BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –
Jose Rodriguez set a school record in the men's 800 meter as part of the New Orleans Privateers' performance at the Jaguar Invitational on Sunday at the Birmingham Crossplex.
Rodriguez was mid-pack early in the race and steadily picked off runners as he grabbed the lead in the final lap. It was a ferocious battle to the line between Rodriguez and Brady Keller who edged him out by .02 seconds.
Rodriguez finished with a time of 1:50.51. The previous school record was set by Parker McBride who ran a 1:50.75 at the Samford Invitational in 2022. Rodriguez also now holds the fastest time of any Southland runner in the 800, surpassing Luke Parker's 1:51.20 set at the Dr. Martin Luther King Invitational.
Brandt Blanchard had a strong close in the men's mile as he finished second with a time of 4:15.96. Blanchard hung out near the back of the pack in his heat and was seventh heading for the bell lap.
That's when Blanchard passed five competitors and got to second by the time he hit the backstretch He finished second overall in the event behind Zeph McLennan of Samford.
In his second meet, Yoran Kabengele-Kabala shaved .04 seconds off his time at the LSU Purple Tiger. He finished his preliminary in 6.93, which won his heat and qualified him for the finals.
Kabengele-Kabala timed out even faster in the final with a 6.87, which placed him fourth in the final. That mark was also tied for the ninth fastest recorded in program history.
Mason Appleton finished third in the men's 3000 meter with a time of 8:29.66 That put him just .36 seconds away from his personal best.
Christina Davis improved on her personal best in the weight throw. Her longest throw today was 15.48 meters, which currently ranks 10
th among all Southland throwers this season.
The Privateers also got a pair of top five finishes in the women's 3000 meter from
Michela Papalia and
Petra Imre who finished fourth and fifth respectively.
New Orleans also had a pair of 2
nd place finishes from both the men's and women's A teams in the 4x400 relay to close out the day.
FROM COACH O'CALLAGHAN
"Overall we competed better than last week. I was really impressed with
Antonio Creger. He was more consistent today. Yoran did a great job of making corrections from the prelims and executing them in the finals.I like the development that's taking place on the women's side. And Jose was pretty impressive today. There were some things we didn't execute from a tactical standpoint but it was a great starting point for him. The relay teams ended the day on a high note after a long day of competing."
NEXT UP
The Privateers will head to Nashville for the Music City Challenge from Feb. 13-14.
BLUES ON TUES NEWSLETTER
To keep up with all athletics news at the University of New Orleans, subscribe
here for our weekly newsletter.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow
@PrivateersTFXC on Twitter/X,
@PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like
/PrivateersTFXC on Facebook and subscribe to Privateer Athletics YouTube channel
