2019 Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships:
Championship Central | Final Results | Photos | Highlights: Men | Women
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2019 Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships closed with some exciting finishes, as the UTA men and Texas State women captured team titles at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
On the men’s side, UTA claimed the title with 130 points. The Mavericks were in a battle with Arkansas State and Texas State throughout the day and came out on top for the second time in the last three years. On the women’s side, Texas State put up another strong performance in compiling 128 points for its third consecutive team title and fourth title since 2015, outdistancing Arkansas State in second place with 92 points.
Tramesha Hardy stole the show for the Bobcats earning the top scoring performance for the third consecutive season. Hardy tallied 30 points over the two-day meet, winning the 200- and 400-meters, while finishing as the runner-up in the 60-meters. Hardy also ran the opening leg of the runner-up 4x400-meter relay team.
Hardy’s win in the 200-meters gave the senior four consecutive 200-meter titles indoors. She has also won three consecutive 400-meter titles at the indoor meet.
Louisiana’s Hannes Burger was the men’s top meet scorer, posting 23 points. The freshman claimed both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter races and finished sixth in the mile.
Other notable performances came from Texas State’s Ben Collerton and T’Mond Johnson. Collerton reset the Sun Belt Championship record in the heptathlon with 5,379 points. He led wire-to-wire on day two as the junior broke a seven-year old Sun Belt Championship record in the event breaking the previous record set in 2012 by 11 points.
Johnson became the Bobcats’ second three-time winner on Tuesday as the senior closed out his indoor career with a third consecutive shot put title. His toss of 62’4.5” was over six feet farther than the runner-up.
South Alabama’s Emilie Berge won the women’s pentathlon with a two-day total of 4,079 points. She is the first Sun Belt student-athlete to break the 4,000-point barrier in the indoor pentathlon. She broke the previous record set in 2012 by former USA student-athlete, Lindsey Schwartz. Emma Nwofor was second and Louisiana’s Juliette Smith was third.
UTA’s Erik Martinsson was a triple-double winner on Tuesday, claiming both the 400- and 800-meter titles before running on the winning 4x400-meter relay to close out the championship.
Next up, Sun Belt teams prepare for 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships set for March 8-9 at the same location as the Sun Belt indoor Championships, the Birmingham CrossPlex.
Women’s Final Team Standings
1. Texas State - 128 pts
2. Arkansas State - 92 pts
3. Troy - 81 pts
4. South Alabama - 69 pts
5. Georgia State - 64 pts
6. UTA - 58 pts
7. Appalachian State - 56 pts
8. Louisiana - 50 pts
9. ULM - 21 pts
10. Georgia Southern - 18 pts
11. Little Rock - 14 pts
12. Coastal Carolina - 12 pts
Men’s Final Team Standings
1. UTA - 130 pts
2. Arkansas State - 119.5 pts
3. Texas State - 119 pts
4. Louisiana - 82 pts
5. South Alabama - 65.5 pts
6. Appalachian State - 63 pts
7. Little Rock - 43 pts
8. ULM - 40 pts