ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV track & field team concluded the Don Kirby ELITE Invitational on Saturday afternoon, finishing the two-day meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
 
The Rebels hoisted season best times during the second day of competition, the team's 4x400m relay picking up a fifth-place finish in the event. The group competing in the race consisted of Jayda Bushay, Chinyere Okoro, Kaelin Gowdy, and new mid-year transfer Lacarthea Cooper, Cooper competing in her first race with the program and helping the relay register a 3:40.27 final time. Gowdy's leadoff split in the event clocked in a 55.69 time, Cooper earning the fastest split at 54.15.
 
Krishna Jayasankar picked up a personal-best mark during her time in the women's shot put, the senior tossing a best distance of 15.03m (49' 3.75"). The throw placed her among the top-eight finishers in the event, notching a sixth-place spot.
 
The running crew had several other highlights throughout the day, Kennedi Porter picking up a season-best time in the women's 60m. She competed as part of the invited portion of the event, her time of 7.37 securing her a top-eight spot in the finals at eighth.
 
The distance crew saw four notable marks during the women's mile, Natalia Ruiz leading the charge with a seventh-place converted time of 4:52.18. Three other student-athletes featured best times in the event after the conversion; including Breanna Blanks, Jaida Lyles and Alana Sangprasit. The altitude for the conversion was 4,958 ft.
 
The Scarlet & Gray having now wrapped up the regular season will turn their eyes to the indoor championships, first competing at the Mountain West Championships from Thursday, Feb, 27 through Saturday, Mar. 1. The first event, the women's pentathlon, is scheduled to kick off that Thursday at 10 a.m. PT. To get updates on all things Rebel track & field, links to the season's meets can be found on the team's schedule page. You can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team's X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram accounts.


FRIDAY
The UNLV track & field team opened up day one of the Don Kirby ELITE Invitational on Friday, competing in the two-day meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center. 
 
Natalia Ruiz produced the top time in the women's 3000m, winning the event off of a 10:03.71 final time. The senior broke away as the fastest competitor after the 2000m mark, beating out the second-place finisher by almost nine seconds at the end of the race. With the 4,958 ft. altitude mark, Ruiz's converted time registers as a 9:48.84, which beats out her time last weekend at the Riverfront Multi's for a season-best mark.
 
The Rebels also found season-best marks with Kennedi Porter, the sprinter pushing a 23.54 final time in the women's 200m invite, rounding out the Scarlet & Gray's events for the day. Porter picked up a sixth-place finish with the performance, winning her heat by .15 seconds. Claire Rands also picked up a top-eight time of her own in the women's 600m, her 1:36.23 final time in the event finishing eighth overall.
 
UNLV found several best times on the day, two of the four not previously mentioned being in the women's 200m unseeded by Jayda Bushay and Malika Mashack. Sophia Clark represented the field events with a personal-best distance in the weight throw, improving her mark by almost .9m. Kaelin Gowdy rounds out the Rebel bests with a new best time in the women's 400m.
 
The Scarlet & Gray will finish out the Don Kirby ELITE Invite in the meet's second day on Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. PT with the women's shot put. The other events taking place will be the women's triple jump, 60m hurdles, 60m, mile, 400m, 800m and 4x400m relay. To get updates on all things Rebel track & field, links to the season's meets can be found on the team's schedule page. You can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team's X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram accounts.