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NAMPA, Ida. – Sophomore Abraham Chirchir and freshman Dorcas Koech won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships in the 5,000-meter runs to lead The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) indoor track & field teams during day one of the WAC Championships on Friday at the Ford Idaho Center.
 
This is the second-straight year in which Chirchir has won the 5,000-meter WAC Championship. Chirchir finished in a time of 14:40.15, the fourth-fastest in program history, and 22.31 seconds ahead of the closest competitor, to earn 10 points. Senior Weslaco East alum Alberto Herrera added three points by finishing sixth with a time of 15:25.18.
 
Koech finished in a time of 17:35.77, the second-fastest time in program history, to earn 10 points as well.
 
The UTRGV men's team is currently in second with 43 points. Utah Valley leads the way with 54 points. The UTRGV women's team is in fourth with 30 points. New Mexico State leads with 51 points.
 
UTRGV earned 23 points in the men's weight throw, finishing 2-3-4-5 as junior PSJA Memorial alum Michael Gonzalez finished second with a mark of 16.56 meters for eight points, freshman Harlingen South alum Sky Tatum finished third with a throw of 16.20 meters for six points, junior Christian Hall-Gardner came in fourth with a mark of 15.84 meters for five points, and sophomore Palmview alum Ricardo Espinoza finished fifth with a throw of 15.70 meters.
 
The men's team also earned five points in the distance medley relay as the team of freshman Edinburg North alum Tristan Pena, freshman Brownsville Veterans Memorial alum Max Carmona, junior La Joya alum Ricardo Mendoza, and senior Omer Almog finished fourth with a time of 10:23.41, and two points in the pole vault as freshman Weslaco alum Jon Zapata came in seventh with a height of 4.34 meters.
 
The women's team earned nine points in the triple jump as senior Dai'ja Coleman finished second with a program record-tying mark of 12.34 meters and freshman Zarrey Sams came in eighth with a distance of 11.38 meters.
 
Freshman Weslaco alum Eleanor Arndt set a new program record in the pentathlon with 3,201 points, earning four points for UTRGV. Arndt's best finish came in the 800-meter run, during which she finished third with a time of 2:29.21. She also posted top-5 finishes in the high and long jumps.
 
UTRGV garnered four points in the distance medley relay as the team of freshman Monica Rivera, senior Felicia Wills, freshman Kyra Keurentjes, and junior Sierra Spinler came in fifth with a time of 12:35. UTRGV also collected three points in the weight throw behind a seventh-place finish by sophomore Alexandrea Hurst with a throw of 15.73 meters, and an eighth-place finish by senior Diamond Thomas with a throw of 15.55 meters.
 
In total, UTRGV broke three program records and tied one. UTRGV has now broken 10 program records and tied one this season.
 
Junior Ashley Hughes broke two records herself, first by winning the 400-meter dash preliminary with a time of 55.00, and then by finishing third in the 200-meter dash preliminary with a time of 24.52. Senior Destiny Rutherford also advanced in the 400-meter dash with a third-place time of 56.63, the fourth-fastest in program history.
 
UTRGV had 13 runners advance from preliminary runs to Saturday's final events.
 
Senior Juarez Lincoln alum Yariel Matute won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.65, the sixth-fastest in program history. Freshman Mariano Hernandez also advanced, finishing sixth with a time of 48.49.
 
Matute added a third place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.65, the second-fastest in program history.
 
Almog won the men's mile run with a time of 4:14.19, the seventh-fastest in program history, to advance to Saturday's final.
 
Mendoza and Carmon both advanced in the 800-meter run, with Mendoza winning his heat with a time of 1:54.95, the seventh-fastest in program history, and Carmona finishing second in his heat with a time of 1:54.24, the fifth-fastest in program history.
 
Senior Idatonye Cheetham-West came in second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.63, the second-fastest in program history.
 
Keurentjes came in second in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:16.61, the fifth-fastest in program history.
 
Freshman Yashawn Hamilton came in eighth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.96, the second-fastest in program history.
 
Freshman Economedes alum Kyle Marroquin also advanced to the finals of his event, the 60-meter hurdles, with a sixth-place time of 8.55.
 
