HOUSTON, Texas — One week after gaining valuable early-season experience at the Washburn Open, the St. Edward's men's track and field team returned to competition with measurable breakthroughs, highlighted by two school records and a third-place finish from freshman MASYN VELA at the FasTrak Collegiate Indoor Classic.

Vela delivered the defining performance of the meet, placing third in the 60-meter hurdles with a school-record time of 8.34. The freshman's breakthrough not only rewrote the Hilltopper record book but established one of the fastest marks in the Lone Star Conference this season, currently ranking fourth. His rapid progression reflects the program's continued ascent as it moves deeper into the indoor calendar.

In the field events, KAYLON KING continued his emergence as one of the Hilltoppers' most versatile contributors, setting a school record in the long jump with a mark of 6.29 meters to place 14th. Teammate DAVID MARQUEZ followed closely behind in 19th with a leap of 6.18 meters, reinforcing the Hilltoppers' growing depth in the horizontal jumps. King also competed in the triple jump, placing 15th with a distance of 12.63 meters.

The Hilltoppers' distance group continued to show steady progression, led by WILLIAM SULENTICH, who delivered a personal-best performance in the mile, placing 13th in 4:30.49. Gabe Hernandez added a 26th-place finish in 4:39.13, while AREEB MAHMOOD and ARCHIE CHESLER led the Hilltoppers in the 800 meters, finishing 21st and 27th, respectively, with times of 2:02.77 and 2:03.96.

St. Edward's sprint group built on the foundation established the previous week, when athletes gained valuable early-season repetitions across multiple events. ANDRE MOORE led the Hilltoppers in the 60 meters with a time of 7.18, followed closely by CRISTIAN MENDOZA with an identical mark, while TYRIQ WILSON added a time of 7.25 and later paced the Hilltoppers in the 200 meters with a 23rd-place finish in 22.60. Mendoza added depth in the event with a time of 23.27.

The FasTrak Collegiate Indoor Classic marked another step forward for the Hilltoppers, who continue to translate early-season experience into tangible progress. Just one week earlier, the team focused on gaining competitive repetitions and establishing baseline marks across sprint, distance, relay, and field events as part of its early-season build.

Now, with multiple school records, personal bests, and top conference-level performances, St. Edward's is beginning to convert those foundational efforts into historic results. As the indoor season enters its final stretch, the Hilltoppers continue to position themselves for peak performances at the Lone Star Conference Indoor Championships later this month.