A busy Friday brought about individual progression for Tarleton track and field.
Kyndal Gladson and Rese Schoonover each completed their first career heptathlons at the David Noble Relays in San Angelo. Meanwhile, Tarleton was represented in the hammer throw by four athletes 200 miles east in Waco to kick off the Baylor Invitational.
Gladson and Schoonover – both underclassmen – demonstrated Tarleton’s future in combined events is in capable hands in Friday’s finale on the campus of Angelo State.
Gladson finished seventh overall with 4,175 points and now ranks eighth in school history. She entered the afternoon in eighth place after amassing 2,680 points across the competition’s first four events on Thursday.
Schoonover claimed 11th place at 3,838 points and barely missed out on a spot in the top-10 of the final results sheet. She put herself in position to climb the leaderboard after earning 2,492 points on Thursday after notching personal records in all four events; the 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m.
The duo combined to tally six personal records apiece over the course of their two-day stay in Concho City.
Friday’s three-event slate began with the long jump. Gladson leapt 16′ 5″ to finish 10th overall and earn 559 points. Schoonover picked up 495 points with a mark of 15′ 7.5″.
Both Gladson and Schoonover then slung the spear for the first time collegiately in the competition’s penultimate event. Gladson, from Del Rio, Texas, The Del Rio, Texas threw the javelin 80′ 7″ to finish 10th and garner 374 points. Schoonover added 257 more points to her cumulative total behind a toss of 59′ 11″.
The tandem emptied the tank in the 800m finale. Schoonover crossed the finish line 10th in 2:38.20 to the tune of 594 points. The time constituted an 11-second personal record for Schoonover. Gladson finished one spot back of the Stratford, Texas native, earning 562 points with a two-lap split of 2:40.97. Gladson shaved five seconds off her collegiate personal record.
The Texans then collected a trio of personal records in central Texas.
Elena Reagan took a stride toward exiting her five-year Texan career as Tarleton’s school record-holder in the hammer throw. She notched a season personal record of 143′ 0″ and placed eighth. Reagan currently ranks second on Tarleton’s all-time top-10 outdoor record book at 154′ 0″. Friday’s throw signified her second-best collegiate mark.
Ethan Bratton and Audrey Lillard each achieved lifetime personal records in the event. Bratton heaved the implement 133′ 6″ to finish 11th while Lillard nearly reached the finals of the women’s competition, placing 10th at 116′ 1″. Bratton – Tarleton’s top performer in the shot put (47′ 11.25″) – has now registered a personal record in four consecutive meets dating back to the 2021 outdoor season. Lillard shattered her previous personal best by 15 feet.
Bonnie Clifton wrapped up the afternoon for Tarleton with a throw of 103′ 2″ to finish 13th.
Be the first to comment