UTRGV resumes action on Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Team Standings
Men

1.	Utah Valley	54
2.	UTRGV	43
3.	Grand Canyon	42
4.	Kansas City	36
5.	Chicago State	9
6.	Seattle U	8

 
Women

1.	New Mexico State	51
2.	Grand Canyon	42
3.	Utah Valley	40
4.	UTRGV	30
5.	Kansas City	22
6.	Seattle U	6
7.	CSU Bakersfield	3
8.	Chicago State	0

 
UTRGV Results
Pentathlon
5. Eleanor Arndt, 3,201 points (4 points)
•Program record
10. Elizabeth Ortiz, 2,500 points
 
60-Meter Hurdles
7. Eleanor Arndt, 9.48
13. Elizabeth Ortiz, 11.04
 
High Jump
T-5. Eleanor Arndt, 1.51m
11. Elizabeth Ortiz, 1.39m
 
Shot Put
9. Eleanor Arndt, 8.49m
13. Elizabeth Ortiz, 7.13m
 
Long Jump
5. Eleanor Arndt, 5.23m
8. Elizabeth Ortiz, 4.86m
 
800-Meter Run
3. Eleanor Arndt, 2:29.21
7. Elizabeth Ortiz, 2:37.42
 
Field Events (Finals)
Women's Triple Jump
2. Dai'ja Coleman, 12.34m (8 points)
•Ties program record
8. Zarrey Sams, 11.38m (1 point)
10. Kassandra Rocha, 10.86m
12. Keely Satterfield, 10.57m
13. Marta Vargues, 10.46m
 
Men's Pole Vault
7. Jon Zapata, 4.34m (2 points)
 
Men's Weight Throw
2. Michael Gonzalez, 16.56m (8 points)
3. Sky Tatum, 16.20m (6 points)
4. Christian Hall-Gardner, 15.84m (5 points)
5. Ricardo Espinoza, 15.70m (4 points)
11. Jonathan Ojeda, 13.36m
 
Women's Weight Throw
7. Alexandrea Hurst, 15.73m (2 points)
8. Diamond Thomas, 15.55m (1 point)
12. Brittany Cantu, 14.38m
16. Taylar Kregness, 13.65m
18. Juave Williams, 12.80m
 
Men's Triple Jump
10. Matthew Salaiz, 13.10m
11. Mauricio Campos, 12.89m
 
Running Events
Women's Mile Run Preliminaries
14. Sierra Spinler, 5:24.73
 
Men's Mile Run Preliminaries
1. Omer Almog, 4:14.19Q
•Seventh-fastest in program history
11. Antoine Godin, 4:21.09
12. Brian Yanez, 4:23.21
14. Tristan Pena, 4:31.87
 
Women's 60-Meter Hurdles Preliminaries
11. Felicia Wills, 9.11
•Third-fastest in program history
 
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles Preliminaries
T-6. Kyle Marroquin, 8.55q
11. Carlos Serna-Hernandez, 8.72
 
Women's 60-Meter Dash Preliminaries
2. Idatonye Cheetham-West, 7.63Q
•Second-fastest in program history
10. Zarrey Sams, 7.81
 
Men's 60-Meter Dash Preliminaries
8. Yashawn Hamilton, 6.96q
•Second-fastest in program history
10. Maxime Gardes, 6.99
16. Ronnie Ollivierre, 7.11
 
Women's 400-Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Ashley Hughes, 55.00q
•Program record
3. Destiny Rutherford, 56.63q
•Fourth-fastest in program history
13. Valerie King Mancha, 58.79
20. Natalie Garza, 1:00.37
 
Men's 400-Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Yariel Matute, 48.65q
•Sixth-fastest in program history
6. Mariano Hernandez, 49.49q
10. Carlos Serna-Hernandez, 50.20
 
Women's 800-Meter Dash Preliminaries
2. Kyra Keurentjes, 2:16.61Q
•Fifth-fastest in program history
14. Monica Rivera, 2:21.59
16. Monica Yanez, 2:32.78
 
Men's 800-Meter Dash Preliminaries
2. Ricardo Mendoza, 1:54.95Q
•Seventh-fastest in program history
4. Max Carmona, 1:54.24Q
•Fifth-fastest in program history
15. Isaac Arevalo, 2:02.13
 
Women's 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries
3. Ashley Hughes, 24.52q
•Program record
9. Idatonye-Cheetham West, 24.97
•Sixth-fastest in program history
12. Destiny Rutherford, 25.35
 
Men's 200-Meter Dash Preliminaries
3. Yariel Matute, 21.65q
•Second-fastest in program history
11. Yashawn Hamilton, 22.20
•Tied for seventh-fastest in program history
13. Maxime Gardes, 22.30
•Ninth-fastest in program history
14. Mariano Hernandez, 22.31
•10^th-fastest in program history
20. Ronnie Ollivierre, 23.01
 
Women's 5,000-Meter Run Finals
1. Dorcas Koech, 17:35.77 (10 points)
•Second-fastest in program history
14. Bryana Rios, 18:31.13
 
Men's 5,000-Meter Run Finals
1. Abraham Chirchir, 14:40.15 (10 points)
•Fourth-fastest in program history
6. Alberto Herrera, 15:25.18 (3 points)
 
Women's Distance Medley Relay Finals
5. Monica Rivera, Felicia Wills, Kyra Keurentjes, Sierra Spinler, 12:35.67 (4 points)
 
Men's Distance Medley Relay Finals
4. Tristan Pena, Max Carmona, Ricardo Mendoza, Omer Almog, 10:23.41 (5 points)

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