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DAY TWO HEAT SHEETS
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2017 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships got underway in style on Wednesday, with McNeese taking the team points lead (53.0) into the final day for men while Lamar lead on the women’s side (36) heading into Thursday’s action.
McNeese are followed by Sam Houston State (44.50), Stephen F. Austin (31.50), Southeastern Louisiana (25) and Central Arkansas (15). Lamar women sit narrowly ahead of Sam Houston State (32), followed by Abilene Christian (29), Stephen F. Austin (26) and New Orleans (16).
The first champions of the day were crowned in the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter run, with Abilene Christian’s Michaela Hackett taking first place for the women and Nathan Jones earning the gold for the men.
The women’s race came first, where Hackett distanced herself from the pack early and put a healthy buffer between herself and second place by the last half of the race. The junior crossed the line with a final time of 16:41.57. Lamar senior Jannika John second with a time of 16:59.94. Having won gold in 2015 – and redshirting in 2016 – it is John’s second top-three finish in as many indoor championships. Stephen F. Austin senior Shelby Pesek took third in 17:11.26.
The men’s race immediately followed, where McNeese headlined a fast pack with a 1-2-4-6-10 finishing order. Junior Nathan jones took a strong first-place finish (14:30.56) followed by fellow Cowboy, senior Enrique Soto (14:39.44). Sam Houston State senior Chris Speaks finished third with a time of 14:41.14. The Cowboys racked up points at the top end with fourth-place senior William Hamilton (14:45.31), sixth-place senior Oliver James (14:54.11) and 10
th-place sophomore Bradley Traviss (15:15.37).
When all was said and done with the women’s pentathlon, New Orleans junior Farydah Inoussa was victorious with 3,780 points. A tiebreaker was needed to decide second place as Central Arkansas senior Samantha Gibson and senior Madeline Kaufmann of Stephen F. Austin both finished with 3,693 points. Gibson held a 3-2 head-to-head advantage over Kaufmann in the five pentathlon events and was awarded the second-place finish.
By midday, Sam Houston State junior Tyler Adams had made his mark on the men’s heptathlon, leading with 3,150 points after the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put and high jump. Junior Wyatt French of Abilene Christian heads into day two in second place (2,838) while Stephen F. Austin junior Hunter Key sits in third place (2,797).
Should Adams carry his momentum through tomorrow’s final three events, the 2016 Outstanding Field Performer and 2015 Freshman of the Year will have three consecutive championship heptathlon wins to his name.
In the women’s weight throw, Abilene Christian’s Lonnie Smith came out on top with a 17.91 meter (58-09.25) throw in the finals. Sam Houston State earned a 2-3 finish with sophomore Yarixza Rivera (17.83m/58-06.00) and junior Kristine Hanks (17.57m/57-07.75).
Sophomore Isaiah Pittman of Stephen F. Austin took home gold in the long jump, hitting a 7.45m mark (24-05.50) in the finals. Second place went to Brian O’Bonna, a senior from Lamar. He took silver with 7.35m (24-01.50). McNeese’s John Lemke finished third. The senior Cowboy hit a mark of 7.31m (22-11.75).
In the men’s pole vault, it was an unexpected duel between reigning 2016 champion Devin King of Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin sophomore Antonio Ruiz. Ruiz managed to match King at the 5.41m mark, but was unable to overcome 5.46m as King went on to finish with a 5.51m (18-01.00) for his second-straight gold medal in the championship for pole vault. He narrowly missed hitting 5.62m, which would have broken the 5.61m conference championship record set by Jack Whitt of Oral Roberts in 2013. Sam Houston State senior Garrett Larson took third, topping out at the 5.16m mark (16-11.00).
McNeese’s Hiram Morales put on a powerful performance in the men’s shot put. The senior took the title with a final mark of 17.62m (57-09.75). Junior Kai Schmidt of Abilene Christian took second with a 17.35 (56-11.25) while Southeastern Louisiana sophomore finished in third place with a mark of 17.03m (55-10.50).
Eric Moore took the top spot in the men’s high jump for Central Arkansas. This was the junior’s second-straight gold medal in the high jump at the Southland Championships. In his 2015 freshman year, he took silver after a narrow tiebreaker with this year’s silver medalist Tyler Adams of Sam Houston State. Moore and Adams have finished in the top two spots in the high jump for three straight years at the Southland Championships. Houston Baptist freshman Quillan Haughton finished in third place. All three tied with 2.10m clearances, with Moore taking the gold over Adams and Haughton on the total-attempts tiebreaker.
Lamar earned a 1-2 finish in the women’s long jump with sophomore Thai Williams (6.01m / 19-08.75) and junior Deja Phillips (5.96m / 19-06.75). New Orleans junior Farydah Inoussa medaled for the second time on the day with a bronze medal jump of 5.92m (19-05.25)
Lamar ran an impressive women’s distance medley relay, using a huge late push to take first place with a time of 12:02.17 with runners Alexandria Sokolova, Meagan Menifee, Georgia Tuckfield and Evelyn Chavez. Stephen F. Austin took silver in 12:07.95 with runners Taryn Surratt, Tiffany Williams, Caitlin Lennon and Rana Ryan. In third place was Sam Houston State (12:11.74) with Briana McCall, Jasmine Lewis, Jamie Eckford and Camry Grigsby.
McNeese added another chunk of points to their team total with their distance runners with another gold medal in the men’s DMR. Oliver James, Blake Comeaux, Olandis Johnson and Nathan Jones secured the victory with a time of 9:58.58. UIW took silver in 10:00.17 with Jorge Quintero, Collin Sepulveda, Cameron White and Garrett Cortez. Earning silver was Sam Houston State (10:04.43) with runners Chris Speaks, William Stark, Evan Arambula and Jeffrey Moore.
Day two of competition will begin tomorrow with heptathlon events beginning at 8:30 a.m., field event finals beginning at 10 a.m. and running event finals from 12 p.m. to the last event of the championships at 3:40 p.m. Click
here for a full schedule of events.
2017 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Day 1 Champions
| Event |
School |
Name |
Class |
Distance/Time/Points |
| Women’s 5000m |
Abilene Christian |
Michaela Hackett |
Jr. |
16:41.57 |
| Men’s 5000m |
McNeese |
Nathan Jones |
Jr. |
14:30.56 |
| Women’s Pentathlon |
New Orleans |
Farydah Inoussa |
Jr. |
3,780 |
| Women’s Weight Throw |
Abilene Christian |
Lonnie Smith |
So. |
17.91m / 58-09.25 |
| Men’s Long Jump |
Stephen F. Austin |
Isaiah Pittman |
So. |
7.45m / 24-05.50 |
| Men’s Pole Vault |
Southeastern Louisiana |
Devin King |
Jr. |
5.51m / 18-01.00 |
| Men’s Shot Put |
McNeese |
Hiram Morales |
Sr. |
17.62m / 57-09.76 |
| Men’s High Jump |
Central Arkansas |
Eric Moore |
Jr. |
2.10m / 6-10.75 |
| Women’s Long Jump |
Lamar |
Thai Williams |
So. |
6.01m / 19-08.75 |
| Women’s DMR |
Lamar |
-- |
-- |
12:02.17 |
| Men’s DMR |
McNeese |
-- |
-- |
9:58.58 |