SAN DIEGO – The track and field teams from the University of St. Thomas turned in strong performances Saturday at the Ross and Sharon Irwin Collegiate Track Meet, hosted by Point Loma Nazarene University.
The Celt men in particular, recorded several Top Ten performances in a field that consisted mainly of scholarship-granting programs from NAIA and the NCAA's Division II. UC–San Diego and the U.S. Naval Academy (Navy), both NCAA Division I programs, also competed at the event.
"We had a great showing at this event," UST track and field head coach Ryan Dohner said. "All in all, I was very impressed with how our team competed coming off a meet just two days ago at the University of Houston.
"We are a young team but are making amazing progress, especially compared to last year," Dohner continued. "We can't wait to see what the future holds."
UST's Bryce McIntyre turned in a memorable performance, as he placed in the Top Ten in two events which consisted of at least 24 competitors. In the long jump, McIntyre finished third with a jump of 6.61 meters, finishing behind competitors from Navy and Soka, an NAIA program in California.
McIntyre also had a good day on the track, as he placed seventh out of 37 competitors in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.81 seconds. Those finishing ahead of him represented Navy and perennially strong Division III programs.
One of the Division III competitors to finish ahead of McIntyre was his teammate Eduardo Waller, who finished fifth in the event with a time of 50.20 seconds. Waller also finished in the top half of the 200-meter dash field, placing 21st out of 57 runners with a time of 22.93 seconds.
The highest finish by a Celt at Saturday's meet came in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. James Urbina finished third with a time of 9 minutes, 55.95 seconds behind competitors from NCAA Division II and NAIA programs. He finished ahead of four other runners from scholarship-granting levels of competition.
In the men's high jump, UST's Matthew Hicks finished seventh out of 18 participants, completing his best jump at a height of 1.95 meters. Hicks was second among non-Division I jumpers, as five of the top six finishes were by competitors from Navy and UC–San Diego. Only three of the competitors behind Hicks represented Division III programs.
On the women's side, Christina Stinson's 10th-place finish in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:00.18 led the Celts. Her teammate Clydajia Williams also competed in the event, finishing with a time of 1:04.88, good for 26th out of 33 competitors.
In the 100-meter dash, UST's Kaela Sawyers finished 13th out of 35 competitors with a time of 12.99 seconds; her time was the best among Division III athletes in the event. Jamaya Coaster was also among the Top 20, finishing 19th for the Celts with a time of 13.23 seconds.
In the women's 200-meter dash, UST's Ny'Cierra Hinton finished among the top third in the field of 57 competitors. Hinton's time of 26.52 seconds was good for 18th place; she also finished ahead of three sprinters from Navy in the event.
