BOSTON (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV track & field teams kicked off the 2023-24 seasons with a trip out to the east coast on Tuesday, sending a few student-athletes to the Sharon-Colyear Danville Season Opener on Saturday. The Rebels took four members of the distance crew to the meet, junior
Natalia Ruiz highlighting the results by breaking a program record.
Ruiz's achievement was earned during her lone event of the day, the women's 3000m. She finished second overall in her heat during the event, beating out the third-place finisher by .27 seconds overall. Ruiz's final time of 9:21.66 in the event shattered her own personal record by over 25 seconds, topping her previous mark at the Mountain West Championships last season. She finished 34th overall in the highly competitive meet.
A pair of student-athletes on the UNLV squad found personal-best times as well during the women's mile,
LaKyla Yazzie placing 32rd in the event on a 5:05.63 final time. That result marked a nine-second personal record for the senior, the fourth time she's raced the event in 2023 and the fourth time she's posted a career-best time in the event. Senior
Isabella Schrader placed down a 5:24.97 time in the event as well, her lone race of the day lowered her best race by over five seconds. Saturday's meet also proved to continue to boost her resume in the mile, marking second-consecutive time she's produced a best time in the event.
The final competitor of the day for the Scarlet & Gray came from
Jaida Lyles, racing in the women's 800m. The junior finished the event with a final time of 2:23.22, beating out the next two finishers in the event by a span of two-tenths of a second. The Texas native's time on Saturday marked the first indoor 800 time of her career, finishing 11th overall in the event.
The Rebels will next compete after the New Year, taking trip to the Spokane Sports Showcase on Jan. 12, 2024. The meet will be hosted by The Podium, taking place up north in Spokane, Wash. More information about the meet will come out at a later date, so stay tuned to
UNLVrebels.com to find out where your favorite members of the Scarlet & Gray will be at next.
