Serrano-Velez, Wiles qualify for national track meet
The Ranger College men's track and field program added another feather to its star-studded resume this past weekend at Texas A&M-Commerce's East Texas Invitational. And they did it in a record-breaking fashion.
Jeremias Serrano-Velez and Troy Wiles highlighted the Ranger's outing by setting new school records, and, more importantly, qualifying for the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor Track Championships to be held at South Plains College on May 11.
Serrano-Velez turned in the 11th-fastest time in the nation this year in the men's 1,500-meter race. He finished with a time of 3 minutes, 57.61 seconds - a new school record - and finished second overall in the final standings by less than 2 seconds. Cameron's James Majenge won the race with a mark of 3:56.18.
Serrano-Velez also starred in the 800-meter run. He posted a time of 1:57.48 and finished seventh.
Wiles turned more than a few heads with his performance in the 5,000-meter race. En route to posting a time of 15:15.17, he finished seventh overall against mostly NCAA Division II runners.
Wiles' time, a new school record, is the 14th-fastest time ran among all 5,000-meter runners in the NJCAA this year.
Wiles now holds three school records at Ranger College, including the 5,000, 10,000 and the half marathon.
Also scoring for the RC men was freshman Jacob Ozuna, who was competing for the first time in the steeplechase. He placed seventh in the race.
The Rangers will return to action this Saturday when they travel to Abilene to compete in the McMurry University Invitational.