The UTEP track and field team will compete over the next four days as it hosts the Conference USA Championships. The Miners, along with the other 12 league members will take Kidd Field May 11-14.
The UTEP women�s team will be looking for its first outdoor conference title in program history. The women�s team has won three consecutive indoor championships. The men�s team will be seeking is first outdoor conference championship since they took home the hardware in 2013.
Tickets can be purchased online. A four-day pass can be purchased for $20 or a daily ticket can be purchased for $8 for adults or $4 for kids. Students are able to attend the championship free with their Miner ID.
The Fastest Kid in El Paso race will be taking place on Sunday, May 14. Kids ages 5-13 are invited to participate in the 100m dash at 3 p.m. at Kidd Field. To sigh-up for the race please, contact UTEP Marketing at (915) 747-6065.
For information about parking, tickets and live results please visit, C-USA Championship Central. �For live updates and breaking news follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
Events to Watch:
Thursday, May 11
Heptathlon (begins at 2:45 p.m.)
Junior Lucia Mokrasova will lead things off in the heptathlon. Mokrasova is a two-time defending indoor conference champion in the event.
Earlier this year she set the school record at the Texas Relays scoring 5,671 points and heads into the championship ranked tied for eighth nationally.
Friday, May 12th
Women�s Hammer Throw (Begins at 10:00 a.m.)
Fayon Gonzales and Abedola Akomolafe will be competing in the women�s hammer throw, set to start at 10:00 a.m.Gonzales ranks 11th in the league with a toss of 52.58m set at the UTEP Invitational. Akomolafe will compete in the hammer throw for the fourth time this season.
Women�s 10,000m Final (8:00 p.m.)
Winny Koech and Gladys Jerotich head into Friday�s final ranked second and fourth in the conference, respectively. Koech set a time of 33:51.31 at the Mt. SAC Relays finishing in third place.
Men�s Hammer Throw (12:30 p.m.)
Newcomer Karol Koncos and Senior Kevin Rincon will lead the miners in the hammer throw. In his first year competing in the orange and blue, Koncos ranks third in the league with a mark of 63.43m set at the UTEP Invitational. Rincon will compete for the last time for the Miners.
Men�s 10,000m Final (8:45 p.m.)
Antony Kosgei and Evans Kiprono will close out the day with the 10,000m final starting at 8:45 p.m. Kosgei ranks fourth in C-USA with a time of 30:25.77 set at the Mt. SAC Relays.
Saturday, May 13th
Women�s Discus Final (1:00 p.m.)
Senior Samantha Hall heads into the competition favored in the event. The thrower holds the school record with a toss of 58.50m set at the NCAA Regional meet last year. Hall ranks first in C-USA and 17th in the nation. Hall returns to the track on Sunday for the shot put competition where she ranks eighth with a toss of 14.30m registered at the UTEP Invitational.
Women�s Long Jump Final (3:30 p.m.)
Senior Isreal Ramsay (5.89m) and Sophomore Tobi Amusan (5.83m) hold the seventh and ninth best marks in conference this year.� This is the first of four events for Amusan.
Men�s Long Jump Final (3:30 p.m.)
Brandon Moss heads into Saturday�s competition with the eighth best mark in the league with a leap of 7.32m set at Brutus Hamilton Challenge.
Women�s 1,500m Prelims (5:00 p.m.)
Sophomore Lilian Koech and freshman Linda Cheruiyot (4:23.60) hold the third and fourth-fastest times in C-USA this year, respectively. Koech clocked in a time of 4:22.12 at the Texas Relays. Cheruiyot posted a time of 4:29.91 at the UTEP Invitational.
Koech will also compete in the 800m prelim at 7:20 p.m. The sophomore ranks third in conference and 20th in the nation with a time of 2:04.68.
Men�s 1,500m Prelims (5:15 p.m.)
Jonah Koech, Cosmas Boit and Michael Saruni will compete in Saturday�s race. The Miners rank third, fifth and seventh in the league respectively. Koech posted a time of 3:44.96 at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge.
Saruni and Koech will also run in the 800m prelim set for a 7:30 p.m. Saruni ranks fifth in the nation and second in the league with a time of 1:45.82.
Women�s 100m Hurdles (5:35 p.m.)
Sophomore sensation Tobi Amusan comes into the championships ranked second in the nation and first in C-USA. The hurdler registered a personal-best 12.63, setting the school record at the UTEP Springtime.
The sophomore will also run the 200m prelim, starting at 8:25 p.m., where she ranks eighth in the nation and first in the league with a time of 22.60 set at the UTEP Invitational.
Women�s 400m Prelim (6:10 p.m.)
