Texans break numerous records while hosting second annual Joe Gillespie Invitational

STEPHENVILLE, Texas - The second annual Joe Gillespie Invitational was a record-breaking two-day event that saw three school and seven facility records broken by the Purple and White at the Tarleton State Track Complex.

In honor of the meet's namesake, Dr. Joe Gillespie, head coach Bobby Carter presented him with a plaque and signed baton during the meet. Dr. Gillespie was showered with applause as he accepted the gift and cheered on his Texans.

The Texans honored their 25 seniors with a ceremony just before the final event of the meet. Each senior was recognized with their family and friends in front of Texan nation.

In total the Texans crowned 12 event champions. The Purple and White posted 18 top 10 event performances all-time across the two-day span.

Head coach Carter was showered with a Gatorade bath following the meet to celebrate the accomplishments of the first-year head coach.

"What a great day for the Texans this weekend," said coach Carter. "To compete at home in front of a home crowd was something special. It was great to acknowledge all of our seniors that will be graduating, that's what it's all about. As I always say, we want to win in everything that we do. Win in the classroom, win on the track and win in life itself. Our athletes are doing that! I'm so proud of each and every one of them. The WAC Championships are in three weeks, and I can truly say that this team is ready to do great things there. It's not about what you do now, but it's about what you do when it counts and that's what I continue to tell our team. I am so proud of them."

Friday

The Texans went 1-2-3-4 in the men's 200 on Friday night. took home the individual crown while setting a new all-conditions facility record. Mvundura clocked in at 20.65 seconds, but it will not be counted for NCAA qualifiers as the wind was 4.6 meters per second. Tantaswa Mukute (20.76), (21.06) and Camden Hawkins (21.37) rounded out the top four.

took home the individual title on the women's side of the 200. Roy crossed in 22.85 seconds setting a new all-conditions facility record as well. The senior became the first Texan to run a sub-23 second 200, setting a new all-conditions school record as well. The Ballymena, Ireland native also rebroke her Irish national record that she set last weekend in Baylor.

Saturday

Field Events

kicked off the morning events of day two by taking home the crown in the women's hammer. Wessely's final toss of 52.98 meters pushed her into first place ahead of a pair of rivals from ACU and UT Arlington. Wessely set the school record last week in the hammer at the Michael Johnson Invitational and is the reigning WAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week.

claimed his first collegiate event victory with a first-place finish in the long jump. His best leap of 7.25 meters set the new facility record. He also moves into eighth all-time in program history for the Texans in the outdoor long jump.

did not waste any time setting a new facility record in the women's long jump. DeGroot posted her best jump of the day on her first attempt leaping 5.94 meters. The sophomore ended up being victorious in the event with that mark to claim the individual title. DeGroot added a centimeter to her personal best improving her fifth best mark in school history.

In her season and collegiate debut Mackenzie Hill notched the eight best long jump mark in program history. Hill leapt a wind-legal 5.74 meters. Her best leap of 5.79 meters carried her to a third-place finish, but the mark was just over the wind-legal threshold.

broke the longest-standing school record in the triple jump in his final jumps in Stephenville. Tosti not only broke it, but shattered Moise Pamaney's record of 16.23 meters set in 1977. Tosti's new mark of 16.39 meters also set the new facility record. Tosti won the individual title and now owns one of the top five leaps in the nation this season.

notched the third-longest jump in program history coming in at 15.99 meters to finish runner-up to Tosti. After making his season debut last week with a new personal best in the high jump, followed up with another personal best in the triple jump. His best leap of 14.69 meters now ranks seventh in program history. The trio finished 1-2-3 in the triple jump.

notched the fifth best triple jump in program history. Idlebird's best leap of 12.18 meters made her one of five Texans in history to hold a personal best of 12 meters or above. cracked the top 10 in program history for the first time. Her best leap of 11.73 meters is the new eighth-best leap in school history.

took home the crown in the women's high jump. On her senior day, Cerenil was one of the final two standing in the competition. She cleared the 1.72 meter bar on her second attempt and her competitor from UTA needed all three attempts to clear, giving Cerenil the title. The Council Bluffs, Wyoming, native, now ranks eighth all-time in program history.

Track Events

The Women's 4x100 meter relay took home the title in the early afternoon. The quartet of Dudley, Roy, Estival and Cameron ran a blazing 44.20-second performance more than two seconds ahead of the runners-up.

In the Men's 110 hurdles, set the new facility record with a 13.94-second mark in the prelims. ran the sixth fastest time in school history in the prelims in 14.16 seconds. Omar Mahmoud set a new personal best that only last for a few hours in the prelims. After running 14.08 seconds in the first race of the day, Mahmoud was victorious winning the title in 14.01 seconds in the finals. His 14.01-second mark moves him into the third best time in program history.

improved her personal best to 14.41 seconds in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Cade qualified for the finals while boasting the eighth best time in program history.

broke into the top ten in program history in the men's 100 meters. Mvuindura posted a 10.54-second qualifying time to become the eighth fastest in school history. He clocked a 10.56-second performance in the finals to claim second place.

put on a show in front of her home crowd. Cameron ran a wind-legal 11.33 seconds in the 100 to break her school record for the second time this season. She also set the new facility record and was the event champion.

and each logged top five times in program history in the 100-meter prelims. Estival now ranks fourth after running 11.52 seconds and Dudley is fifth after clocking in at 11.60 seconds. Estival finished runner-up to Cameron in the finals in 11.57 seconds. Dudley did not participate in the finals.

Dudley broke the school record in the 400. Dudley crossed in 54.18 seconds to also break the facility record. She broke her teammate previous school record of 54.42 seconds.

McFarland posted the third fastest time in program history in the 400-meter hurdles just a few moments later. The junior just missed out on a sub-minute time crossing in 1:00.95. She earned a second-place finish in the event.

notched his first collegiate event victory in the 400 hurdles. Hoffman crossed in 43.21 seconds to inch out his teammate who crossed in 53.59 seconds. Hoffman now ranks seventh in program history in the event.

The Texans will close their regular season slate next Saturday at the SMU Invite. The one-day event will take place at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium.