SAN DIEGO – Adams State Track & Field had a handful of athletes compete at the 41st Annual Aztec Invitational host by San Diego State. The Grizzlies had athletes compete in both the open section and invite sections on both Friday and Saturday.
Competing at the Aztec Invite were mostly sprinters for Adams State. With the meet showcasing a number quality college athletes across all divisions, the Grizzlies had all of their athletes compete in the open section of the meet.
Friday had a solid outcome as all of Adams State's athletes finished in the top-10 of their respective events. A few of the Grizzlies also hit provisional marks and times while in competition.
Saturday was another solid day for the Grizzlies as well with two current athletes and a former athlete compete in the invite section against a number of quality Division I opponents.
Sprints/Hurdles/Relays
In the 100m dash,
Dianna Johnson got her senior campaign going with a second place finish in the event. She crossed the line in 11.57 to take over the top spot in Division II and provisionally qualify for the outdoor national championships.
Johnson was not finished with the 100 just yet as she came back on day two and was the top collegiate finisher in the event for the invite section. Johnson finished second overall in blazing time of 11.48 ahead of every Division I sprinter. The only speedster to finish ahead of Johnson was former teammate
Kandace Thomas who won the event in 11.33.
Thomas has exhausted all of her outdoor eligibility as an Adams State athlete and now competes unattached.
The men's 100m dash was kind to the Grizzlies as a pair of speedsters earned top-three finishes.
Ian Kerr led the way winning the event in a provisional qualifying time of 10.54.
Micah Ballantyne was third running 10.61.
The duo of Ballantyne and Kerr came back later in the day and went 1-2 in the 200m dash. Ballantyne secured the win in a time of 21.41, while Kerr was second in a time of 21.47.
In the men's 400m hurdles,
Tamarco Collie finished seventh as he crossed the line in a time of 59.49.
Augustine Larranga showed well in his first outdoor meet of 2019 with a first place finish in the men's 400m dash. He ran 49.26 to take down the field of 25 sprinters.
Oweneika Watson performed well in her first outdoor meet of the year with a second place finish in the 100m hurdles. She ran a provisional time of 14 seconds flat to get her outdoor campaign started on a high note.
Watson came back on day two in the invite section of the 100m hurdles and ran just .06 seconds slower than her time of day one. Her time of 14.06 earned her a fourth place finish overall in the race behind four Division I sprinters.
The men's 4x100m relay had a solid outing with a first place finish in a time of 41.14. The quartet of
Sunday Abarca, Ballantyne, Kerr, and Collie posted the time that currently ranks No. 2 in in Division II.
Multi's
Katherine Smith opened up her outdoor campaign with a second place finish in Group A of the open section of the heptathlon. She thrived earning top-three finishes in six of the seven events, including first place in three.
She was first in the 100m hurdles in a time of 15.28 to score 805 points. Her one tough event was the high jump where she no heighted. She bounced back with a second place finish in shot put with a mark of 30-11.75.
Smith then scored back-to-back first place finishes in the 200m dash and long jump. She ran 26.58 to down the field in the 200, and leaped 16-8.75 in long jump for the win. Through five events she scored 2,632 points.
She closed out the heptathlon with a third place and second place finish in the javelin throw and 800m run, respectively. She threw 97-3 in javelin and 2:32.83 in the 800 to finish with a final point total of 3,760 and the runner-up finish.
Jumps
Oweneika Watson was the only Grizzly to compete in the jumps, both vertical and horizontal. She hit a mark of 19-1.5 on her second attempt of the long jump to secure a fourth place finish. Her leap currently ranks third in Division II as a provisional mark.
Up Next
Adams State will now focus its attention on the CSU-Pueblo Spank Blasing Invite on March 29 and 30.
