HOUSTON, TEXAS – Both the men and women made strides on the national scene Saturday, as several athletes made improvements on provisional qualifying marks at Rice University's 12th annual J. Fred Ducket Twilight.

Sophomore Ashley Bassett rewrote the record books for the Lions by breaking her own A&M-Commerce school record in the 400m hurdles, taking third overall with a time of 1:00.93. The effort shaved over a second from her previous record-setting mark of 1:01.95 set last month at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Teammate Ana Baleveicau also managed to break that record with a fourth place finish thanks to a time of 1:01.89, though Bassett's performance keeps the native of Fiji at bay. Both athletes improve upon their provisional qualifying marks, with Bassett making the substantial leap from 23rd to ninth overall in Division II.

Freshman Kamryn McKee once again came dangerously close to hitting a provisional qualifying mark in the 200m dash with a time of 56.02, good enough for sixth overall at the event. McKee, Bassett, and Baleveicau, along with teammate Tyler Cottingham, would go on to nab a sixth place finish in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:49.24.

Jessica Clay had the most impactful day for the Lions out in the field, hitting a personal-best mark of 33.35m in the javelin throw to finish fifth overall. Rebecca Mueller would also score points for the Lions thanks to a 42.30m toss in the discus to procure seventh place.

On the men's side, Luis Romero absquatulated with the Lions' lone-win on the day thanks to his season-best performance in the 800m run. With a time of 1:50.03, Romero shaved over a second and a half off of his previous seasonal-best, which vaults him from 19th to 8th overall in Division II. Elsewhere in the distance events, Mark Gonzalez once again trimmed gobs of time off of his personal best mark in the 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 9:41.82, beating his previous best by eight seconds. The sophomore logged a ninth place finish in the event.

In the sprints, Dexter Lee grabbed a fifth place finish in the 200m with a personal-best time of 21.76, while picking up a third place finish in the 400m, clocking in at 47.61. Soren Gnoss was right on his heels in fourth place. In the 100m dash, Reggie Kincade pulled off a second-place finish with a personal-best time of 10.76. Lee, John David Rollins, Ravi Dubose and Gnoss would go on to take a second-place finish in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:10.46, that specific team-composition's new season-best. The 4x100m relay squad of Anthony Harris, Kincade, Isaiah McFail and Rollins secured a new provisional qualifying mark for the Lions thanks to a time of 40.95.

Rounding things out in the field, Hendrik Nungess (javelin), Masoud Moghaddam (hammer throw), and Gage Bowles (triple jump) finished second-third-fourth in their respective events, though none of them were quite able to reach their personal bests. 

The Lions now return home from Houston with the Lone Star Conference Championships in their crosshairs. They will have just under two weeks before they travel to San Angelo. That meet will run from May 7 through May 9.

2015 A&M-Commerce Qualifying Marks

WOMEN
Ashley Bassett (400m Hurdles) 1:00.93 *
Ana Baleveicau (400m Hurdles) 1:01.89
McKee, Baleveicau, Cottingham, Bassett (4x400m Relay) 3:48.10 *
Hailey Nelson (High Jump) 1.69m
Rebecca Mueller (Discus) 47.56m
Ginnie Lee (Heptathlon) 4538 Points

MEN
John David Rollins (100m) 10.48
John David Rollins (200m) 21.23
Dexter Lee (400m) 47.49
Soren Gnoss (400m) 47.81
Luis Romero (800m) 1:50.03
DJ Richardson (110m Hurdles) 14.52
Matt Rich (110m Hurdles) 14.55
Harris, Kincade, McFail, Rollins (4x100m Relay) 40.95
Rollins, Gnoss, Williams, Lee (4x400m Relay) 3:09.56
Jamal Curtis (High Jump) 2.11m
James Lundy (High Jump) 2.04m
Matt Rich (Pole Vault) 4.91m
Gage Bowles (Long Jump) 7.60m
DeVontae Steele (Long Jump) 7.24m
DeVontae Steele (Triple Jump) 15.13m *
Gage Bowles (Triple Jump) 14.91m
Tyler Rambo (Shot Put) 17.12m
Masoud Moghaddam (Hammer) 65.34m *
Hendrik Nungess (Javelin) 73.24m *@
Matt Rich (Decathlon) 7107 Points *@

@ - Automatic Qualifier
* - School-Record