Friday/Saturday Results | Sunday Heat Sheets | Championship Central
ARLINGTON, Texas - The South Alabama Jaguar men and women maintained their team leads after two days of competition at the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Jaguar women finished out day two with 72.5 points and an 18-point lead over Texas State (54.5 pts). Arkansas State (54 pts) is third in the women's team standings.
The Jaguar men sit in first in the men's team standings with 51 points followed by Texas State in second (40 pts) and Louisiana and UTA tied for third (37 pts).
USA earned 10 points in the heptathlon as freshman Emile Berge took home first place honors in the event. Berge tallied a career personal best of 5,382 points to edge out Arkansas State's Hannah Dunderdale who was second with 5,213 points. Berge's point total moves her into the top ten in the NCAA East qualifying.
Berge was second in the standings after day one of the heptathlon but picked up 833 points in the hep's final event, the 800-meters.
A-State's Erin Farmer won her second consecutive Sun Belt women's shot put title with a 17.44m (57'2.75") toss on her second throw. She bested Georgia State's Alysiah Whittaker and Texas State's Julie Lange, which finished second and third, respectively.
Texas State's Chelsie Decoud was also a repeat winner on Saturday as she claimed her second consecutive women's high jump title. The junior cleared 1.77m (5'9.75") to take home top honors. UTA's Alexus Henry, who finished third in the heptathlon, earned her second medal of the meet with a second place showing in the high jump. Henry's teammate, Valery Lavrusha, was third.
A-State's Shemiah Brooks won the women's long jump with a leap of 6.10m (20'0.25"), besting runner-up Abby Hani of Texas State one-and-a-half inches. USA's Kaitlyn Beans was third adding to the Jaguars point total on day two.
Texas State's Devina Schneider closed out the women's final event on Saturday as the freshman claimed top honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. A pair of Mountaineers took home second and third in Kate Butler and Hana Ratcliffe.
The men's field event finals contested on Saturday was the conclusion of the decathlon, the men's shot put and the men's long jump.
UTA's Christian Schiemann won the decathlon as he tallied 7,019 points in the two-day event. The junior posted big marks in the pole vault and javelin as he tallied a combined 1,649 points between those two events. He had the highest pole vault (16'4.75") and farthest javelin throw (197'2").
A-State freshman Hayden Hampton was second with 6,745 points and Louisiana's Franz Beyer was third with 6,735 points.
Texas State's T'Mond Johnson won his first Sun Belt outdoor shot put title with a toss of 19.03m (62'5.25"). His toss moved him into the top ten in the NCAA West qualifying and was a new personal best for the sophomore. Troy's Zach Douglas was second and Appalachian State's Ellsworth Parham was third.
The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers picked up 16 points in the men's long jump, won by junior Marquez Moore. CCU's Deandre Baker was third for the Chants. Moore's leap was 7.38m (24'2.5"), just a quarter-inch further than Troy's Myles Charley as all three leaped over 24-feet.
USA's Katleho Dyoyi won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:11.40. Texas State's Logan Pittdman was second and Troy's Daniel Glick was third.
Day two also saw the beginning of the running preliminaries. Antonisha Stewart of Texas State won her heat in the women's 110-hurdles with a time of 13.83. It was the fastest time of the prelims. A-State's Brooks had the second fastest qualifier at 13.91.
Little Rock's Anika Charles crossed the line in the women's 400-meters at 54-flat, which was the fastest qualifier for the prelims.
Texas State's Tramesha Hardy, who finished second in the 400 at the Sun Belt outdoor championships a year ago, had the fastest qualifier on Saturday in the women's 100-meters. Hardy raced out to an 11.61 in the event to win her heat. Ravin Gilbert of GSU had the second fastest qualifier at 11.70, which should set up an electrifying women's 100-meter final on Sunday.
Hardy and Gilbert also qualified for the 200-meter final with Hardy owning the fastest prelim time in that event as well. Hardy won her heat with a time of 23.94.
UTA's Tamerah Gorham will have an opportunity to defend her women's 800-meter title from last year as she qualified for Sunday's final with the fastest time of the entrants at 2:11.20.
CCU's Hesmari Coetzee ran the only sub-60 time in the women's 400-hurdles during the prelims as she finished with a time of 59.92. Adriunna Brown of ULM was second in the qualifying.
On the men's side, A-State's Jaylen Bacon showed off his speed winning his heat in the men's 100-meters in 10.15. Bacon has the seventh-fastest time in the West. Louisiana's Hanoj Carter was the next fastest qualifier at 10.42.
Bacon also had the top time in the men's 200-meters at 20.63. Carter of Louisiana was the only other qualifier under 21-seconds in the prelims.
UTA's Brendan Wallace had the best qualifier in the men's 400-meters at 47.20. CCU's Braylon Wilkerson had the second fastest time at 47.36 and four Texas State quarter-milers picked up spots in the final. UTA has three total entrants in the 400-meter final, including Wallace.
The host Mavericks also qualified well in the men's 800-meters with three spots in the final. Erik Martinsson had the top time in the prelims at 1:50.10. Ryan Hastings of App, the runner-up in 2016, had the second fastest time at 1:50.55.
Women's Team Scores
1. South Alabama - 72.5 pts
2. Texas State - 54.5 pts
3. Arkansas State - 54 pts
4. UTA - 53 pts
5. Appalachian State - 40 pts
6. Georgia State - 27 pts
7. Coastal Carolina - 21 pts
8. Louisiana - 11 pts
9. Troy - 9 pts
9. ULM - 9 pts
Men's Team Scores
1. South Alabama - 51 pts
2. Texas State - 40 pts
3. Louisiana - 37 pts
3. UTA - 37 pts
5. Troy - 34 pts
6. Coastal Carolina - 25 pts
7. Arkansas State - 24 pts
8. Appalachian State - 11 pts
9. Little Rock - 10 pts
10. ULM - 4 pts