Roster | Schedule | News | Archives | Home

May 4, 2009

Results

ABILENE, Texas – The West Texas A&M Track & Field program competed at the Oliver Jackson Invitational, held this past Thursday at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. The meet was WT’s final outing before heading to the Lone Star Conference Championships next weekend in Kingsville, Texas.

Headlining the Buffs’ efforts were the performances of high jumper Gage Mayer, decathlete Eldon Grimslid, and middle-distance runners Allie Reyna and Jarret Kachel. Mayer placed second in the men’s high jump with an effort of 6-08.

“Gage had his best day of the season, said WT head coach Darren Flowers. “He has been fighting some injuries throughout the season. He told me before we started jumping that he felt great and he was only one height away from hitting the provisional NCAA qualifying mark. That is what we will be aiming for next week at the conference meet.”

Eldon Grimslid earned a solid, third-place finish in the decathlon, scoring 5,665 points.

“Eldon is such a naturally-gifted athlete and a fearless competitor,” Flowers said. “This was his first decathlon, ever, and he has only been working with us for about six weeks. Eldon still has one year of track eligibility left and I can’t wait to see what he can do after training for a full year. I think he could really surprise some people next week at the LSC meet and he could develop into one of the best decathletes in the nation next year.”

Middle distance runner Allie Reyna clocked a 2:29.28 to place fourth in the women’s 800 meters.

“I was extremely proud of Allie,” Flowers said. “This was her first race of the outdoor season and she had a great performance considering she has never even run the 80o before. We will definitely be pointing Allie more towards this event in the future.”

In the men’s 800, Jarret Kachel placed fifth with a time of 1:58.09.

“Jarret is such a smart competitor,” said Flowers. “He has run every race this season like a veteran. I think he could really surprise some people at the LSC meet next week.”

Other notable Buff performances included Thomas Harris placing fifth in the 5,000 meters (16:42.59) and Josh Braddock’s eighth-place finish in the 400 meters, clocking a PR of 49.42.

The Buffs next competition will be May 8-9, when they compete in the Lone Star Conference Championships, to be hosted by Texas A&M-Kingsville.