T&F: Three Podium Finishes Highlight Day One of C-USA Indoors

T&F: Three Podium Finishes Highlight Day One of C-USA Indoors

2/19/2022 11:26:00 PM | Track & Field/XC

Mean Green men’s team scored 24 total points on opening day

DENTON, Texas - Cody Bullard, Chris Samaniego and Victor Neiva recorded third-place finishes to lead the way for North Texas Track & Field on day one of the 2022 Conference USA Indoor Championships Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.

"It wasn't a bad day," director of track & field Carl Sheffield said. "I think that it kind of met expectations of what we thought our first day would be. We came away in some places really good, and there were some places that we thought we'd do better at that we didn't. But, I think overall it was a good day."

Bullard got things started with a career-best third-place conference finish in the men's pole vault, recording a jump of 16-00.50 (4.89m). The senior from San Antonio, Texas, scored six points for the Mean Green with his podium performance.

"Cody's third-place finish was good," Sheffield said. "He was in the top-two for a very long time over a lot of bars, and I think he was short of where he thought he should have been. But I think, just given his season, with the ups and the downs, I think it was a good finish for him. So, we were excited about that placing."

Samaniego built upon a historic indoor season by breaking his school record yet again, eclipsing the 19-meter plateau for the first time of his career in the weight throw to finish in third place. The senior from Monahans, Texas, netted six points for UNT and earned a spot on the podium with his throw of 62-07.75 (19.09m).

"Chris, as usual, continues to take down that record," Sheffield said. "The neat thing about it, is it moves the record into places that is a really high-level mark. It may have been a mark that started with him, but now I think he's really improving it to a level that it's up among some all-time greats."

Neiva was ever-so-close to the school record of 14:22.39 in the indoor 5,000 meters, landing on the podium with the bronze medal and the No. 2 time in UNT history (14:22.60). The sophomore from Keller, Texas, scored six points for the Mean Green with his performance.

"Victor's race was a really good, late competition," Sheffield said. "A lot of people got a chance to watch him. It's the No. 2 all-time indoor race. Missed the school record by something really close. So, that was fun to watch. He's a competitor. He's always chasing records and trying to find ways to improve. So that was really good."

The men's distance medley relay team of Mason Garner, Ziphion Reevey, Luke Canon and Jack Beaumont placed sixth to score three points for UNT, Jake Parchman finished seventh in the weight throw to net two points, and Nicholas Frazier-Davis earned one point with his eighth-place finish in the high jump to give the Mean Green men's team 24 total points on opening day.

"If you look at the total point scores on the men's side right now, there are five teams, six teams within 10 points of each other," Sheffield said. "It's going to come down just like it did last year to one or two places here, one or two events going different ways. It'll come down to who sustains at the end."

UNT had three student-athletes advance to the final of the men's 60 meters, including Karlington Anunagba (6.75), Samir Williams (6.72) and Jared Johnson (6.82).

Alec Esposito (men's 1 Mile), Ayesha Nelson (women's 60-meter hurdles), Jordan Coates-McBride (men's 60-meter hurdles), Clayton Boyce (men's 400 meters), Jared Johnson (men's 200 meters), Davonye Jones (men's 200 meters) and Luke Canon (men's 800 meters) all advanced to Sunday's finals.

"The men ride the high of that," Sheffield said. "Being able to put that many guys in a final, we did well last year that way. We've kind of built a tradition of being really good at the sprint events. We got three there. We missed on one in the 200, but we got a couple in there. Clayton made the final in the 400 meters. We got pretty much a guy in every sprint final, which is what we've done in the past. So, not a bad outing for the sprints today.

"I think our women's team is just in a big transition," Sheffield said. "We looked at the number of people that we brought, and we brought more underclassmen than we ever have before. I think that's a testament to what we're doing on the women's side. When you can come to a championship as a freshman and record your personal best, that says a lot about who you are as a competitor. I think it speaks a lot to that freshman class and what they're going to do in the future.

"I can talk about what Conference USA is, and how intense it is, but once you go through it yourself and get a feel for it, then you understand. Then, it affects your training. It affects your outlook. It affects everything that you do on a daily basis. You want to get back there in the next year and in the next season. So, I think it'll be invaluable for them."

The second and final day of the C-USA Indoor Championships will begin Sunday at 10 a.m. CT with the women's high jump. Live results from the Birmingham CrossPlex will be provided by Adkins Trak Timing Associates. The action will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.

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