LUBBOCK, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffs and Lady Buffs traveled to Lubbock, Texas for the Masked Rider Open from March 22-23 to compete in their second outdoor meet at the Fuller Track on Texas Tech's campus. Raquel Chavez came away victorious in the 800-meter race on day two of the meet to lead WT to their sole first place finish. 
 
West Texas A&M competed against Texas Tech, Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, Midwestern State and New Mexico Junior College in the two-day meet. 
 
WT OUTDOOR TOP-10
Raquel Chavez, a junior from Los Lunes, New Mexico, took first in a stacked 800-meter event in her personal best time in 2 minutes, 11.3 seconds. Chavez placed her time in the fourth slot of the WT Top-10 outdoor times in the event cementing her name with top graduates Eleonora Curtabbi (2023) and Kaitlin Rodriguez (2017). Chavez ran neck in neck with unattached runner Curtabbi in the first heat of the 800-meter race, and in the last 50 yards she took first in .07 seconds over Curtabbi.
 
Freshman Blessing Akintoye placed a ninth-best time in the outdoor WT Top-10 times in the 400-meter with a 54.8 second finish. Akintoye has marks in the indoor 200-meter and 400-meter and now adds an outdoor Top-10 time to her freshman season. 
 
PERSONAL BESTS
Overall the Buffs had three personal bests times while the Lady Buffs improved on eight marks themselves. Leading WT in the fastest marks in graduate student Corrssia Perry who ran the 100-meter dash in 11.58 seconds, marking the second fastest on the team this season. Freshman Deborah Acheampong ran in the same race at 11.56 seconds to put her stamp on her first collegiate outdoor mark and starting point of the season. 
 
Along with Chavez having a personal best in the 800-meter, freshman Jessica Garcia improved upon her mark finishing in 2 minutes, 27.3 seconds. Sophomore Taylor Gonzalez improved on two events, the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles, with times of 15.52 seconds and 1 minute, 6.6 seconds. 
 
In the field events, senior Joey Zimmerman hit a personal best height of 3.61m, over 11 feet, in pole vault. Zimmerman jumped perfectly hitting her first two marks on her first attempts before hitting her personal best on her second attempt at 3.61m. She finished fourth behind three Texas Tech pole vaulters and led the Lone Star Conference competition. 
 
Arriana Allen and Jada Sewell threw their personal bests in the shot put. Allen hit a 14.06m mark becoming the first Lady Buff this season to make 14 meters, while Sewell improved to 13.96-meters. Allen also threw a personal best in the discus at 44.64-meters. 
 
For the Buffs, Chance Martelli and RJ Williams ran right at 22 seconds in the 200-meter and multi athlete Allen Henderson improved to 15.2 seconds in the 110m hurdles. 

COMING UP
West Texas A&M has been invited back to the exclusive and highly competitive Texas Relays held every year at the University of Texas at Austin Mike A. Myers Track and Field complex. The process of being invited on top of submitting athletes to qualify for events will let fans see the best of the best in the maroon and white for WT and in the nation. The Texas Relays will take place March 27-30 in Austin, Texas.