UTSA, SFA Win Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships
NORMAN, Okla. - The UTSA men's team tied a conference record with its sixth consecutive Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship and the Stephen F. Austin women's team won its third consecutive indoor title at Saturday at the Mosier Indoor Facility at the University of Oklahoma.
The UTSA men scored 153 points in winning their sixth overall indoor championship. The point total is the second-highest ever scored in the conference indoor meet and the most since Lamar scored 164 in 1983. The Roadrunners were followed by second-place UT Arlington (111 points), third-place Stephen F. Austin (105.5), fourth-place Sam Houston State (80) and fifth-place Lamar (46). The rest of the field in order of finish was McNeese State (38), Central Arkansas (37.5), Texas State (34), Southeastern Louisiana (32), Northwestern State (14) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (12).
Devon Bond got UTSA off to a good start Saturday when he won his second consecutive title in the men's triple jump. His distance of 51-9 was more than a foot better than second place. Central Arkansas senior Donavan Loring (50-6) and Sam Houston State junior Artis Edwards (50-5.50) finished second and third, respectively.
The Roadrunners swept the top three places in the men's mile with junior Albert Cardenas (4:13.67) taking the win. It was the first victory in the event for UTSA since 2001. Senior Brandon Chiuminetta (4:14.42) finished second and junior Cole Reveal (4:14.45) was third. Freshman Mike Medrano finished seventh in the event to give UTSA 26 total points in the same event.
Richard Garrett picked up the win and 10 more points for UTSA in the men's shot put. His heave of 61-8.50 gave the Roadrunners their first win in the event since 2008. Stephen F. Austin junior Jon Arthur (59-5.75) and Casey Keeter (58-11.50) finished second and third, respectively.
The UTSA men got three wins on Friday from Tyler Williamson in the long jump (24-2.25), Taylor Reed in the pole vault (16-4.75) and Keith Benford in the high jump (7-0.25), giving the Roadrunners seven event victories in the meet.
The Stephen F. Austin women scored 115.5 points in winning their fifth overall conference indoor championship. The Ladyjacks beat second-place UT Arlington by 18.5 points. The Mavericks scored 97 points and were followed by third-place UTSA (68) and fourth-place Texas State (62.5). Northwestern State and Sam Houston State tied for fifth with 55 points. Rounding out the field, in order of finish are Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (49), Nicholls State (46), Lamar (44), Southeastern Louisiana (33), McNeese State (28) and Central Arkansas (10).
Stephen F. Austin freshman Chelsea Stephen got the Ladyjacks started Saturday. She became the first SFA winner in the women's 60-meter hurdles since 2000. She was clocked at 8.55 seconds. Sam Houston State freshman Tywaneisha Spiller (8.57) was second followed by Mariah Georgetown (8.61) in third.
SFA's second win of the day came from junior Mary Dickerson in the women's 400 meters. She was clocked at 55.95 for the win, just ahead of Northwestern State freshman Consuela Lindsy (56.17). UT Arlington sophomore DeAndrea Smith (56.90) finished third. Two other Ladyjacks earned points with freshman Paige McCutcheon finishing sixth and Amahra Edwards placing seventh. SFA also got individual wins on Friday from Carrie Hahn in the high jump (5-8.75) and Crystal Walker in the long jump (19-6.75).
In other women's event, Northwestern State senior Trecey Rew won her second consecutive shot put championship with a heave of 50-8.75. Nicholls freshman Kerri Simmons (47-10) finished second and Sam Houston State junior Jenny Zoch (47-8) finished third.
Lamar got a win from freshman Katrine Vaesel in the one-mile run. She crossed the finish line in 5:00.16 ahead of UT Arlington senior Lindsey Putman (5:02.58) and McNeese State sophomore Amy Talbot (503.16), who finished second and third, respectively.
The Cardinals also got a long-distance win in the 3,000 meters. Samantha Walkow was clocked at 9:57.25 in the winning effort. She is the fourth Lamar woman to win the event in the last six years and turned in the fastest time since 2008. Her teammate, junior Taylor Cloy, was fourth with a time of 10:00.88. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Julia Sambu (9:59.15) was second and Stephen F. Austin sophomore Lauren Smith (10:00.15) was third.
In the 60-meter dash, UT Arlington freshman Pamela Vinson earned the victory in a time of 7.48. It was the third consecutive year a Maverick has won the event. Texas State senior Renee Sheppard (7.54) was second and Nicholls junior Samantha Calhoun (7.55) was third. Vinson earned her second win of the championships, taking the women's 200 meters in a time of 24.35. The Mavericks also took third place thanks to sophomore Shannon Reynolds (24.61) for 16 points in the event. Sheppard took second place for Texas State in a time of 24.54.
UT Arlington got another win in the women's 800 with a 1-2 finish by seniors Esther Abuto (2:11.06) and Lindsey Putman (2:11.91). Stephen F. Austin junior Danielle Burchett was third in a time of 2:12.00.
