Record Season For 2019 Indoor Track And Field

DENTON - Seven North Texas school records fell during the 2019 indoor track and field season, four on the track and another three on the field. The seven marks tie for the most set in one season, as the Mean Green also accomplished the same feat in 2010.

Brock Hottel (pole vault), Joseph Squire (60-meter hurdles), Alia Holmes (200-meter dash), Jaleisa Shaffer (shot put), Haley Walker (weight throw), Florian Lussy (5,000-meter run), and the relay team of Lauryn McCollum, Artesha Richardson, Lyric Choice and Aneesa Scott (4x400) placed their names in the UNT record books with their performances this season.

"Seven records in an indoor season is an awesome accomplishment," director of track and field Carl Sheffield said. "We have put a lot of stock in recruiting and preparing the young group of athletes that we have on our team. We know that we are building something special. It is a testament to our coaching staff as well as our student-athletes on how quickly we have ascended in the records books."

Hottel made the most of his Mean Green debut Jan. 12 at the Kansas State Invitational in pole vault with a mark of 5.20 meters to break Jordan Wehr's vault of 5.05 set during the 2009 season.

"Brock was able to come in and immediately set the tone in his first meet representing the Mean Green," assistant coach Derek Mackel said. "He has shown a great deal of maturity in competition, which will bode well for a strong career at UNT. We focus every day on building his technique for more efficient jumps, increasing his speed, and developing his power and fitness for pole vaulting.

"Good things are in Brock's future as he fully commits to bigger and higher goals. I am extremely excited to walk the path with Brock toward a legacy he can be proud of."

Squire ran the 60-meter hurdles in 8.00 seconds at the Texas Tech Classic Jan. 25 to surpass the 8.04 posted by Sammy Dabbs in 2002.

Sheffield coached both Dabbs and Squire. "Sammy was a tenacious competitor. He was a tactician when it came to improving his hurdling qualities. Squire also loves to compete. His technical understanding of the hurdle events is still growing. Both are gifted in understanding their personal abilities in manipulating the space between the hurdles to run fast times.

"I have coached four of the five fastest outdoor high hurdlers in school history," Sheffield added. "As Squire matures and improves his technical understanding of the hurdles, he will definitely be among the best all-time here at UNT."

Holmes placed her name in the North Texas record books by running the 200-meter dash in 23.81 seconds Jan. 26 at the Texas Tech Classic to improve upon the 24.01 ran by Alysha Adams during the 2010 season.

"Alia has provided immediate credibility that our team is headed in a progressive direction," assistant coach David Burnett said. "The attention to detail and her hunger to be better shows in everything she does day in and day out. She will pull others with her because they also strive for that success.

"My expectation for Alia is to continue to strive to be one of the best to ever come through UNT. I am committed to helping her experience the pinnacles of success in this sport which will hopefully culminate with literally being one step faster ever year. Hopefully the result of that daily process lands her as a mainstay on the podium and eventually at the NCAA Championships and beyond."

Shaffer set the school record in the shot put with a heave of 14.65 meters at the J.D. Martin Invitational Feb. 2 to improve upon the previous mark of 14.50 set by Stacy Orakpo in 2005. Shaffer improved upon her own North Texas school record when she upped her mark to 14.82 Feb. 17 at the C-USA Championships.

"Jaleisa has high expectations and has set some lofty goals for herself," assistant coach Brendon Kelso said. "She puts her head down and gets to work daily, bringing the same focus and effort to every rep rather than getting caught up in the roller coaster ups and downs of throwing.

"The way Jaleisa had to earn this record, and the ability she showed to overcome the competitive adversity, makes me even more proud of her than the marks themselves."

Walker established a new North Texas best in the weight throw Feb. 16 at the C-USA Indoor Championships with a toss of 17.76 meters to break Ngozi Nweke's record by .06 set in 2016.

"Haley had never even seen a weight throw take place until she came to North Texas last year," Kelso said. "She immediately showed me she had the talent to excel in the event, although to her it was still weird and uncomfortable. Haley's ability to be a gamer and step up at the biggest competitions is very impressive to me, especially as an underclassman.

"For the outdoor season, the focus with Haley has now shifted back to the discus throw where she sits second in school history. In the shot put she also holds the school record, and she is still developing in the hammer throw."

Lussy set a record in the 5,000-meter run at the C-USA Indoor Championships Feb. 16 in a time of 14:22.39 to improve upon the 14:26.71 set by Mike Lowe in 2016.

"Florian had a long cross country season, especially with the European Championships, so it was a quick transition into track. But his fitness came around at the right time," assistant coach Kevin Williams said.

"He gained a lot of strength this fall through increased mileage and it helped him handle a fast pace. He is really coming around fitness-wise, and we are going to keep the training high and hopefully break the outdoor school record in the 5k as well."

The 4x400 meter relay team of McCollum, Richardson, Choice and Scott ran a 3:44.03 Feb. 17 at the indoor championships to break the 12-year old UNT record of 3:44.16.

"Our goal for that weekend was to get on the podium," Sheffield said. "We knew that if we could win our section of the relays we could possibly have a chance. We decided on the best four individuals that we thought would give us an opportunity to compete and run fast. I think they made a statement by dropping a time this early in the season.

"The record of the team that they broke went on to run even faster times outdoors that year. I hope that bodes well for these young ladies.

"We feel confident that our assault on our record books is indicative of the quality of the talent we have coming up in our future. By breaking school records in such a brief time, means we have chosen the right athletes that can step up and compete on the bigger stage. Our goal is to continue to fill our rosters with capable young people that will give us opportunities for success."

The Mean Green hope to continue that success throughout the outdoor season which begins March 14-15 at Abilene Christian.

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Players Mentioned

Lyric Choice

Alia Holmes

Brock Hottel

Mike Lowe

Florian Lussy

Lauryn McCollum

Artesha Richardson

Aneesa Scott

Jaleisa Shaffer

Joseph Squire

Haley Walker

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University of North Texas Athletics