LOS ANGELES (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV track & field team closed out the Jim Bush Legends Invitational on Saturday afternoon, competing out at Drake Stadium for the second of two days. The Scarlet & Gray found plenty of success at UCLA, finding several personal-best marks and plenty of medals to bring back to Las Vegas.
 
The Rebels emerged victorious in a handful of events during the second day of action, the 4x100m relay being the first of the UNLV gold medalists. The crew competing in the race consisted of Jayda Bushay, Kennedi Porter, AnnaKay Maitland and Jaydea Carter finalizing a 44.73 time. Carter would pick up a second win in the women's 100m hurdles, the senior clocking in a 13.62 time in the event.
 
UNLV also rewrote their All-Time record book with the throws team, Krishna Jayasankar tossing the second-farthest time in program history in the women's discus. Jayasankar threw a 51.65m (169' 5") final distance in the event for second overall in the event and a personal-best, Roxene Simpson right behind her for the bronze medal on a 48.81m (160' 1") distance. Lauryn Williams notched a top-eight performance of her own in the women's shot put, the freshman finalist's eighth-place distance was a personal-best 12.28m (40' 2.75") mark.
 
The field events featured a handful of other medalists on the day, Grace Cunningham and Juliana Roberson earning second and third in their events, respectively. Cunningham's silver medal in the women's high jump was from her height of 1.74m (5' 8.5"), clearing three heights on two or less attempts. Roberson's prelim distance placed her fifth overall, but her performance in the finals nailed a new personal-best distance of 12.39m (40' 7.75") to shoot her up to third overall. 
 
The Scarlet & Gray featured multiple top-eight performances in the women's 200m, Kaelin Gowdy picking up a bronze medal in the event on a 24.71 final time and leading the Rebel lineup. UNLV took up the next two spots in the finishing order; Jayda Bushay finishing fourth on a 24.94 time and Gabriella Caldwell crossing the finish line on a 25.10 time for fifth place. Sadia Green was right behind them with a personal-best 25.20 seventh-place time to round out the UNLV tops.
 
Porter tallied a second medal with a silver finish in the women's 100m, sprinting to a 11.56 time in the event to head the roster. The senior was also part of the bronze-awarded 4x400m relay, alongside her was Gowdy, Maitland and Carter tag team for a 3:55.42 final time. 
 
UNLV will take part in two different meets in Texas next weekend, competing in Austin, Texas at the 97^th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays and the Bobcat Invite & Multis in San Marcos, Texas. The two meets will run alongside each other, the meet in Austin starting first on Wednesday, March 26. Fans who want to follow along this weekend can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team's X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram accounts.


DAY ONE
The UNLV track & field team opened up the outdoor season on Friday night at UCLA, competing in the first of two-days at Drake Stadium. The Rebels held a successful day one in the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, featuring personal-best marks or medals in all three events they appeared in.
 
The distance crew competed in multiple events in the Friday-night meet, Natalia Ruiz leading the charge with two races in the women's 1500m and the 5000m. Ruiz's performance in the 5k led to a silver medal in the event, less than two seconds from the lead spot on a final time of 16:39.74. The senior would also perform the fastest 1500m race of her career at Drake Stadium in the ELITE portion of the meet, racing a 4:28.43 time to round out the top-10 placements. Ruiz's placing was also seventh among NCAA student-athletes. 
 
The Rebels also featured a personal-best time by Breanna Blanks in the 5000m, the freshman clocking in a 18:20.23 time. Blanks' race finished 15th among the field, Alana Sangprasit and Jaida Lyles pacing their teammate in the race to help her earn the career-low time in the event.
 
The field events featured a personal-best distance in the women's hammer throw, Lauryn Williams picking up that feat on a 43.02m (141' 1") best distance in the event. The freshman's performance in the event rounded out the top-10 competitors in the event, one place from earning a spot in the finals for her collegiate outdoor opener.
 
The Rebels will be back at Drake Stadium on Saturday, March 22 for the second of two days at UCLA, competing in the Jim Bush Legends Invitational. The first event of the day for UNLV is set to be the women's discus throw at 11:30 a.m. PT, the track events starting at 1:05 p.m. with the 4x100m Collegiate relay. Fans who want to follow along this weekend can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team's X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram accounts.