COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Chanissey Fowler wasted no time getting out to a good start on the season when she picked up three personal bests on the way to leading Lamar University track and field in a positive day to open the 2017 season at the Texas A&M Aggie Opener.
 
"I was really pleased the way the meet went for us today," said head coach Trey Clark. "We had a good look at the athletes here and really opened up against some good competition. We saw several things that are positive for us.
 
"The most important thing, we stayed healthy," he said.
 
The Cardinals claimed several personal bests - including three from Fowler and another two from Brian O'Bonna – notched a few of spots in the school record books, and had several top five finishes on the day.
 
By the team scores, the women's group finished third as a team with 46 points and the men fifth with 42.  
 
 
CAREER DAY
The first race of the day was the women's 60-meter dash preliminaries, and Fowler popped a 7.54 time – which was her personal best at the time. She advanced to the final rounds with the best time of the prelims.
 
"Chanissey tied for the second-fastest time in school history," said Clark. "She really got us started with a great opening."
 
She moved on to the finals and bested her own early record with a 7.52 race that claimed her second place by two-hundredths of second. Texas A&M-Kingville's Deana Richardson clocked in at 7.518 and Fowler's official was 7.520. Just a few minutes later she lined up for the 200 meters and timed a personal best 25.28 second mark.
 
"She was redshirted last season, so she's been a way from competition for a while," said Clark. "I think it was a year well-spent."
 
Her finals time now stands alone at second place in school history.
 
TWO MORE PRS DOWN
Brian O'Bonna downed two personal bests in both the long and the triple jumps. In his last event of his day, he put up a 49-2.25 jump that knocked out his previous best of 49-0.75 from the outdoor season last year. He placed fourth Friday by a little over two inches behind Kingville's Charles Greaves- the winner.
 
The Canadian registered his indoor best at 23-6.75 in the long jump, a second place finish behind Greaves' 24-10.5 mark. O'Bonna beat his 23-4.5 jump from the Houston Invitational last season.
 
"For him to do what he did in the long and triple was phenomenal for the first meet of the year," said Clark. "We really have high expectations for him and think he's going to do some great things during the indoor season."
 
His triple mark ranks fifth in school history.
 
HICKS, FERGUSON AND WILLIAMS NOTCH BESTS
Stuart Ferguson topped his best 800-meter mark at the event with a second place finish of 1:54.16, which bested his 1:55.03 time from the UAB Green and Gold Invite in 2015 – also a second place finish. He crossed only behind Sam Houston's Jeffrey Moore at 1:52.72.
 
TaMar Hicks joined Ferguson with an indoor personal best in the event and finished fifth. He clocked in at 1:54.85, better than his 1:58.14 mark in 2014.
 
"The race didn't unfold like they wanted it to start and both guys had to work their way through the pack," said Clark. "They did a great job of getting where they needed to be and it was a good race from both."
 
Sophomore Thai Williams kept up with O'Bonna in the long and hit an 18-9.25 mark, better than the previous 18-6.0 mark at the New Mexico Classic, which was second. North Texas' Breanna Eckels won the event on a 19-4.25 leap.
 
"Thai had a really good day today, in both the 60 and the long jump," said Clark. "She's like Brian, we have high expectations for her this indoor."
 
Janay Stanton recorded her best time in the 60 meters during the prelims. She ran the distance in 7.87 seconds, good enough for 15^th.
 
 Freshmen starting off the right way
Freshman Taylar Prier jumped out a fabulous start to her career with a 38-8.75 leap in the triple jump, which was good enough to grab second place in the school record books. The top mark for the Cardinals of 41-7.25 was set just one season ago, by Silvia LaTella.
 
"That's a pretty good way to start a career as a freshman," said Clark.
 
Prier tied for second at the meet with Houston Baptist's Natayla Nance, and both were behind Sam Houston's Tristyn Allen (39-5.0).
 
Trashauna Hardy captured fifth place in the women's 400. She ran a 58.18 time, which was the top spot in her heat.
 
 Cards shine in the mile
Evelyn Chavez and Keith Fallon took runner-up finishes in the women's and men's mile runs, respectively. Chavez raced to 5:08.25 time while Fallon marked in at 4:16.55, both were second in the first heat. Reigning cross country Student-Athlete of the Year Freddie Gasbarri placed two spots behind Fallon on a 4:17.97 time.
 
In the women's race, Georgia Tuckfield finished 11^th on a 5:34.54 time and Evie Reavis right behind her at 5:36.36.
 
Dominique Taylor gearing up for a fast season
Senior Dominique Taylor qualified for the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles with a second place heat finish – fifth overall - on an 8.80 race. She held that her spot and claimed fifth in the finals on an 8.76 mark.
 
Up Next
The Cardinals will get a two week break before they head west down I-10 for the Houston Invitational, set for Jan. 27-29 at the Yeoman Fieldhouse.