Senior duo Ada Benjamin and Florence Uwakwe rank first and second C-USA. Benjamin posted a time of 53.27 at the UTEP Springtime. Uwakwe clocked in a 53.33 at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge setting a season best.
Men�s 400m Prelim (6:25 p.m.)
Freshman standout Emmanuel Korir has caught the nations earning The Bowerman Watch List recognition. Korir set a personal best of 44.67 in the 400m at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge. The mid-distnce runner set the school record in the event and sits at the No. 3 nationally. This will be the second time the freshman competes in the 400m.
Women�s 400m Hurdles Prelim (7:50 p.m.)
Senior Yanique Bennett and Sophomore Dreshanae Rolle rank first and fourth in the conference, respectively. Bennett set a season-best 58.57 at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge. Rolle set a personal-best 1:00.19 at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge.
Men�s 3,000m Steeplechase (9:20 p.m.)
Daniel Cheruiyot clocked 9:31.31 at the Mt. SAC Relays and holds the fourth best time coming into the conference championships.
Sunday, May 14
Men�s Tripe Jump Final (3:00 p.m.)
Donivan Ortega will be jumping at his first outdoor championships and holds the seventh-best jump in the conference with a mark of 14.83m set at the UTEP Springtime.
Can a new exercise regimen boost your brain health if you’re over 50?
Possibly, suggests a new research review that found middle-age folks can improve their thinking and memory skills by adopting regular moderate-to-vigorous routines involving aerobic and resistance exercise.
“When we combined the available data from [39 previous] studies, we were able to show that undertaking physical exercise was able to improve the brain function of people aged 50 and over,” said study lead author Joseph Northey. He’s a doctoral candidate and teaching fellow at the University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise in Australia.
The review included 18 studies that looked at the impact of aerobic exercise — such as walking, running and swimming — on thinking, alertness, information processing, executing goals and memory skills.
Exercise for Middle-Aged People
Resistance training, such as weight lifting, was the focus of 13 studies. Another 10 studies looked at various types of exercise done in combination. And, a handful of studies specifically explored the impact of tai chi and yoga on brain health.
Study participants did their exercise under some degree of supervision, the researchers noted. Activity routines were categorized in terms of exercise type, intensity and length. They were then stacked up against the results of tests that measured brain performance.
In the end, the researchers determined that exercise did help brain health. However, different forms of exercise were linked to different types of benefits.
For example, aerobic exercise and tai chi appeared to enhance overall brain function. Resistance training was linked to improved memory.
Northey added that, besides highlighting the benefits of aerobic exercise, “being able to show that resistance training — such as lifting weights or using body weight — was similarly beneficial is a very novel and important finding.”
“Combining both aerobic and resistance training is ideal,” he said. “In addition to improving your brain function as our review shows, you should expect to see improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness and muscle strength, which are important for maintaining general health and being able to undertake day-to-day tasks,” Northey said.
The research team also concluded that the biggest brain boost comes from routines that are of moderate to vigorous intensity and conducted as often as possible for between 45 minutes to an hour.
Exercise and Memory
But will middle-aged people new to exercise gain as much of a brain boost as those who’ve been exercising for decades?
“We know in many animal models and population type studies that the longer people are physically active the greater the benefits to brain function,” Northey said.
He added that more research is underway to assess just how much exercising while young might ultimately confer on brain health among those over 50. Northey also offered some advice for those motivated by the findings to get moving. If you’re currently inactive, he suggested speaking to your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you to start exercising.
“It is also worthwhile gaining some instruction on exercise methods to ensure that you are setting achievable goals and getting the most out of the time invested in exercise,” he said.
Dr. Anton Porsteinsson is director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program with the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y.
He said that earlier investigations looking into the protective effect of exercise on brain health “have not agreed on this matter.”
But looked at collectively, he said, the current review “suggests that exercise, including aerobic exercise, resistance training and tai chi, is beneficial to brain health in addition to the well-established positive effects that exercise has to improve general health and reduce risk of disease.
“Of particular interest to me,” Porsteinsson added, “is that a combination of aerobic and resistance training appears to have the largest effect.” “(And) along with studies suggesting that certain diets contribute to brain health,” he noted, “it appears that adopting a healthy lifestyle is never too late.”
The study was published online April 24 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
SOURCES: Joseph Michael Northey, Ph.D. candidate and teaching fellow, University of Canberra Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, Canberra, Australia; Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor, psychiatry, neurology, and director, Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y.; April 24, 2017 British Journal of Sports Medicine online
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
Additional Topics: Chiropractic and Athletic Performance
Although warm-up stretches, exercise and plenty of training activities are practiced on a regular basis to prevent injuries, many athletes frequently experience sports injuries during their specific physical activity and/or sport. Fortunately, chiropractic care can help treat and rehabilitate athletes, in order for them to return to the field as soon as possible. Chiropractic has also been demonstrated to help increase athletic performance.
