Southeastern Men Win First Indoor Title, Sam Houston Women Win Third
Southland Conference
HIGHLIGHTS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southeastern Louisiana men and the Sam Houston State women claimed the team titles at the 2014 Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, held Wednesday and Thursday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
For the Lions, it is their first Southland indoor championship in school history to go with the program's 2009 outdoor championship. Sam Houston State won its third overall women’s indoor title to go with back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008.
Southeastern held a four-point lead over defending conference champion Stephen F. Austin after six events on the opening day of the championships. The Lions picked up where it left off Wednesday, using its depth in field events to extend its lead.
Lions’ senior Jeff Milliron, who won the shot put on Wednesday, started Thursday by claiming the title in the weight throw with a heave of 66-feet, 10.5 inches. Lion junior Brett Olsen added another second-place finish to his haul with a toss of 65-4. Olsen was second in the shot put behind Milliron. The Lions, which scored 27 points in the weight throw on Wednesday, scored 23 in the shot put, getting four points from junior Jonathan Kinchen’s fifth-place finish and sophomore Jimmy LeBlanc’s eight-place effort.
Surprising enough, the shot put was the Lions’ only victory Thursday. Southeastern claimed only three of the meet’s 17 events, but relied on depth for its first indoor title.
Wednesday in the shot put, the Lions finished 1-2-4-5 headlined by Milliron’s throw of 56-8 for the win. Olsen was second (53-3.50), LeBlanc was fourth (51-3.75) and Kinchen was fifth (49-6.50).
The Lions scored another 18 points in the high jump. Freshman Clarence Robinson took the win with a clearance of 6-9 and sophomore Kadarius Williams was second at a best height of 6-8. Those two events accounted for 45 of the Lions’ 56 points on the first day.
Sam Houston was the runner up in the men’s team championship race for the second consecutive year, finishing 12.5 points behind Southeastern, 119-106.5. Defending champions SFA finished third with 91 points, Lamar was fourth with 75 points and Northwestern State rounded out the top-five men’s teams with 60 points.
Sam Houston senior Matthew Viverette gave his team 10 points with the win in the 60-meter hurdles. He ran 8.01 to edge McNeese State senior Tristan Joynes who ran 8.13 and Southeastern senior Abram Taylor who ran 8.15. Bearkat freshman Jay Roberson finished fifth (8.34) giving Sam Houston 14 points in the event.
In the 60 meters, Northwestern State senior Justin Walker took the top spot on the award podium after breaking the tape in a time of 6.71. Southeastern senior Brandon Daniels was second (6.82) and ACU sophomore Johnathan Farquarshon was third (6.83). Just four one-hundredths of a second separated the second through seventh places. Southeastern scored 12 points in the event.
Walker added a second individual win in the 200 meters, going 21.17 to better his meet record (21.11) he set Wednesday. Junior teammate Keenan Jackson was fifth to give the Demons 14 points in the event. Southeastern senior Antonio Herbert was second (21.56) and Sam Houston State junior Rodney Jones was third (21.65).
In the 400 meters, Sam Houston’s Jones tied the meet record, going 47.34 to equal the 1997 record set by Texas-San Antonio’s Leonard Byrd. SFA junior Josh Taylor was second in a time of 48.26. A pair of Islanders were next with freshman Angelo Garland going 48.47 for third and junior David Carrillo going 48.52 for fourth.
Sam Houston sophomore De’Quad Binder took top honors in the 800 meters. He crossed the finish line in a time of 1:52.47 to score 10 points. Abilene Christian junior Daniel Block (1:52.71) was second and Lamar junior Aaron Bennett (1:52.75) was third.
In the mile, Lamar junior Sam Stabler led a 1-4-5 finish for the Cardinals. Stabler set the meet record with a time of 4:03.14 in prelims, but ran 4:10.61 in the final. Senior Michael Kershaw was fourth (4:14.27) and freshman Sean Chalmers was fifth (4:19.00). Central Arkansas sophomore Corentin Louis was second (4:12.88) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Valentinas Rudys was third (4:13.79).
Stabler added the 3,000-meter title to his haul, finishing in 8:21.69 for the win. Cardinal junior Ryan Creech was sixth go give Lamar 13 points in the event. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Philipp Baar was second (8:30.58) and Sam Houston junior Karl Schreiber was third. The Bearkats scored eight points in the event after senior Palo Ponce finished seventh.
Stabler finished the meet as the men’s high-point scorer with 22.5 points thanks to his wins in the mile and 3,000 meters as well as a leg of the Cardinals’ winning distance medley relay on Wednesday.
SFA won the 4x400-meter relay, edging rival Sam Houston at the line with a time of 3:13.15. The Bearkats crossed only two one-hundredths behind at 3:13.17. Abilene Christian was third in a time of 3:15.81.
Northwestern State junior Emmanuel Williams also pulled a double adding a triple jump title to his long jump title from Wednesday. He landed 50-4.75 in the triple for the win, edging Sam Houston senior Charles White (50-0) and ORU senior Tim Jones II (49-7.75). The Bearkats scored 12 points in the event.
