T&F: Samaniego Sets School Record in Weight Throw

DENTON, Texas – Chris Samaniego broke the school record in the men's weight throw to highlight a successful day for North Texas track & field Saturday at the J.D. Martin Invitational in Norman, Okla.

"It was a pretty impressive day," director of track & field Carl Sheffield said. "Having an additional week to practice together as a group really helped our effort. You can look and see how well a lot of the young kids did."

Samaniego surpassed 60 feet in the weight throw for the first time in his career, recording a mark of 61-00.25 (18.60m) to take down the school record set by John Garrish in 2013. The senior from Monahans, Texas, finished in third place with his performance.

"It's really neat because it's an event that he took up that he really struggled with initially," Sheffield said. "Each year he gets a little bit better. It's an event that takes a lot of skill. He's figured out how to use his athletic ability and has really taken advantage of the event. It was an amazing throw. He knew when he let it go that it was a big throw, and everybody kind of yelled at the same time that he was letting it go."

Brock Hottel picked up his fourth career win in the pole vault, recording a jump of 16-00.75 (4.90m) to take home the victory.

"Brock's performance was a light for all of us," Sheffield said. "He's struggled over the past two years, and he actually came up to me and gave me a hug and said he was back. He's really excited about having a new coach that coaches to his talents and strengths. That was a good thing to see him over a bar like that. He was excited that he finally got back over jumping at that height."

Freshman Lauren Brown had a breakout day in just her second collegiate meet, finishing in second place in both the 60 meters and 200 meters with personal bests. The Grand Prairie, Texas, native clocked in at 7.66 in the 60 and 25.46 in the 200.

Mason Garner clocked a personal best in the men's mile, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 4:19.87.

Jomauri Murray also recorded a runner-up finish, clocking in at 8.28 in the men's 60-meter hurdles.

Jared Johnson registered second- and third-place finishes in the 200 meters and 60 meters, respectively. The junior from Alvord, Texas, recorded times of 22.03 in the 200 and 6.76 in the 60.

It was a 2-3 finish for the Mean Green in the women's 800 meters as Laurynn Hogan finished as the runner-up (2:18.50) and Liah Collins took third (2:20.33).

In the women's weight throw, Macayla Needham set a personal best of 51-04.50 (15.66m) to finish in third place.

Glenquioa Hardy took third in the women's long jump with a leap of 18-01.00 (5.51m).

In the men's 800 meters, Luke Canon took third with a time of 1:56.05.

Next up for the Mean Green is the Texas Tech Open and Multis next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 28-29) in Lubbock, Texas.

Be sure to keep an eye on MeanGreenSports.com, follow Mean Green Sports on social media @MeanGreenSports and Mean Green track & field/cross country at @MeanGreenTrack (@meangreentfxc on Instagram) for the latest information.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Brown

Luke Canon

Liah Collins

Mason Garner

Glenquioa Hardy

Laurynn Hogan

Brock Hottel

Jared Johnson

Jomauri Murray

Macayla Needham

Chris Samaniego

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