Six UNT track and field athletes battled unfavorable conditions to capture individual titles at the Bill Schmidt Invite, hosted at the Soccer and Track & Field Stadium on Saturday.
Originally a two-day meet, the meet schedule was adjusted to contest all events on Saturday due to inclement weather. Even with the change, the morning events were delayed for two hours while the wind and cold stuck around throughout the day.
Senior Jake Parchman won the men's hammer throw with a mark of 64.44 meters on his final attempt of the competition. It's Parchman's ninth overall win of his career and his fifth in the hammer throw.
Chase Lehr collected his second win of the season, leading a group of three Mean Green finishers to place in the top five of the 400 meters. Having won the 800 meters at the TCU Alumni Invite, Lehr ran the 400 for just the second time in his career and recorded a personal best 48.65 at the meet.
Also on the track, Jaylen Washington took gold in the men's 100 meters. In his first action of the outdoor season, he clocked a 10.35 in the final, marking a personal best in the event.
Later in the afternoon, the Mean Green shined in the field events sweeping the javelin titles with Vitus Hansgaard and Akeel Hanchard finishing first and second on the men's side and Mackenzie Kuehl winning for the second time in her career for the women. Ava Roberts was the final champion of the day for North Texas, winning the women's shot put with a mark of 13.96 meters on her first throw.
"I thought we had as good a meet as we could have," head coach Doug Marshall said. "Obviously the weather conditions weren't great, so I wasn't expecting a lot from a number standpoint. I thought our athletes did a great job of changing their mindsets to go out and compete with a lot of passion."
Despite the weather, many Mean Green athletes were able to post personal bests or high individual placements.
Destiny Hernandez posted a PR early in the meet, breaking five minutes for the first time in her freshman season to place fourth in the event. The men's 1500-meter group had a pair of finishers in the top 10, including senior Mason Garner who placed sixth.
Two Mean Green hurdlers recorded top-five finishes on their Senior Day. Morgan Taylor posted her best time of the season in the 100-meter hurdles placing second with a 13.83, while Jomauri Murray placed fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles.
In total, North Texas recognized nearly 19 seniors on Saturday.
Other notable finishes for UNT included Icey Green and Rayona Runnels who placed second and fifth in the women's long jump. Amy Pritchard and Hunter Hendry each took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Finally, Makenden Brown and Clarence McGill rounded out the top five behind Lehr in the men's 400 meters.
UNT will be back in action in College Station at the 44 Farms Team Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
