Final Results and Scores
GULF SHORES, Ala. – The UT Arlington men's track and field team repeated as Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field champions after turning in a stellar performance Sunday at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium. The men's conference outdoor title is UTA's 10th all-time and the fifth under head coach John Sauerhage. It marks the first time that the Mavericks have won back-to-back crowns since 1996-97.
The UTA men finished with 166 points to post an 18-point victory over second-place Arkansas State, which finished with 148 points. Texas State was third with 126 points, South Alabama finished fourth with 121.5 points and UL Monroe was fifth with 92 points.
"We came through with clutch performances in every event area," Sauerhage said. "That's the fun thing about having a complete team. It wasn't one area. It was everyone. Up and down the line we had great performances. We stepped it up. Every coach had heroes we are proud of on both sides."
UTA's Clayton Vaughn registered the most impressive performance of the day, clocking a winning time of 9.93 in the 100-meter finals. His time shattered his own school record (10.07) and established a new meet record. It officially ranks as the third-fastest time in the NCAA this year behind times of 9.87 (wind reading of +4.0) and 9.90 (wind reading of +3.3).
UTA iced the victory by dominating the evening's 5000-meter run. Craig Lautenslager earned an individual conference title in the event with a clocking of 14:37.19. Teammates Eric Ojeda (14:41.05) and Michael Guerrero (14:43.31) were third and fourth, respectively.
In the field, top-seeded Roland Sales took first in the men's high jump with a clearance of 2.12m (6'11.5").
The men's other title came courtesy of the 4x100-meter relay team, which ran a 39.68, which is just .15 seconds off a school record. UTA had three of the top six spots in the men's 200 meters courtesy of Vaughn (3rd, 20.74), Quentin Butler (4th, 21.04) and Tarik Crear (6th, 21.31).
Meanwhile in the men's 1500m, Emil Blomberg was the runner up (3:50.18), while Grant Copeland took fourth (3:52.18). Blomberg's time ranks fifth in UTA history.
The Arkansas State women's team earned its first Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field title since the 2001 season. A-State, which finished second in the indoor championships, tallied 138 points in the three-day meet to finish nine points ahead of second place Georgia State and Texas State, who tied with 129 points.
UT Arlington was fourth with 90 points and UL Lafayette was fifth with 87 points.
The A-State women entered the final two events with 120 points, trailing Georgia State (123 points) and Texas State (121 points) by a narrow margin. With the 5,000-meter run and 4x400m relay remaining, the Red Wolves relied on their distance team to separate from the field.
Senior Rexi Parcells took third place with a time of 17:13.96 for six points and all-conference honors. Junior Abbey Dixon crossed the line in 17:30.05 for fifth place and senior Tilda Helgesson was on her heels to grab sixth place (17:31.21). The trio combined to earn A-State 13 points in the event, enough for a 10-point cushion heading into the 4x400m relay.
A-State claimed the women’s championship with a fourth place finish in the 4x400m relay (3:48.24). With the finish, the Red Wolves added five points to finish with the total of 138.
"I'm so proud of both our teams and our coaching staff for a job well done,” A-State head coach Jim Patchell said. "Our women were big underdogs going into the meet and overcame that with tremendous effort and competitiveness to get the first outdoor championship in 14 years."
Georgia State’s Ravin Gilbert earned the women’s top meet scorer award as she swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes on Sunday. Gilbert ran 11.48 in the 100 and then posted a time of 23.50 in the 200 just under an hour later. She earned an additional 2.5 points in the women’s 4x100-meter relay as the Panthers won the event with a time of 44.92. Gilbert was also a part of the third-place 4x400-meter relay team.
South Alabama’s Jan-Louw Kotze earned his second All-Sun Belt performance at the championship as he won the men’s discus throw with a toss of 59.72m (195’11”). It was a new Sun Belt Championship meet and season record. His throw breaks the previous meet record set in 2005.
