Elias Munoz’s freshman season is turning special.
The freshman sprinter from Franklin High stormed through UTEP’s final home track meet of the season, the Sun City Classic, setting a pair of personal bests en route to winning the 100 meters in 10.27 seconds and the 200 in 20.86.
Those times rank him fifth and fourth respectively in Conference USA, but more importantly continued a strong upward trend for an El Pasoan blistering his home track.
“All week I felt good, I was prepared,” Munoz said. “I went into the race feeling good and confident. It’s a blessing to come out here and run in front of the home field. I’m blessed to be here.
“I came out and had a great meet. I prepared all week for this, I’m blessed to be here and so thankful.”
This UTEP track team doesn’t have the big guns of past squads as new coach Francesca Green remakes the program around Texan prep products, but the future looks bright with freshmen like Munoz and Cyndi Martin.
Martin finished a strong second to former UTEP great and current pro Marissa Simpson in the 100 hurdles, came back and was third in the 100 and also ran a big lead leg on a 4×100 relay that set a season’s best 44.97 that ranks second in CUSA.
That relay was especially sweet given that it never connected on a handoff in UTEP’s first home meet last month.
“I’m glad we got the stick all the way around, me and Shay (Juantai-Shay Williams) have been working on our handoff, first to second,” Martin said. “We executed today, I’m glad we did.”
Martin, who is from the DeSoto High in the Dallas area, ran a 13.66 in the 100 hurdles, a little off her personal best 12.52 last week but a solid time.
“I feel like I could have drove out better and kept my technique all the way through like I did last weekend, but it was a decent time,” she said. “It’s fun having home meets.
“My parents can come down and see where we practice every day. I feel like I have a home advantage. This is where you practice every day, this is where you perform best at.”
The same still holds for Simpson, who is continuing to train in El Paso at UTEP as she begins her pro career. This was her outdoor opener, so essentially her pro debut.
“I’m excited to come and do it here again,” Simpson said. “It was cold, I started warming up late because I got here late, it was a mess. But I got on the line and competed.”
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP leans on freshmen, including Franklin alum, at final home meet
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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