UTEP T&F’s Kpomassy Makes History, Captures Gold in the Shot Put as Miners Wrap Up Day Two at the CUSA OTF Championships, Friday
MURFREESBORO, Tennessee – UTEP's Michael Kpomassy made history when the freshman became the first Miner to win gold in the men's shot put in 30 years and became the first ever to win it in Conference USA on day two at the 2026 CUSA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Field on Friday.
Kpomassy, who opened his season last week at the Arkansas Twilight, hurled a personal-best 17.94 meters (58-10.25) in the men's shot put to capture the program's first gold medal in CUSA. In Fayetteville, during his first collegiate action, Kpomassy recorded a 16.87-meter throw (55-4.25).
Kpomassy is the first Miner to medal in the event since 2019, when Iason Machaires won bronze. Machaires and Kpomassy are the only Miners on the men's side to medal in CUSA. Kpomassy was also the first Miner in 30 years to win gold in the men's shot put when Leif Larson was champion at the 1996 Western Athletic Conference OTF Championships.
"Day two was a big day for our program, highlighted by Michael Kpomassy winning the Conference USA title in the shot put in just his second competition wearing a UTEP uniform. That was a huge performance and an important moment for our team," first-year UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "Michael became the first Miner ever to win gold in the shot put at the Conference USA Championships, the first UTEP athlete to medal in the event since 2019, and the first Miner to win a conference title in the shot put since Leif Larson did so in the WAC back in 1996. His mark ranks 11th all-time in program history, which is incredibly impressive considering how early he is in his UTEP career."
Five Miners qualified for Saturday's finals.
Kalix Robinson clocked a PR 53.13 in the men's 400-meter hurdles preliminaries, placing fifth overall, and advancing to Saturday's 6:35 p.m. MDT 400H final.
Samahri Foster was third overall in the women's 400H, posting a time of 1:01.41. The El Paso native will compete in Saturday's 400H final at 6:40 p.m. MT.
In the men's 800 prelims, freshman Jacob Yeager was sixth overall (1:52.44) to qualify for Saturday's 800 final at 6:20 p.m. MDT.
"We also had a great run by Jacob in the 800 meters to qualify for the finals, and our 400-meter hurdle group had a strong day as well, with Kalix Robinson running a personal best of 53.13 and Samahdi advancing to the finals. Cydni Martin and Shay Williams also had strong performances in the 200 meters, both advancing to the finals and giving us another great opportunity heading into the final day of competition," Green said. "I was also proud of the effort from our multi-event athletes, with Sasha and Luke battling through two demanding days and scoring important points for our team."
In the women's 200-meter dash prelims, freshman Cydni Martin overcame adversity to advance to Saturday's 200-meter final at 6:55 p.m. MDT. Martin was second overall with a time of 23.75. On Thursday, Martin tumbled over a hurdle and had to be carried off the track. She bounced back to compete in the 100-meter prelims later in the day.
Juantai-Shay Williams will join her teammate in the 200 final after she was eighth overall (23.89) to qualify.
The men's team tallied five points in the decathlon as Oleksandr Blonskyi finished sixth overall (three points) with 5,836 points, and freshman Luke Cerda was seventh (two points) with 2,756 points. Blonskyi won the decathlon 110 hurdles with a season-best time of 14.75.
"Overall, this group continues to compete with toughness and belief," Green added. "We're continuing to show growth throughout this championship meet, and we're excited for the final day of competition tomorrow."
The UTEP men's team has 16 points.
After day two, Liberty leads the men's side with 128 points. Kennesaw State is second with 77, and Middle Tennessee (33 points) is third. On the women's side, FIU leads with 75.5 points, while Liberty (68) is second and Kennesaw State (44) is third.
