Texas State Track Advances to NCAA Championships

By Trevor Sartin

Texas State is once again showing that its track team is no joke, as the Men’s 4×400-meter relay team, Allie Saunders, and Anicka Newell will all travel to Eugene, Oregon to compete in the NCAA Championships on June 10-13. James Hilliard, Anthony Johnson, De’Marcus Porter, and De’Quand Binder will represent the relay team, alongside Allie Saunders who qualified for the triple and long jump, and Anicka Newell who qualified for the pole vault.

The men’s relay team ran a combined time of 3:06.08, which was 11^th best among the 4×400-meter relay teams. This was the fastest time Texas State ran in the event since 1989, and their fastest time of the season by more than two seconds. This is a remarkable accomplishment as this is the first time a 4×400 spot has been clinched under head coach Dana Boone. The biggest surprise from the race was the lone freshman, De’Marcus Porter, running the team’s fastest split at 45.63 seconds.

According to txstatebobcats.com, Johnson stated, “It shows how strong we are. We battled through adversity. Our coaches tell us to move on to the next race, and I think that’s what we did. We came out here and we proved something.”

The team will look to keep things clicking when they travel to Eugene in a little over a week.

Additionally, Senior Allie Saunders continued to show why she is one of the best to ever compete for Texas State, as she set a school record with a triple jump of 13.64 meters to finish first at the NCAA West Preliminary. Saunders was three-quarters of an inch from setting a new NCAA West Preliminary Round record, and her triple jump was the farthest triple jump recorded at both the East and West Preliminaries this year. Saunders had already clinched a spot in the long jump at the NCAA Championships with a 6.42-meter long jump, so she will head to Eugene to compete in both the long jump, as well as the triple jump.

Another senior who qualified for the NCAA Championships was Anicka Newell, who soared to an NCAA West Preliminary record height of 4.24 meters.

Head Coach Dana Boone and the track team continue to impress, and will look to show the country that Texas State can compete against top talent across the nation.