Martinez Hits 'A' Mark To Pace Lakers At ONU
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Cristian Martinez came out of the starting blocks flying in his outdoor season debut, leading the Roosevelt men's track and field team to a ninth-place finish at the ONU Tiger Open on Saturday in Bourbonnais.
The senior from Chicago officially qualified for his second consecutive NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships by hitting the NAIA 'A' mark in the 5,000-meter racewalk in his first competition of the young season. As the only athlete on the track, Martinez finished in 24 minutes, 48.77 seconds to earn 10 points for the Lakers and continue his run as the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference's best racewalker.
Roosevelt's other points for the men came courtesy of Dominic Gamez, who finished fifth in the steeplechase for an additional four points. Gamez jumped the hurdles over the 3,000-meter course in 11:11.9 to secure the points.
Other top performers on the men's side included the Lakers' throwers, who both placed in the top 15 in their disciplines. Kieran Cassidy finished 14th in the javelin with a toss of 35.08 meters and Jadale Mitchell finished 14th in the shot put with a throw of 12.47 meters. On the track side, the Lakers' 4x100-meter relay team finished 10th and Brandon Saavedra finished 12th in the 5,000 meters in a time of 16:36.24.
Millicent Ghapson was the only member of the Lakers' women's track and field squad to earn points with a sixth-place finish in the high jump. The sophomore cleared 1.35 meters on her first attempt to take the two points before falling in her jumps at 1.4 meters.
Lisset Munoz finished 11th in the javelin with a 22.34-meter toss, her best result of the four throwing events in which she participated. Madalyn Smock finished 13th in both the discus and shot put as Roosevelt's other female thrower in all four events. It was a light day for the Lakers on the track with Monse Morales leading the pack with a 15th-place result in the 800 meters.