Division III. The Friday field events proved successful for more Trinity athletes, with Daniel D’rovencourt and Bailey Dueitt earning bronze medals in the Men’s and Women’s pole vaults, respectively.

Though no runners grabed medals after the sun went down, the cool night air still provided excellent conditions. Distance runners Elaine Kaster and Diego Flores set personal best records in the Women’s and Men’s 5k run, while ​​Ellie Catron was just half a second off her personal best time in the 1500 meter run. The inter-team competition was the highlight of the Men’s 400m hurdles, with Justin Johnson beating out Kyle Anderson and Jalen Leonce, who finished sixth, seventh and ninth, respectively.

Saturday proved far more hostile for athletes, who had to compete against each other and the weather. High winds and a clear sky made for a hot afternoon for runners, and a brutal headwind caught a few runners out on the final straight. Still, Trinity pushed through with solid performances, including a fourth-place finish for the Men’s 4x400m relay (Sean Majors, Josue Parra, Ethan Gilmore and Justin Johnson). The time of 3:18.82 was not only fast enough for fourth in the meet, but it set a time good enough for fifth all-time for Trinity. BJ Stewart had another great run in the 100m sprint, finishing sixth with a 10.72-second run that puts him in second all-time in program history. Madison Habeck earned another medal for Trinity, finishing in third place in the Women’s 800m run.

The Tigers showed substantial improvement at the UIW meet, likely due to competing at a meet closer to home. The proximity to home and a familiar atmosphere will hopefully lead to continued improvements when the Tigers travel to Kingsville, Texas, just two hours away, the weekend of April 15. If you can’t make it to the meet, Trinity will return to campus soon as they are hosting the SCAC Championship meet on April 23 and April 24.