What Is It: BoxUnion — Charlotte McKinney’s favorite boxing studio — combines shadow boxing and heavy bag drills with cardio, core work and plyometric intervals to “sculpt, lean and champion a fit physique in a thoughtful, motivational environment.”
Who Tried It: Gabrielle Olya, PEOPLE writer and reporter
Level of Difficulty: 7 (on a scale of 1 to 10). I took the “Box U” class which is catered to beginners, so it’s easy to follow along and they offer plenty of modifications for every move so you can do a workout that’s appropriate for your fitness level. While I was able to do all the moves the class required, that doesn’t mean it was easy! I guarantee you will break a serious sweat during the 45-minute class.
The class started off with shadow boxing drills to make us more comfortable with the different punches (while also working our core and arms to do the moves). Then the boxing gloves went on, and we spent the remainder of class doing a mix of boxing intervals with the bag and floor intervals that included squatting, jumping, running in place and ab work.
While the class was physically exhausting (I was drenched in sweat about 10 minutes in!) the upbeat playlist and encouraging trainer helped me get through the whole class without stopping. I definitely felt challenged, but I was able to get so mentally lost doing the moves that I was honestly surprised when the class was over!
“It’s a really cool moving mind-body meditation,” Marxel Leobez, who trains the Baywatchstar, tells PEOPLE. “You’re in constant movement so you can kind of let go.”
And it’s also a really effective calorie-burning workout.
“The sequencing we use in BoxUnion is like HIIT training,” says Leobez. “You’re getting your heart rate elevated and bringing it down, so you’re boosting your metabolism to burn fat and sculpt muscle at the same time. It’s a high caloric burn.”
In addition to scorching calories, the boxing moves work muscles throughout the entire body.
“By using the rotations, you’re using every spacial plane,” explains Leobez. “You’re working your glutes, you’re working your core, especially, to keep the balance, and especially the transverse abdominus which pulls the abs in tight. It’s a lot of core work, and on top of that it works out your arms. It’s a full-body exercise.”
The Verdict: I left BoxUnion feeling sweaty and sore, but also really energized for the rest of the day. Not only did I feel like I got a great workout, but punching a bag was also an amazing stress reliever. I would definitely go back to sweat out a bad day (or start off a good one)!
IRVING, Texas – UTEP softball junior Courtney Clayton was named to the 2017 InTouch Credit Union Conference USA Softball All-Academic Team league officials announced on Wednesday.
It’s the second consecutive year that the Health Promotion major earned a spot on the academic team and is one of 14 student-athletes named to the exclusive list. Clayton fashions a 3.87 GPA, while being named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and recognized as a C-USA Academic Medalist for the third year in a row.
The Cornelius, Ore., native hit .314 (50-159) with four home runs and 21 RBI in 2017. Clayton led the squad in runs (29), while tallying seven doubles. She only struck out five times to rank in the top half of the nation in toughest to strikeout. Defensively, she recorded 109 putouts and 83 assists.
Clayton recently reached the 100-run club on the program’s all-time list. She’s the sixth player to accomplish the feat as she has crossed the dish 101 times. Clayton also ranks no. 5 on the program’s all-time hit’s list with 180 and is ranked tied no. 4 with Stacie Townsend in career doubles (38).
Last year, Clayton was the first Miner to be named to the academic team since Colleen Hohman received the honor in 2014.
Breastfeeding has long been linked to a variety of health benefits in babies, and a new study suggests that bacteria transferred from mothers to their nursing infants might be at least partly responsible.
Researchers focused on what’s known as the microbiome, or all of the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in and on the body. They tested 107 mother-baby pairs for organisms on women’s breasts and in their milk, and they also examined babies’ stool as a way of determining what types of organisms were in the infant gut microbiome.
While they found distinct types of bacteria in milk, breast tissue and infant stool, researchers also found infants’ gut microbial communities matched the bacteria in their mothers’ milk and on their mothers’ skin much more than it resembled samples from other women in the study.
That suggests each mother’s milk was a major contributor to her own infant’s gut microbiome.
“We were able to show that there are bacteria in milk and that these bacteria could be traced to bacteria in infant stools,” said senior study author Dr. Grace Aldrovandi, chief of the division of infectious diseases at Mattel Children’s Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“This supports the hypothesis that milk microbes are a mechanism by which breastfeeding provides benefit,” Aldrovandi said by email.
Pediatricians recommend that mothers exclusively breastfeed infants until at least 6 months of age because it is tied to reduced risk for babies of ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, childhood obesity and diabetes.
