RC runners break 3 school records at A&M-Commerce meet
The Ranger College women's track and field record book received more than a few edits last weekend at the 2019 Texas A&M-Commerce meet. The Lady Rangers established three new records at the meet, which was held on April 12 at Memorial Stadium.
"The team's hard work is paying off," said RC head coach Kathy Graham. "Nearly all of our runners ran season or personal best times."
Jessica Thomas-Billot continued her assault on the Lady Rangers' record book by shattering the school's all-time mark in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. She had broken the 1,500-meter record earlier this season.
Competing in a field that included runners from NCAA Division II, NAIA and small-college programs from throughout the southwestern U.S., Thomas-Billot raced her way to a seventh-place finish in the 1,500 with a time of 5 minutes, 1.31 seconds. The mark was more than 10 seconds faster than her previous school record of 5:11.89, which she set on March 21 at the 41st Annual Aztec Open in San Diego, California.
Thomas-Billot added another record to her resume with a strong showing in the 800. She ran her way to a 12th-place finish with a mark of 2:30.25.
Thomas-Billot's time was more than a second better than the college's previous record of 2:31.64 set in March 2018 by Freshiah Ndungu.
Thomas-Billot wasn't the only RC runner turning heads in the 800. Teammate Alexandra Luna raced her way to 17th in the standings with a time of 2:37.49.
Catherine Lopez was 29th in the 1,500-meter run at 5:30.87. Teammate Marissa Gonzalez was 32nd at 5:43.74.
Yenifer Martinez added her name to the RC record book in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The freshman obliterated Ranger's previous mark by sprinting to a time of 13:34.72. Martinez's time was more than 30 seconds faster than the mark of 14:05 set by Hope Thomas last year.