Seguin Grad Twitero Climbs to National Leader in High Jump as TLU Competes in Tom Tellez Invitational

HOUSTON, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran men’s track and field team wrapped up the Tom Tellez Invitational at the Carl Lewis International Complex on the campus of University of Houston on Friday in a Division-I laden field.

Junior Gerrit Twitero (McQueeney/ Seguin) added to his impressive 2023 season by scaling to the top of the NCAA DivisionIII men’s high jump qualifier list with a recordsetting 2.10m jump on Friday. The jump placed him first amongst Division-III competitors and only trailed Ese Amata from Rice who nailed the 2.10m mark in fewer attempts.

Sophomore Ezra Acero (San Antonio/ Harlan) also had a record-setting day in the pole vault, clearing a school-record mark of 4.91m. The mark landed Acero a fifth place finish on Friday and moved him into ninth place on the Division-III qualifier list.

The Texas Lutheran 4x100 relay team turned in yet another stellar performancewinning the event. The 4x100 team comprised of Weston Guzman (McAllen/McAllen), Rickey Franks (Rockport/Rockport-

Fulton), Bryce Powell-Chimene (Dayton/ Dayton), and Elijah Jefferson (San Antonio/ Construction Careers Academy) finished with a time of 41.67 seconds. The team ranks eighth in all of Division-III with three weeks left until the NCAA National Championships.

In throws, Dalon Harris (Garland/ Lakeview Centennial) would finish sixth in the men’s shot put with a mark of 14.25m. Riley Denman (Pearland/Pearland) finished sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 43.93m.

Full Results: https://tf.tfrrs.org/ results/78625/m/Tom_Tellez_Invitational

Coach Holland’s Comments: “The trip to the University of Houston was a great one for TLU competitors. It’s always great to have the opportunity to compete at that level and see some of the top athletes not only in Division 1, but also in the country with sponsored athletes and post-graduate unattached athletes competing in many of the events.

More personal and school records as well as some improvements in the national standings.

Bryce ran a PR in the 100, and it’s cool to see that our men who make up the 4x100 all run 10.80 or faster thanks to his new PR.

Very excited to see Ezra easily clear 4.91 and move into the top 10. I knew it was going to be a good day when he was warming up and he said “I’m on fire.” He knew he was ready for a big jump. Cleared 4.91 easily on his first try! He’s got more in him for sure.

Gerrit keeps improving in the high jump as the season progresses too. The clearance of 2.10 was a goal of his in outdoor and he got it today. From there, he found himself jumping at 2.15 and though it’s unknown territory, he had three great attempts at that height. Pretty cool to see his name atop the D3 list this late in the season. Confidence is building as we get closer to NCAAs.

Our next meet is Trinity on Sunday, May 14.”

Up next, Texas Lutheran travels to San Antonio for the Trinity Last Chance Meet on Sunday, May 14. For all updates on Texas Lutheran Track and Field, follow @tluthrows and @tluxctf on Instagram as well as as all official TLU Athletics accounts. All schedule updates can be found on tlubulldogs.com.