SFA junior Cody Rhodes won the men’s heptathlon with 4,943 points. He did it without an event win though finished second in both the 60-meter hurdles (8.53) and high jump (6-2.25) and third in the 1,000 meters (2:44.05). Additionally, he was fifth in the pole vault (13-7.25), eighth in the long jump (20-4.50), ninth in the shot put (35-8.75) and tied for ninth in the 60 meters (7.38). The Lumberjacks also finished third and sixth to total 19 points in the event. SFA junior John Park set the CrossPlex facility record in the 1,000 meters of the heptathlon, going 2:40.72. He finished ninth overall.
The Sam Houston women scored 132 points and beat five-time defending champion SFA (124) by eight points. Lamar was third with 82 points, while McNeese State and Central Arkansas tied for fourth with 53 points.
The Bearkats scored 18 points in the 60-meter hurdles thanks to a meet record by senior Sabrina Starr. Her time of 8.19 ranks 10th nationally and bested the previous championship mark of 8.40 set by Northwestern State’s Brittany Littlejohn in 2003 and tied by SFA’s Chelsea Stephen in 2012. Bearkat sophomore Danielle Demas was second with her time of 8.42. Southeastern senior Alicia Noel was third (8.54).
Abilene Christian senior Reyare Thomas gave the Wildcats their first win in the Southland, bringing home gold in the 60 meters in a time of 7.45, edging SFA junior Brarysheyia Simpson by one-one hundredth of a second. McNeese State senior Jasmine Webb was third (7.52). SFA scored 13 points in the event thanks to a fourth-place time of 7.59 by sophomore Chasity Clark.
Thomas added a second title in the 200 meters, going 23.73 to top her meet record of 23.89 which she set in Wednesday’s prelims. SFA’s Simpson was second (23.88) and Sam Houston junior Lygia Foreman was third (24.11). SFA scored 13 points in the event and Sam Houston scored nine.
Sam Houston junior Lygia Foreman gave the Bearkats another win in the 400 meters, clocking a time of 54.37. SFA added 10 points in the event thanks to a second-place time of 54.41 by Simpson and a seventh-place time of 56.29 by sophomore Jessica Hatchett. Oral Roberts sophomore Madison Reynolds was third (54.80).
Despite three second-place finishes – in the 60, 200 and 400 meters – and a leg on SFA’s second-place 4x400-meter relay team, Simpson scored 26 points as the women’s high-point scorer.
Lamar freshman Kayla DeBondt won the one-mile run, turning in a time of 4:57.64. She also ran the third leg of the Cardinals’ winning distance medley relay Wednesday night. Nicholls junior Tessni Carruthers was second (4:57.89) and Central Arkansas freshman Marine Lecart was third.
Lamar got another win in the 800 meters with junior Louise Webb crossing first. She turned in a time of 2:13.68 to beat out Sam Houston freshman Briana McCall (2:13.96) and Houston Baptist freshman Kierstin Santana (2:14.33).
Webb, who anchored Lamar’s winning DMR on Wednesday, again found the top of the podium, taking home the title in the 3,000 meters. Her time of 10:03.05 was just in front of junior teammate Leigh Lattimore, who crossed the finish line in 10:03.12. The Cardinals placed four in the finals, scoring 24 points in the event after going 1-2-4-8.
In the women’s 4x400-meter relay, the top three teams finished ahead of the meet record, but Sam Houston will go in the record book with the winning time of 3:43.30. That was just ahead of SFA, which clocked a time of 3:43.92. Lamar was third at 3:45.31. The previous meet record was 3:45.56 set by Texas State in 2006. The Bearkats held a 15-point lead with only the high jump remaining.
Southeastern junior Ikea Kaufman took the title clearing a height of 5-8. Defending champion Melai Carter, a junior at SFA, took second at 5-7 and her teammate, sophomore Caitlin Jones, finished third at the same height. SFA scored 15 points in the event. The Bearkats scored eight points in the event.
Northwestern State sophomore Porsha Thomas led a 1-2 finish for the Lady Demons in the triple jump. Thomas’ 39-9.25 distance was nearly five inches farther than freshman teammate Taylor Walker’s mark of 39-4.50. SFA senior Kirsten Knox was third (39-3), while Sam Houston State scored 10 points in the event after finishing fourth, fifth and eighth.
In the pole, vault Sam Houston scored 19 points. Junior Katelyn Wynn took the win with a clearance of 12-8.75. Junior Kara Whitson tied for second (12-4.75) and sophomore Ashley Thompson was seventh (11-10.75). ORU scored 13 points in the event. Senior Lauren McFarland tied for second. Sophomore Daniella Szabo was fourth and junior Linhchi Lai was eighth.
Southeastern sophomore Jermisha Frazier took home the title in the shot put with a heave of 50-10.75. SFA junior La’Tricia Griffin finished second with a toss of 49-1. The Ladyjacks scored 12 points in the event after sophomore Jessica Spelling finished fifth (44-10.75). McNeese senior La’Shantena Rounds, the winner in the women’s weight throw Wednesday, finished third (48-4).
