SAN MARCOS, Texas—With the Texas Relays only a week away, St. Edward's men's track and field sent a limited contingent of runners to the Charles Austin Classic, which Texas State hosted over the weekend. 
 
"The guys had a strong weekend. We were a little off in our last meet, as a team. This week, we seemed to come together and bounce back really well," St. Edward's head track and field coach Steven Cary says. "Some of that was the weather in San Marcos, some of it was the competition and our mindset towards it all. It probably didn't hurt that they got to sleep in their own beds, and we weren't traveling very far, as well." 
 
The Hilltoppers used the mid-season addition to the schedule to evaluate their sprinters, a group of steady upperclassmen, and a few first-year talents. 
 
On the first day of the competition, WILLIE ODEM and SEBASTIAN KORAN competed in the first section of the 1,500-meter run, finishing one right after the other in 17th and 18th place. Odem clocked at 4:05.21, and Koran finished in 4:08.30 
 
WILLIAM SULENTICH led a group of four Hilltoppers in the 1,500-meter run's Saturday section, placing sixth at 4:11.02 in his collegiate debut. Fellow first-year BRADEN COX topped his previous mark with 4:11.43 to place seventh, and senior IAN CLENNAN placed ninth with 4:13.30, giving St. Edward's three in the top 10. First-year MELECIO ORTIZ came in 18th with a time of 4:37.22. 
 
St. Edward's sent five sprinters to compete in the 100 meters, with TYRIQ WILSON and DRE MOORE running neck-and-neck with 11.23 and 11.27 to place 13th and 18th. JORDON CHAPPELL gave St. Edward's a third runner in the top 20 with 11:29 to finish 19th. MARCUS AGUINALDO and JOHN WESTBY placed 23rd and 29th with times of 11.41 and 11.99. 
 
In the 800, ALASTAIR PARDI and JOSIAH GUAJARDO finished 11th and 23rd. Pardi broke two minutes for the first time, clocking a 1:58.41, and Guajardo ran a 2:06.77 in his first collegiate 800. 
 
Chappell and Wilson finished eighth and ninth in the 200, with Chappell edging Wilson out by the slimmest of margins at 21.86 to 21.87, setting a new school record. Moore followed in 11th at 22.05. Aguinaldo and Westby finished 21st and 26th, with personal-best times of 22.72 and 24.12, respectively. 
 
"Overall, the guys performed at a higher level, mostly in off-events. I'm excited now to get back to competing at the level I know we can in the coming meets," Cary says. "We still need to get better, but this is a good start."
 
St. Edward's men's track and field will remain in the area to compete in the Texas Relays from Thursday, March 28, to Saturday, March 29.