Jevaughn Shaw of UL Monroe took home the runner-up spot in the men’s discus while Arkansas State’s Richard Chavez claimed third-place honors, giving him two medals for the championship.
Julie Lange of Texas State won the women’s discus with a throw of 53.07m (174’1”). Corina Cox of Troy was second and Calea Carr was A-State was third.
The women’s triple jump saw Bobcat senior, Allie Saunders, claim the top spot in the event with a leap of 13.09m (42’11.5”). UT Arlington freshman, Chineme Obikudu, was second as she jumped 12.65m (41’6”). USA’s Kaitlyn Beans was third.
The men’s pole vault, one of the more intriguing events of the championship saw A-State’s Ethan Sandusky break the Sun Belt championship meet record as he cleared the bar at 5.45m (17’10.5”). The mark was a new PR for the senior as he earned his first Sun Belt outdoor title.
Sandusky broke the title on his third and final attempt at the 5.45m height. He pushed the bar up to 5.51m but was unsuccessful on all three attempts to claim the overall Sun Belt record.
Seth Arnold of Texas State, the pole vault leader coming into the meet, finished second at 5.21m (17’1”). USA’s Nick Farrell was third in the pole vault.
A-State’s Roelf Pienaar earned his second first-place finish on Sunday as the defended his title in the triple jump with a leap of 15.61m (51’2.75”) giving the sophomore back-to-back sweeps in successive years in the horizontal jumps at the Sun Belt outdoor track and field championships.
ULM’s Corey Wesley was second in the triple jump at 15.36m (50’4.75”) and UTA’s Tobi Fawehinmi was third.
Pienaar was named the men’s top meet scorer with a total of 22 points. In addition to his two individual wins the sophomore was part of the Red Wolves 4x100-meter relay team which took second.
Appalachian State's Tristin Van Ord claimed top honors in the women's 5,000 meters, earning her secon individual title of the championship. On Friday, the sophomore won the women's 10k. Van Ord completed the race in 17:01.09. UTA's Gabriela Alfonzo was second and Rexi Parcells of A-State was third.
Stanley Broaden led the Mountaineers on the last day of the competition, earning two Sun Belt titles. Broaden took first in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.10 for a new personal best, ranking sixth all-time in the App State record books.
Broaden then earned his second title of the day by placing first in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 51.66.
UTA's Ashley Wright was the champion of the 800-meters with a new Sun Belt championship record time of 2:07.34. Her teammate, Tamerah Gorham was second. Taylor Davis, a freshman from UTA, was the champion in the 400-meters with a time of 54.04.
ULM's Andrew Tate claimed the title in the men's 400-meters with a time of 47.13. Tate was also a part of the Warhawks' winnign 4x400-meter relay team which ran a season best 3:09.47.
USA's Christoph Graph won the men's 1,500-meters (3:49.50), just ahead of UTA's Blomberg (3:50.18). UALR freshman, Jack Bruce, finished third.
Up next for the track and field teams are the NCAA East and West Preliminary Rounds to be held the weekend of May 28-30. The University North Florida will host the East Preliminary and the University of Texas will host the West Preliminary.
For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), are not contested at the Preliminary sites.
Twelve competitors from each individual event and twelve teams from each relay event advance from each Preliminary site. For combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), the top 24 declared student-athletes in each event based on their position on the national descending-order list will be accepted into the Championships.
The 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon and hosted by the University of Oregon.
Women’s Team Scores
1. Arkansas State, 138
2. Georgia State, 129
2. Texas State, 129
4. UT Arlington, 90
5. UL Lafayette, 87
6. South Alabama, 76
7. Appalachian State, 68.5
8. Troy, 46
9. UL Monroe, 40
10. Georgia Southern, 14.5
Men’s Team Scores
1. UT Arlington, 166
2. Arkansas State, 148
3. Texas State, 126
4. South Alabama, 121.5
5. UL Monroe, 92
6. UL Lafayette, 74.5
7. Appalachian State, 52
8. UALR, 20
9. Troy, 11