HOUSTON – The University of St. Thomas men's track and field team turned in strong performances this weekend at the Victor Lopez Classic, hosted by Rice University.
As one of the only NCAA Division III teams competing against Division I programs in the collegiate portion of the meet, the Celts tested their skills against some of the best scholarship athletes in the nation.
UST's Matthew Hicks provided the weekend's highlight in the Celts' field events, as he finished sixth out of 11 competitors after clearing a height of 1.92 meters (~6 feet, 3.6 inches). Hicks was the only Division III competitor in the field for Saturday's event and has the third- and fourth-highest jumps by a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference jumper this season.
On the track, sprinters Eduardo Waller and Josiah Akpan ran their best 100-meter dashes of the season as they finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in a field of 13 runners. Waller's time of 11.26 seconds placed him ahead of three Division I competitors, while Akpan finished with 11.29 seconds.
Waller's (13th) and Akpan's (15th) performances are among the 15 best times by a SCAC sprinter this season. Additionally, theirs are the only sprints in the SCAC top 15 to be run against a headwind this season.
UST's Terrence Veal finished 10th in the 100-meter dash, matching his season-best time of 11.39 seconds. The mark he set for himself at the Houston Spring Break Invitational nine days prior was with a slight tailwind, while Saturday's feat was accomplished against the same 0.3-meters-per-second headwind that Waller and Akpan faced.
In the 800-meter run, Will Brisco set a personal best with a time of 2 minutes, 4.78 seconds.
UST's Bryce McIntyre finished ninth out of 14 competitors in the 200-meter dash at 22.67 seconds, two-tenths of a second off his best time of the season. McIntyre's Saturday sprint was into a strong 2.5-meters-per-second headwind.
Friday's highlight for the Celts came in the 1,500-meter run, when Jhancarlos Carpio and James Urbina finished 21st and 23rd, respectively, out of 41 total competitors. Their times of 4:05.94 and 4:06.32 topped 10 Division I runners.
Urbina's 4:06.32 was a season-best, ranking him ninth among SCAC competitors in 2022.
The Celts return to action Saturday, April 2, when they will compete at the Houston Alumni Invitational, hosted by the University of Houston.
