TRACK FACES TOUGH COMPETITION AT UTA AND RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Pirate men's and women's track teams knew they would face some strong athletes at the UT-Arlington Bobby Lane Invitational, competing against a majority Division I field. Southwestern used the increased competition to their advantage, posting one SU record and six personal bests.

Senior Dan Rudd continues to steadily improve as he broke his own record in the 5000 meter run. His time of 15:43.75 earned him an 18th place finish and a spot in the record book. Allen Smith and Stephen Fuentes also had strong finishes for the Pirates, coming in at 16:17.30 for 39th place and 16:25.28 for 40th place respectively.

Josh Gideon posted a personal best time of 10:12.78 in the 3000 meter stepplechase to take sixth place overall in the event.

On the women's side, both runners in the 100 meter dash had personal best runs. Busola Okunnu came in at 14:30 and Ana Rivera finished in 16:61 for 51st and 53rd respectively.

Three runners finished with personal bests in the 1500 meter run. Christina Hadly took 38th place in 5:36.84, Jillian Curran finished in 5:40.39 for 40th place and Laura Wooden ended in 5:47.37 for 41st place. Also competing in the 1500 was Lili McEntire who came in 43rd at 6:00.93.

Other finishes for the Pirates were Addison English's 50th place finish in the 800 meter at 2:16.60 and three runners taking 25th, 33rd and 34th in the 1500 meter. Allen Smith came in at 4:17.75, Sebastian Winkler at 4:30.08 and Addison English was close behind at 4:30.34. Kelly Myers finished in 17.67 in the women's 100 meter hurdles while Tami Warner took 25th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:28.05.

The Pirates next head to San Antonio, Texas on April 10th for the Tiger Alumni Classic hosted by Trinity University.