Texas State junior Elena Horn won the women's pole vault with a clearance of 12-9.50 to claim the event for the second consecutive year. Her mark was two inches better than last year and six inches better than second place, which was claimed by Stephen F. Austin sophomore Macy Wade (12-3.50). UTSA freshman April Benavidez (12-3.50) was third.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Kassandrea Son won the women's triple jump with a distance of 40-5.5 to become the first Islander to win the event indoors. Islander freshman Ernestine Cray gave the team a 1-2 finish in the event. She finished second with a distance of 40-2.75. Southeastern Louisiana junior Michell Ogashi (40-0.50) was third.
Northwestern State claimed the final women's event of the meet, the 4x440-yard relay. The Lady Demons won in a time of 3:49.30 with the team of Constance Seibles, Consuela Lindsy, Andrea Warren and Quiana Griffin. UT Arlington was second in a time of 3:49.81 and Sam Houston State was third in a time of 3:50.14.
In other men's events, Stephen F. Austin junior Nick McCloud repeated his championship in the 60-meter hurdles. His time of 7.82, which was just .01 seconds off the meet record, was an improvement from his winning time a year ago (7.95). UTSA freshman Keyunta Hayes (7.98) and UT Arlington sophomore Renan Palma rounded out the top three.
UT Arlington senior Cordero Gray ran 6.69 for the win in the men's 60 meters. He is the first Maverick to win the event since 2003 and was only .05 seconds off the championship record. UTA freshman Clayton Vaughn finished (6.82) third in the event earning his team 16 points in the event. Texas State senior Kevin Aje (6.78) placed second.
Gray contributed his second win of the day in the men's 200 meters to lead a 1-2-3 finish by the Mavericks, who scored 28 points in the event. Senior Juan Lewis (21.96) was second, sophomore Lionel Mungwari (21.99) was third and Vaughn (22.01) was fifth. Lewis gave his team its second win of the day, turning in a 48.28 effort in the 400 meters to earn narrow victory over Sam Houston State junior Darryl Hayes, who crossed in 48.29. Central Arkansas junior Sage Raphael was third (48.88).
The Mavericks also got the win in the men's heptathlon. Freshman Romain Martin cruised to an all-time conference record with 5,728 points with wins in the long jump (22-11.25), high jump (6-8), pole vault (16-0.75) and 1,000 meters (2:46.33). His total beat Justin Youngblood's (UTSA) 2004 Southland Conference championship record of 5,483 and the all-time conference record of 5,532 by Adolphus Jones, who set the record during a meet last year. Sam Houston State junior Matthew Johnson finished second (5,563) and Stephen F. Austin junior Andrew Plentl was third (5,143).
Lamar junior Joe Wade won the men's 800 meters, crossing the finish line in a time of 1:51.44. UT Arlington senior Dwight Robinson (1:52.20), the 2010 champion, was second, and UTSA senior Canel Cole (1:52.52) was third. Lamar junior Tom Wade ran a time of 8:20.33 to win the men's 3,000 meters, becoming the third consecutive Cardinal to win the event. McNeese junior David Rooney (8:23.33) was second and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi sophomore Patrick Kimeli (8:27.58) was third.
Sam Houston State finished off the meet with a win in the 4x440-yard relay. The team of Jesse Martinez, Brian Helaire, Darryl Hayes and Rodney Jones was clocked at 3:17.72. Stephen F. Austin (3:18.16) finished second and UTSA (3:19.52) finished third.
Son and Vinson were recognized following the meet as the women's high-point scorers, tying for the honor with 22.5 points. Son won the women's triple jump, finished second in the 200 meters, third in the long jump and fifth in the 60 meters. Vinson won both the 60 meters and 200 meters and contributed on the Mavericks' second-place 4x400-meter relay.
The men's high-point scorer was UT Arlington's Gray, who finished with 20.75 points in the meet with wins in the 60 meters and 200 meters. He also ran a leg on the Mavericks' 4x440-yard relay team that finished sixth.
All individual event winners earn first-team all-conference honors. Second- and third-place finishers earn second- and third-team all-conference honors, respectively. The conference will announce the athlete of the year, the outstanding track events athlete, the outstanding field events athlete as well as the freshman, newcomer and coach of the year on Thursday, March 3.
|
Final Men's Standings
|
|
1.
|
UTSA
|
153.0
|
|
2.
|
UT Arlington
|
111.0
|
|
3.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
105.5
|
|
4.
|
Sam Houston State
|
80.0
|
|
5.
|
Lamar
|
46.0
|
|
6.
|
McNeese State
|
38.0
|
|
7.
|
Central Arkansas
|
37.5
|
|
8.
|
Texas State
|
34.0
|
|
9.
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
32.0
|
|
10.
|
Northwestern State
|
14.0
|
|
11.
|
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
|
12.0
|
|
|
|
|
|
Final Women's Standings
|
|
1.
|
Stephen F. Austin
|
115.5
|
|
2.
|
UT Arlington
|
97.0
|
|
3.
|
UTSA
|
68.0
|
|
4.
|
Texas State
|
62.5
|
|
5.
|
Northwestern State
|
55.0
|
| |
Sam Houston State
|
55.0
|
|
7.
|
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
|
49.0
|
|
8.
|
Nicholls
|
46.0
|
|
9.
|
Lamar
|
44.0
|
|
10.
|
Southeastern Louisiana
|
33.0
|
|
11.
|
McNeese State
|
28.0
|
|
12.
|
Central Arkansas
|
10.0
|