LUBBOCK, Texas – Eastern New Mexico track and field had a successful turnout over the two-day Lone Star Conference championships as four of eight Greyhound representatives scored points for the program.
Tamia Smith won the shot put after her first throw of the day went 13.69m (44' 11"). The throw now puts her with the top-five throws all-time in program history.
"It felt amazing. I went into the meet a little nervous because I did not end my season last year as best as I wanted," said Smith after the meet. "However, I put that aside and I knew I had to show out today. Once I finished throwing it hit me all at once and I couldn't have been more excited."
The podium finish is her first as a Hound. She topped the next best mark by 1' 4.5". The throw is also a provisional mark to reach the national tournament. Only one other student-athlete in the Lone Star Conference has achieved that in 2023.
She also competed in the weight throw where she took seventh with a throw of 13.74m (45' 1"). Going into her final attempt she was sitting in ninth place and the toss brought her into the picture to help the team earn two points.
Her teammate
Kennedy Ulmer took sixth in the shotput with a personal best 12.24m toss (40' 2"). Among six freshmen in the competition, she took second.
"Competing as a freshman in the Lone Star Conference was very nerve wrecking, but definitely an achievement," said the freshman
Kennedy Ulmer after the championships. "When I first started practicing in August being able to compete in the conference meet was the ultimate goal. Having such close friends competing beside me and supporting me really helped me with the nerves. I hope to just continue improving and see conference again for outdoor."
The Greyhounds got another podium finish in the 200m as
Timothy Frederick ran the competition in 21.20 seconds to take third – a new personal top mark and beating his preliminary time by four-hundredths of a second.
"I just want to say I'm humbly grateful to receive a medal and a personal best. I'm anxious to see what the rest of this season brings," said Frederick on his performance this weekend. "This experience was great and it definitely motivated me to work harder. Thanks to coach Harden, my teammates, and everyone else for y'all support."
The junior transfer also competed in the 60m reaching the finals. In his run on Sunday, he finished the dash in 6.89 seconds to take seventh in the event. Overall, he scored eight points for the team between the two races.
The final member of ENMU track and field to score in the championships was
Devis Cheruiyot in the 800m. He took seventh after completing the run in 1:56.65.
"I am pleased with our progress thus far and believe that the results we are seeing are commensurate with the effort we are putting in," said Cheruiyot after the competition. "We are working hard to increase my speed and I am optimistic that this season will turn out to be a great one. I am grateful for the coach's efforts and I am confident that we will achieve good results by the end of the season."
Four others competed for Eastern New Mexico this weekend.
Tatiana Hall finished thirteenth in the weight throw marking 11.95m (39' 2.5").
Noe Ybaben took fifteenth in the weight throw Saturday with a toss of 11.06m (36' 3.5") and he finished in twelfth with a result of 12.83m (42' 1.25").
Paige Graham finished in thirteenth in the pole vault after clearing 2.91m (9' 6.5") on her first attempt of the competition.
Rounding out the weekend for Eastern was
Ashlynn Evans who finished sixteenth in the long jump going 5.00m (16' 5").
With the conference championship finished and the Hounds look forward to the NCAA DII Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Timothy Frederick and
Tamia Smith currently hold marks that would send them to the meet, but it will not be made official until a later time.
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