Author: OLLUNewsletter

San Antonio, Texas- At the Trinity Invite in San Antonio, the women of Our Lady of the Lake University produced several strong performances across the track and field events, highlighted by success in the sprint races, relays, and jumps.

Freshman Alex Wells led the way for the Saints in the sprint events. In the women’s 100 meters, Wells placed third overall with a time of 12.21 seconds against a competitive field that included athletes from St. Thomas and Trinity. Fellow freshman Morgan Young also delivered a strong effort, finishing fifth overall in 12.44.

Wells returned later in the meet to post another standout performance in the women’s 200 meters. Competing against NAIA-level competition, she finished second overall with a time of 24.95 seconds, trailing only Huston-Tillotson’s Chaleica Booker. Her result marked one of the top sprint performances of the day for OLLU.

In the women’s 400 meters, junior Morghan Neely recorded a third-place finish with a time of 59.31 seconds, continuing a consistent outdoor campaign for the Saints in the quarter-mile event.

OLLU also found success in the distance races. Junior Daylah Vega placed third in the women’s 1500 meters with a time of 5:19.78, while senior Liliana Hernandez finished fourth in 5:24.54. Senior Mia Curiel and freshman Claudia Lopez added sixth- and eighth-place finishes respectively, giving the Saints multiple scoring performances in the event.

Vega and Lopez later competed in the women’s 800 meters alongside the rest of the OLLU middle-distance group. Vega crossed in 2:40.90, while Lopez finished in 2:41.57.

The Saints earned one of their top results of the meet in the women’s 4×800-meter relay. The team of Madison Perez, Mia Curiel, Monica Sanchez, and Liliana Hernandez captured first place with a winning time of 9:34.93, giving OLLU a relay title at the Trinity Invite.

In the hurdles, sophomore Kymberli Cavazos represented the Saints in both hurdle events. Cavazos recorded a time of 17.48 in the 100-meter hurdles before returning to place third overall in the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 1:09.09. Senior Bethany Garr also competed in the 400 hurdles, finishing fifth in 1:14.45.

OLLU continued to perform well in the field events. Sophomore Jeslynn Flores tied for second place in the high jump after clearing 1.55 meters, matching one of the top marks of the competition. Sophomore Jadae Freeman placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 5.30 meters and added a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 10.88 meters.

SALINA, Kan. – Top-seeded Johnson (Tenn.) used a 5-run fourth inning and a 7-run seventh inning to pull away from the fourth-seeded Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) Saints for a 20-10 victory in the first round of the Salina Bracket of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round at Dean Evans Stadium.
 
The victory boosts the Royals record to 38-12 heading into Tuesday’s match-up with the host Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes at 2:30 p.m. at Dean Evans Stadium. Our Lady of the Lake falls to 34-19 and will face Concordia (Neb.) in an elimination game at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
 
Travis Hobbensiefken put the Royals up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning with a RBI single that scored JJ Menesini who walked earlier in the inning.
 
OLLU tied it on Diego Zuniga‘s homer in the second, but Johnson grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the inning as Luke Wilson singled to bring home Christian Altamirano who walked and moved up on a passed ball in the inning.
 
Johnson’s five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning game on a 2-run double by Luke Wilson, a Hobbensiefken RBI single, an error on a double steal and a RBI single by Izaak Fernandez to put the Royals up 7-1.
 
OLLU came back with four runs in the top of the fifth inning as Drew Saucedo singled to bring in Benjamyn Hovda, a wild pitch allowed Christian Martinez to score, Joshua Milton had a RBI single and Zuniga knocked home a run with a hit.
 
The Saints got within a run on a single by Brett Atkinson in the sixth, but got no closer. Johnson put two on the board in the sixth, the first run coming on a wild pitch and the second on Altamirano’s single.
 
OLLU added two more in the seventh on a single by Hivda to score Gonzalez and Juan Garcia‘s RBI double, but Johnson would pull away in the bottom of the inning with seven runs.
 
Mitchell Birdsall hit a 3-run homer to start the scoring, and was followed by Joseph Brown’s RBI double, a RBI single by Altamirano and JJ Menesini’s 2-run ground-rule double.
 
Jack Kalisky homered for OLLU in the eighth, but the Royals would end it on the run-rule in the bottom of the frame. Braden Frank singled to bring in Andrew Wilford, Altamirano singled home a run and Grayson Shehan would close things out with a 2-run single to left center to push the Royals out to a 20-10 lead.
 
Hovda had four hits for Our Lady of the Lake to lead the Saints. Donovan Gamez took the loss allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits, with four walks in an inning-plus of work as OLLU used seven pitchers in the game.
 
Altamirano had four hits for the Royals and Wilson added three as Johnson had 20 hits in the game. Three players drove in three runs each. Kaleb Townsend got the win going five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits with four strikeouts.

Klamath Falls, Oregon- Our Lady of the Lake delivered an explosive offensive performance to earn a 13-7 victory over St. Thomas in a game filled with momentum swings and clutch hitting. The Saints collected 20 hits and scored in six different innings, overpowering St. Thomas late to secure the win.

OLLU wasted no time setting the tone offensively. Arianna Alejandro led the charge from the top of the lineup, finishing with three hits, two RBIs, and two runs scored, while also adding a stolen base. Reanna Aguirre matched that effort with three hits, two RBIs, and two runs of her own. Lilly Rocha provided one of the game’s biggest moments with a three-run home run as part of a three-hit outing, while Marisa Rosales stayed red hot at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a home run, double, and three RBIs.

Caitlin Casas was another major contributor for the Saints, recording three hits and scoring three runs, including two doubles that kept pressure on the St. Thomas defense throughout the afternoon. Marina Litterio added an RBI double, while Alyssa Guzman chipped in with an RBI single as OLLU continued to pile on offense inning after inning.

Despite the final margin, St. Thomas battled early behind a powerful performance from Jade Fayad. Fayad finished with two hits, including a five-run home run that helped keep the Celts within striking distance. Alahnis Berrios added a double and scored twice, while Emma Edwards recorded two hits in the loss.

The game remained competitive through the middle innings as St. Thomas collected nine hits overall, but OLLU’s offense proved too consistent to contain. The Saints capitalized on timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to regain control late in the game.

Inside the circle, Annika Litterio started for OLLU and worked through four innings before Valeria Vielma entered in relief. Vielma shut the door over the final three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out three to earn the win and improve to 11-3 on the season.

St. Thomas starter Johana Magaldi took the loss after allowing nine runs over 4.1 innings, while Christina Ortiz pitched the final 1.2 innings in relief.