Parnov breaks school record as UTEP completes first Outdoor Meet at the Arizona Spring Break Fiesta Saturday

TUCSON, Arizona (KVIA) -- The UTEP track and field team completed its first outdoor meet highlighted by Alla Parnov shattering the school record in the women's pole vault and the Miners recording five victories at the first annual Arizona Spring Break Fiesta at Roy P. Drachman Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

"It was a good first meet for us. A big portion of the team competed in their secondary events not taking any chances to get injured," UTEP Director of Track and Field Mika Laaksonen said. "I'm happy with the way Alla, Ari, Jakub and Aleks started their season and relays did well for the first outing. We're looking forward to the Texas Relays in two weeks."

Parnov set the school standard with a 4.15-meter mark (13-7.25) in the women's pole vault and finished first in her first collegiate outdoor event. The freshman initially tied the school record with a 3.80 on her first attempt. Parnov also holds the school's indoor record with the same mark.

Arianne Morais opened her season with a first-place showing in the women's javelin final. The senior hurled a 53.14-meter (174-4) mark. 

Jakub Belik continued his success opening the outdoor season with a victory in the men's high jump. The junior posted a 2.13-meter (6-11.25) mark.

The women's 4x100-meter relay squad finished in first place as Zani Meaders, Niesha Burgher, Marissa Simpson and Rejoice Sule clocked in a 44.18. The time ranks third best in school history. 

The women's 4x400 relay also finished first as the team composed of Princess Uche, Loubna Benhadja, Sule and Burgher clocked in a 3:38.0. The time tops last season's best of 3:38.65. 

The men's 4x100-meter relay placed third as Karon Dean, Jalen Cadet, Oriade Rashid and Xavier Butler clocked in a 39.71. Host Arizona won the race (39.33) while Arizona State placed second (39.63). 

The men's 4x400-meter relay team placed second as Joshua Hill, Julio Pacheco Estrada, Stephen Carreto and Rashid turned in a 3:12.13. The time topped last season's best of 3:14.18 with the same quartet. 

Dual-sport athlete Atiq Muhammad placed second in the men's long jump, posting a mark of 7.21 meters (23-8) in his first collegiate outdoor action. Muhammad is also a cornerback on the football team. 

Aron Tanui clocked in a personal-best 3:50.61 in the men's 1500-meter final, placing fifth overall. 

Burgher placed fifth out of 25 competitors in the women's 400-meter dash with a 54.37, while Loubna Benhadja placed seventh (54.79) in her first collegiate 400 outdoor event. 

Freshman Esther Osisike finished second in the women's discus with a 51.63-meter (169-4) mark in her first collegiate outdoor action. 

Aleks Hristov placed second in the men's discus, turning in a 56.40-meter (185-0) mark in his first outdoor action since the NCAA West Preliminaries in May 2022. The redshirt junior missed the 2023 outdoor season and returned to action in January 2024 for the indoor campaign.  

Sule finished third in the women's 100-meter dash as the freshman clocked in an 11.66 in her collegiate outdoor debut. Sule also ran the 200-meter dash, posting a 23.59 (+2.7) in a fourth-place finish. 

Ruth Jerubet finished second in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, clocking in a 11:19.39. 

UP NEXT
UTEP will return to action at a trio of meets on March 27-30. The Miners will compete at the Texas Relays in Austin (March 27-30), the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos (March 28-30), Texas, and the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif., (March 29-30).