Mothers may benefit too, with longer periods of breastfeeding linked to lower risks of depression, bone deterioration and certain cancers.
Based on lab tests of bacteria found in milk, on skin and in stool in the current study, researchers estimated that babies who got at least 75 percent of their nutrition from breast milk during the first month of life received about 28 percent of their gut bacteria from their mother’s milk. These babies also got about 10 percent of their gut bacteria from mothers’ skin and 62 percent from sources researchers didn’t determine.
The more babies nursed, the more their gut bacterial community changed to resemble what was found in their mother’s milk.
And in babies who got more of their nutrition exclusively from breastfeeding, microbial communities were slightly more diverse overall and different microbes predominated compared to babies who breastfed less.
One limitation of the study is that researchers didn’t assess the origins of the breast milk bacteria or other bacterial communities from the mother that might have contributed to the infant gut microbiome, the authors note. Nor did they assess any effects on the babies’ health based on differences in their microbiomes.
Still, the results build on previous research suggesting that the infant gut microbiome is different for breast-fed and formula-fed babies, said Dr. Alexander Khoruts, a researcher at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis who wasn’t involved in the study.
“We’ve always assumed that most of these microbes come from the mother,” Khoruts said by email. “They found that breastfeeding is the major source of microbial transfer during the early months of life, and I think the study provides supportive evidence for the current recommendations of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding to 12 months.”
Many factors can influence the infant gut microbiome, including breastfeeding, whether babies arrived by vaginal or surgical delivery and antibiotic use, noted Jose Clemente, a researcher in the genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
“The beneficial effects of breastfeeding are well known, and this study provides further evidence by demonstrating that probiotic bacteria found in breast milk can be transferred to the infant,” Clemente, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “Every little bit helps, so even some amount of breast milk can be a source of beneficial bacteria for babies.”
A Franco-Australian study published this week reports that testosterone protects males against developing asthma, suppressing the production of a type of immune cell that triggers allergic asthma.
An international team of researchers set out to investigate why females are two times more likely to develop asthma than males after puberty.
According to the research, carried out jointly by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and the Physiopathology Center of Toulouse-Purpan, France, the answer could lie in our hormones.
The scientists found that high levels of testosterone had a protective effect against the development of allergic asthma, inhibiting immune cells called type-two innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), associated with the initiation of asthma.
As highlighted by a French study published in PNAS in 2014, these cells, which are found in lungs, skin and other organs, play a role in triggering allergic reactions like asthma.
These cells produce inflammatory proteins that can cause lung inflammation and damage in response to common triggers for allergic asthma, such as pollen, dust mites, cigarette smoke and pet hair.
“Testosterone directly acts on ILC2s by inhibiting their proliferation,” explains Dr Cyril Seillet from Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. “So in males, you have less ILC2s in the lungs and this directly correlates with the reduced severity of asthma.”
This major breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms that drive allergic asthma, as well as key differences between males and females, could lead to new treatments for the disease. These could potentially mimic the hormonal regulation of ILC2 to treat or prevent asthma.
Several studies have suggested that menopause may increase the risk of hearing loss, possibly due to lower estrogen levels, and that postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy might slow the decline. But researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that hormone therapy actually increased the risk of hearing loss.
Researchers examined links between menopausal status, oral hormone therapy, and risk of self-reported hearing loss in more than 80,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study II.
During the 22-year study period, 23 percent of the participants developed hearing loss. Although no significant association was found between menopausal status and the risk, using postmenopausal hormone therapy was linked to a higher risk of hearing loss. The longer women used hormone therapy, the greater their risk.
“Our research focuses on identifying preventable contributors to hearing loss,” said lead author Dr. Sharon Curhan. “Although the role of sex hormones in hearing is complex and incompletely understood, these findings suggest that women who undergo natural menopause at an older age may have a higher risk. In addition, longer duration of postmenopausal hormone therapy use is associated with higher risk.
“These findings suggest that hearing health may be a consideration for women when evaluating the risks and benefits of hormone therapy,” she said.
The findings are published online May 10, 2017 in Menopause, The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.
An earlier study by Dr. Curhan of 65,000 women found that those who eat at least two servings of fish every week have a lower risk of age-related hearing loss.
Although hearing loss is often considered an inevitable part of aging, those who ate two or more servings a week had a 20 percent lower risk of hearing loss when compared to women who rarely ate fish. “Consumption of any type of fish tended to be associated with lower risk,” said Dr. Curhan. “These findings suggest that diet may be important in the prevention of acquired hearing loss.”
Approximately 48 million Americans suffer from hearing loss, and the number is expected to increase as the population ages.
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