The Angelo State men's and women's track and field squads matched up with some of the best athletes in the region Saturday as the Rams and Rambelles competed at the Bobby Lane Invitational hosted by Texas-Arlington.

The Rams had three athletes improve upon qualifying marks Saturday in Arlington. Junior Tyler Orlando bettered his automatic mark in the javelin throw as he placed second in the event with a career-best throws of 218-3, the sixth longest mark in ASU history. Sophomore Jacob McDonald added a fifth-place performance in the event as he bettered his provisional mark with a throw of 207-7. Senior James Howell improved his provisional mark in the 400-meter dash, placing second with a time of 47.32.

In other men's action, two other Rams recorded top season marks at UTA. Freshman Mark Slone had season-best performances in both the long jump and triple jump while senior Andrew Crookham had a season-best in the shot put. Slone placed fifth in the triple jump (47-1) and 11th in the long jump (22-5) while Crookham placed seventh in the shot put (51-8.25).

On the women's side, two Rambelles turned provisional marks into automatic marks Saturday. Senior Chrystal Ruiz, who has automatically qualified for the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championships in the heptathlon, added an automatic performance in the 400-meter hurdles at UTA with personal-best time of 1:00.83, placing second in the event. Senior Celethia Byrd added an automatic mark in the 400-meter dash with a fourth-place finish in a personal-best time of 54.64. Byrd has previously automatically qualified for the 200-meter dash earlier this season.

Senior Aisha Adams also improved upon her provisional mark in the 100-meter hurdles, placing second in a time of 14.07, and was part of the Rambelles 4x400-meter relay squad that bettered its provisional mark, winning the event in a time of 3:45.46. Senior Brittney Heath recorded the top time in the 1,500-meter run by a Rambelle this season as she placed seventh in a time of 4:45.96. Sophomore Carmen Herrera also had a season-best for the ASU women in the triple jump, placing 13th with a leap of 36-0.75.

The Rams and Rambelles return to action later this week as the two teams compete at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. The event begins Wednesday and continues through Saturday. Cilck here for a schedule.