SFA was denied its bid at a becoming the first Southland team to win eight indoor titles. The Ladyjacks remains tied with Texas-Arlington, which won all seven of its titles between 1995 and 2001.
The 2014 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will take place March 14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M. The Southland is slated to return to the CrossPlex in Birmingham each of the next two years. The NCAA indoor championships move to that venue for a four-year stretch beginning in 2015.
Men’s Final Team Standings
|
1. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
119.0 |
|
2. |
Sam Houston State |
106.5 |
|
3. |
Stephen F. Austin |
91.0 |
|
4. |
Lamar |
75.0 |
|
5. |
Northwestern State |
60.0 |
|
6. |
Abilene Christian |
46.0 |
|
7. |
McNeese State |
43.5 |
|
8. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
43.0 |
|
9. |
Central Arkansas |
32.0 |
|
10. |
Oral Roberts |
27.0 |
|
11. |
New Orleans |
10.0 |
|
12. |
UIW |
5.0 |
|
13. |
Houston Baptist |
4.0 |
Women’s Final Team Standings
|
1. |
Sam Houston State |
132.0 |
|
2. |
Stephen F. Austin |
124.0 |
|
3. |
Lamar |
82.0 |
|
4t. |
McNeese State |
53.0 |
|
4t. |
Central Arkansas |
53.0 |
|
6. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
46.0 |
|
7. |
Northwestern State |
36.0 |
|
8. |
Houston Baptist |
26.0 |
|
9. |
Abilene Christian |
25.0 |
|
10. |
Oral Roberts |
24.0 |
|
11. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
22.0 |
|
12. |
Nicholls |
17.0 |
|
13. |
New Orleans |
14.0 |
|
14. |
UIW |
9.0 |
|
Individual Champions |
Men’s Champion |
Mark |
Women’s Champion |
Mark |
|
60 Meters |
Justin Walker, NSU |
6.73 |
Reyare Thomas, ACU |
7.45 |
|
200 Meters |
Justin Walker, NSU |
21.17 |
Reyare Thomas, ACU |
23.73 |
|
400 Meters |
Rodney Jones, SHSU |
47.34 |
Lygia Foreman, SHSU |
54.37 |
|
800 Meters |
De’Quad Binder, SHSU |
1:52.47 |
Louise Webb, LU |
2:13.68 |
|
One-Mile Run |
Sam Stabler, LU |
4:10.61 |
Kayla DeBondt, LU |
4:57.64 |
|
3,000 Meters |
Sam Stabler, LU |
8:21.69 |
Louise Webb, LU |
10:03.05 |
|
5,000 Meters |
Ryan Creech, LU |
14:55.70 |
Brooke Cassar, UCA |
17:04.84 |
|
60-Meter Hurdles |
Matthew Viverette, SHSU |
8.20 |
Sabrina Starr, SHSU |
8.19 |
|
Distance Medley Relay |
Lamar |
9:54.13 |
Lamar |
11:49.43 |
|
4x400-Meter Relay |
Stephen F. Austin |
3:13.15 |
Sam Houston State |
3:43.30 |
|
High Jump |
Clarence Robinson, SLU |
6-9 |
Ikea Kaufman, SLU |
5-8 |
|
Pole Vault |
Colton Ross, SFA |
17-4.5 |
Katelyn Wynn, SHSU |
12-8.75 |
|
Long Jump |
Emmanuel Williams, NSU |
25-6 |
Kenya McDaniel, NSU |
18-3.25 |
|
Triple Jump |
Emmanuel Williams, NSU |
47-2.5 |
Porsha Thomas, NSU |
39-9.25 |
|
Shot Put |
Jeff Milliron, SLU |
45-1 |
Jermisha Frazier, SLU |
50-10.75 |
|
Weight Throw |
Jeff Milliron, SLU |
66-10.5 |
Ashlee Smith, MCN |
55-0.25 |
|
Heptathlon/Pentathlon |
Cody Rhodes, SFA |
4,343 |
Shambrail Woods, SFA |
3,698 |
Meet Records Set/Tied
|
Event |
Name, School |
Mark |
Round |
|
Men’s One -Mile |
Sam Stabler, Lamar |
4:03.14 |
Prelims |
|
Men’s 400 Meters |
Rodney Jones, Sam Houston State |
47.34 |
Finals (tied) |
|
Men’s 200 Meters |
Justin Walker, Northwestern State |
21.17 |
Finals |
|
Men’s Weight Throw |
Jeff Milliron, Southeastern Louisiana |
66-10.50 |
Finals |
|
Men’s Distance Medley Relay |
Lamar |
9:54.13 |
Finals |
|
|
Sean Guiney, Chance Williams, Aaron Bennett, Sam Stabler |
|
|
|
Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles |
Sabrina Starr, Sam Houston State |
8.19 |
Finals |
|
Women’s 200 Meters |
Reyare Thomas, Abilene Christian |
23.79 |
Finals |
|
Women’s 4x400-Meter Relay |
Sam Houston State |
3.43.30 |
Finals |
|
|
Jordan Grady, Sunday Foster, Ruth Amaku, Lygia Foreman |
|
|