ENMU women finish third in LSC track championships

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Strong performances in field events helped propel Eastern New Mexico University’s women to a third-place team finish over the weekend in the Lone Star Conference outdoor track championships, hosted by Angelo State.

The Greyhounds tallied 68 ½ points in the 11-team get-together, the best showing in program history. ENMU’s men were seventh out of 12 teams with 48 points.

West Texas A&M dominated the meet, winning its fourth consecutive title in both divisions. The Buffaloes ran up 284 ½ points to 122 ½ for Texas A&M-Kingsville while the Lady Buffs finished with 274 points to 168 ½ for Angelo State.

“(It’s) a very pivotal shift (in) our women’s program,” ENMU track coach Joshua Harden said. “It was awesome to watch our ladies battle from day one to the very end.”

ENMU took a pair of wins in the women’s meet, with sophomore Kennedy Ulmer claiming first place in javelin (139 feet, 11 inches) and freshman Grizell Scarlett coming up victorious in the 100 with a meet record time of 11.33 seconds. Ulmer also finished second in discus (154-6) while Scarlett was fourth in the 200 (24.02).

Senior Tamia Smith finished second in shot put (46-8 ¾) and fifth in hammer (151-2), while freshman Jodian Stewart was second in long jump (19-5) and freshman Deziree Bosquez of Hobbs placed third in javelin (128-10). Freshman Minerva Cerda Hernandez came in eighth in pole vault (10-8 ¼), and freshman Adriana Langley tied for fifth in high jump (5-0 ½).

Also on the track, the 400 relay team of Stewart, sophomore Riley Midgett, freshman Helena Carboo-Klutsey and Scarlett was third in 46.47.

ENMU’s men didn’t win any events, but the Hounds made positive strides over their 2023 performance in the meet.

“We went from scoring 13 points in 2023 to 48 this year,” Harden said. “Having multiple guys in the top eight gives us a steppingstone, and I’m excited to see what we can continue to do next year.”

Field events accounted for 27 of the Hounds’ points, including 15 in javelin where freshman Alex Williams finished second at 217-11, junior Hemon Joseph was fourth at 194-10 and freshman Devin Gallegos came in seventh at 154-4. Also in field, sophomore Luis Holguin took third place in pole vault (14-5 ½), freshman Noe Ybaben-Burciaga was fourth in shot put (46-8 ¾) and Joseph claimed seventh in long jump (22-7 ¼).

On the track, freshman Jamoi Jackson was second in the 400 (a personal-best 47.29), junior Timothy Frederick claimed third in the 200 (21.53), junior Jude Murray in the 100 (10.58) and Joseph in decathlon (4,016 points) were sixth and the 400 relay team of juniors Malachi Torres, Frederick, Rosean Young and Joseph placed eighth in 43.18.

ENMU was to learn on Tuesday who has qualified for the NCAA Division II national championships May 23-25 at Emporia, Kan. The Hounds were hopeful of getting Frederick (200), Williams (javelin), Scarlett (100) and Ulmer (discus) into the event.