Nine Victories Highlight USA Invitational

MOBILE, Ala. - It was a test of wills for most on Saturday (April 14) as the Tulane track and field program competed with their opponents and the wind during the South Alabama Invitational. Nine Green Wave student-athletes claimed individual crowns on the afternoon and an handful of participants claimed personal-best performances.

"I like the fact that we were able to win a few events, both on the men's and women's side," said Tulane head coach Eric Peterson, "but also see several student-athletes that we are counting on as we move forward improve. That is really encouraging for our program. Outside of the weather conditions in a few events, the weather was great today and I think our kids took advantage of some really good competitive conditions. It was a good meet for our program as we move forward."

Hilary Woods claimed a pair of those nine victories on the oval with wins in the 200 and 400 meter events. The sophomore ran a personal best time of 24.63 over the 200-meter distance to win the opening heat of the event by just two one-hundredths of a second. That time was good enough to hold up through the next five heats and give her the narrow victory. She again out-dueled the field in the 400 meter with a one-lap time of 57.37 in the opening heat. She watched the next two heats and no competitor was able to best her mark.

"Hilary is really becoming a consistent competitor," said Peterson. "She was very mentally tough today, with two close finishes, and was able to pull off wins in both events. This is a significant step for her because we used to look at how she improved he times from meet-to-meet and now we are starting to look more closely at how she can win races and contribute to the team each week. I am proud of the way she was able to complete two victories today." 

In the field, Raquelle Collins was the individual champion in the long jump as she soared for a meet-best leap of 5.87-meters. The mark ties her career-best jump and is her furthest jump of the season by over one-quarter of a meter. Estefany Cruz and Briana Santiago each posted career-best jumps in the triple jump, with Cruz winning the flight and Santiago placing fourth. Cruz matched her best jump of the year with a leap of 12.55-meters, while Santiago went over 0.15-meters further than her previous best with a jump of 11.96-meters.

Jessica Knierim tied for the individual title in the pole vault when she cleared 3.65-meters to move into second on the Tulane career outdoor charts. Zandria Debowles grabbed the top spot in the 400-meter hurdles, while the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams met the gold standard.

Max Miller may have had the performance of the meet for the Green Wave as he executed the perfect race strategy in the 3000 meter. The senior kept contact with the lead pack for the entire race and made his move on the bell lap. After the final 400-meters of the race, Miller had topped the field by over four seconds to claim his second career individual gold and break the nine-minute mark for the first time in his career. He covered the distance in 8:56.57.

"When Max won the 5,000 in San Diego, he shared with me that it was the first individual victory that he has had in his lifetime," said Peterson. "So to see him produce another victory today in a very competitive race makes me very excited for him. He executed a really good and smart race plan, following the lead pack all the way before he took control on the bell lap to run away from the field. It was a new experience for him to win that race and do so in that fashion. I know he is looking forward to more of those type efforts in the future."

Another Max, Max Yanker, also posted a personal best on Saturday. The junior high jumper finished in a tie for second in the event as he cleared 2.02-meter. It was the first time in his career that he had cleared a height of over two meters, besting her previous mark of 1.96-meters.