ALLENDALE, Mich. – Zayre Uche became Roosevelt's first NCAA Division II medalist in history Friday at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Track & Field Championships hosted at Grand Valley State.
Uche finished in third place in the triple jump with a leap of 13.31 meters, roughly two feet shy of the winner from Parkside. The sophomore landed his medal-winning jump on his fifth of sixth attempts and was in the lead until the final jumps of the competition. Kevin Martin finished in seventh place in the triple jump as well, helping Roosevelt earn eight of the 11 points the men earned in the meet.
The Lakers' other three points on the men's side came from the 4x100 relay team of Joaquin Lopez, Geremy Gomez, Javaris Jones and Tyrin Stewart, which placed sixth. Individually, Lopez placed 11th in the 200 meters while Zabon Robinson set the school record in the 400 meters with a run of 50.30 seconds.
Khaniya Higginbotham broke two school records herself in playing a part of all three points the Roosevelt women scored in the event. The senior broke the 400-meter record yet again in the preliminary heats and qualified for the final with a run of 57.08 seconds. Higginbotham finished seventh in the final in a time of 58.19 seconds to earn two points.
She also broke the 200-meter school record to finish 11th in the preliminary heats with a time of 25.52 seconds. Higginbotham then anchored the women's 4x100-meter relay team to an eighth-placed finish with Heaven Adams, Rebecca Simpkins and Kennilyn Alexander helping the group run 50.66 seconds
