Something in the air at Lubbock

I don't know what it was about the air, but there were people coughing all throughout the meet. After we finished running the 1500m, my lungs were on fire and I didn't stop coughing the rest of the night. Jose and Hibbitts had the same reaction. I would say it was a somewhat successful day, with some doing better than others. The wind was kicking up when the track meet started, but calmed down towards the evening time.

The 1500m had an extremely talented field of 2 or 3 guys who had broken 4:00 in the mile. Jose hit a PR for the season of 4:16.08 and I wasn't far behind at 4:24.13.

New freshman transfer Aaron Hibbitts made his debut at 3000 steeplechase. When this kid gets in shape, he could do some damage.

Pijo had a great night with a PR of 16:03.84 in an extremely fast 5000m.

We are going to spend the next week and a half training hard and then taper before we hit our last meet of this season at OBU May 2nd and 3rd.

Texas Tech Results
3000m Steeple
12. Aaron Hibbitts 11:13.55
1500m
17. Jose Huerta 4:16.08
19. Darren Flowers 4:24.13
24. Isai Saucedo 4:34.49
5000m
12. Jose Velazquez 16:03.84
19. Thomas Harris 17.22.66
20. Erik Huerta 17:29.05

Running and Training in Canyon, TX

Being hired to coach at West Texas A&M has been a great experience this year. Canyon has proven to be a great spot to train and the runners that I have worked with have shown great interest and enthusiasm for their sport. We basically started from scratch this year with a new staff and a new squad on the men's side. We only had four runners during the fall which made it impossible to score in any cross country meets. We will not declare track and field as an official sport until next year so we can only compete as an off-season activity during the spring. Things are looking up for next season though. We have a really great group of kids coming in next year (some still yet to be determined). The current runners' mileage is anywhere from 50-80 miles a week, we are hitting the track anywhere from 2 to 3 times a week, and usually lifting 2 times a week. We only have 4 more weeks remaining in our off-season so we are cutting back on volume some and running fast. I am anxious to see how everyone runs at Texas Tech next week. If everyone stays healthy, I see no reason why we can't continue to improve. We will run out at Palo Duro Canyon this Sunday anywhere from 14-16 miles...hopefully I can get some video of what it is like out there and post it next week.

Continuing to improve at OBU

The Men of West Texas A&M traveled to Shawnee, OK Saturday, March 29th to compete in the Bison Invitational. Everyone improved and had solid performances despite the wind.



1500m
13. Jose Huerta 4:16.25
15. Jose Velazquez 4:22.23
17. Isai Saucedo 4:28.57

5000m
4. Darren Flowers 16:55.43
6. Erik Huerta 17:09.11

Historic Day at Tarleton St.

The Men of West Texas A&M stepped on the track for the first time in many years Thursday, March 13th in Stephenville, TX. Everyone came out and showed great effort. Buffalo So. Jose Huerta finished 6th overall in the 1500m with a time of 4:17.91. Isai Saucedo finished in a time of 4:32.35.

Thomas Harris fought a field of 43 competitors in the 5000m and finished with a time of 17:22.58.



These guys are training hard and continuing to improve. Next stop, OBU!

WT Men and Women Tune Up in Valentine's 5k

The Men and Women of WT went out and had their first training race of the spring season...everyone made it through injury free. Jose Huerta won it for the men and Kristie Hartsfield won it for the women.

Hartsfield Sets School Record at Regionals

With many WT personal best performances Saturday in the NCAAII South Central Regional Meet, Kristie Hartsfield set a school record in the 6k events with a time of 22:45 and a 30th place finish. Various Men and Women ran their best times of the season against a very fast regional field. The Women finished in 11th place overall as a team.

Women 6k
30. Kristie Hartsfield 22:45
45. Jisel Bailon 23:27
56. Mariana Chavira 23:41
62. Belinda Castanon 23:50
73. Becca Rapstine 24:00
81. Delinda Hill 24:21
82. Sharen Diggs 24:24

Men 10k
77. Jose Velazquez 34:24
90. Thomas Harris 34:43
98. Jose Huerta 35:11
112. Isai Saucedo 37:33

WT Runners have solid performances at the LSC Championship

10/20 Once again the women of WT have an impressive day, finishing 3rd as a team in the Lone Star Conference Cross Country championships. Kristie Hartsfield who has led the Lady Buffs all season was impressive again taking 12th place overall in the 6k event with Mariana Chavira and Jisel Bailon finishing 13th and 15th.



The men of WT were led by freshman Thomas Harris who clocked a personal best of 27:41 for 8k and a 27th place finish.

Men 8k
27. Thomas Harris 27:41
33. Jose Velazquez 28.22
36. Jose Huerta 28.38
50. Isai Saucedo 29.50

Women 6k
12. Kristie Hartsfield 23:52
13. Mariana Chavira 24:07
15. Jisel Bailon 24:13
21. Becca Rapstine 24:47
25. Belinda Castanon 24:59
36. Delinda Hill 25:30
37. Chelsi Ruiz 25:31
62. Dorane Young 27:19