Posted: Dec 11, 2022

Texas Lutheran Opens Indoor Track and Field Season

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs opened the 2022-23 indoor track and field season with a number of individual top 10 finishes, including a record-breaking performance from junior Gerrit Twitero (McQueeney/Seguin) in the high jump Saturday at the UW-Oshkosh 'Early Bird' Invitational.

The McQueeney, Texas native set a new indoor high jump record for Texas Lutheran with a mark of 1.91-meters to finish third in the meet. The indoor record was previously held by Dalton Masters, set in 2020. Twitero now owns both the indoor and outdoor high jump records for Texas Lutheran.

Elijah Jefferson (San Antonio/Construction Careers Academy), the 2022 SCAC Men's Track and Field Co-Athlete of the Year, finished fourth in the 200m dash in his first competition of the season with a time of 22.85 seconds.

Weston Geiger (Shiner/St. Paul) and Dalon Harris added points for Texas Lutheran for their performances in the weight throw and shot put respectively. Geiger, a USTFCCCA All-Region Performer in the weight throw last season, posted a mark of 15.37m to finish eighth in the weight throw. Harris added three points - finishing sixth in the shot put - posting a mark of 14.64m.

Taylor Norrell (Lake Jackson/ Brazosport) and Natalie Garcia highlighted the Bulldogs on the women's side - finishing ninth and tenth respectively in the 200m dash with times of 27.72 and 27.91 seconds. Julissa Rodriguez (Deer Park/Deer Park), who earned two USTFCCCA All-Region honors as a freshman last season, finished 11th in the shot put with a mark of 11.95m.

Coach Holland's Comments: "I felt it was a very positive start to our indoor season. Being in Wisconsin, we didn't know any of the competition, so we just got in there and competed. Lots of PRs (personal records) already and even a new school record for the men.

Gerrit tied for 3rd in the high jump and set a new indoor record in the event, Elijah finished 4th overall in the 200, Dalon finished 6th in the shot put, while Weston and Riley finished 8th and 9th respectively in the weight throw. This was a sizable meet and to come in right away and do well shows promise for this season. Many of the teams present were already on their second competition for this season.

On the women's side, Natalie and Taylor each ran away from their heats of the 200 and earned 9th and 10th overall, while Julissa was 11th in the shot put event. Again, just being competitive was the goal and they just jumped in and put forth some really solid efforts."

The Texas Lutheran indoor track and field campaign continues after the holiday break with a trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Bulldogs will suit up for the McNeese Indoor Invite on the campus of McNeese State University on Friday, January 27.

For all updates on Texas Lutheran Track and Field, follow @tluthrows and @tluxctf on Instagram as well as all official TLU Athletics accounts.