Day Three Results | Final Results | Championship Central
LAFAYETTE, La. – For the first time in program history, South Alabama claimed the men's Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship with 148.5 points, while Arkansas State won its third-straight women's title with 157 points, and the Red Wolves’ fourth crown in seven years.
Jade Bontke of UTA claimed the women’s high point honors for her 34 points, collected from a first-place finish in the heptathlon, a pair of silvers in the 400 meter hurdles and the high jump, and a bronze in the long jump.
Little Rock’s Cameron Jackson earned the men’s high point accolades after collecting 22.5 points – earning a pair of individual golds in the 100 and 200 meters and joining the 4x400 relay team at the top of the podium.
The Jags’ Christian Ellis defended his 2021 triple jump title after registering a 15.58 meter (51’ 1½”) mark. Marvin Walford of UTA jumped a 15.37 meter (50’ 5¼”) to finish second in the event, while Louisiana’s Rylan Theyard picked a good time for a personal-best mark, a 15.31 meter (50’ 2¾”) effort to capture the bronze.
Eunice Ilunga Mbuyi led the women’s triple jump – and claimed her second gold of the championships – with a mark of 12.89 meters (42’ 3½”) and App State’s Jada Branch (12.78m, 41’ 11¼”) took second in the event. Taylor Davis of Louisiana notched a personal-best mark of 12.34 meters (40’ 6”) to finish in the bronze position.
After picking up a silver in the hammer, South Alabama’s Francois Prinsloo kept the discus crown – his second top podium spot in as many seasons – with a 54.67 meter (179’ 4”) toss. Troy’s Javon Osbourne claimed silver (54.56 meters, 179’), while USA compiled 16 points in the event, thanks to Sebastian Loschner’s (52.82m, 173’ 3”) bronze.
Kyle Rademeyer of South Alabama retained the men’s pole vault crown with a 5.33 meter (17’ 5¾”) mark, giving the Jags its third-straight top podium finish to open Championship Saturday. A-State’s Bradley Jelmert placed second, also with a 5.33 meter finish, but Rademeyer took the title with fewer misses. Texas State’s Isaac Sadzewicz claimed the bronze with a 4.98 meter (16’ 4”) finish.
Little Rock’s Jonathan Jones shocked the men’s high jump field with a 2.17 meter (7’ 1½”) jump, claiming the first gold medal for the Trojans. Frank Massey of A-State and Ali Eren Unlu of ULM both cleared 2.14 meters (7’ ¼”) to post silver and bronze results, respectively.
Texas State’s Alyssa Wilson earned her third gold medal of the championships with a 54.29 meter (178’ 1”) discus mark. Evangelynn Harris of Arkansas State tossed a 52.38 meter (171’ 10”) effort, and Colette Uys of South Alabama took third place, with a mark of 51.80 meters (169’ 11”).
Coast Carolina’s 400-meter relay team repeated as champions, featuring Kayla Sweeney, Shani’a Bellamy, Jermaisha Arnold and Melissa Jefferson as anchor. The squad clinched the gold with a time of 43.79 – an SBC Championships record – besting the quartets from Texas State and Georgia State.
On the men’s side, Little Rock captured the top podium position behind Cogan Derousselle, Taveion Neal, Troy McKnight and Cameron Jackson. The team’s time of 39.90 edged out Texas State by eight-hundredths of a second, with Coastal Carolina finishing in third.
Madeline Rowe of UTA kept her 1,500 meter crown with a time of 4:35.23. App State’s Macki Walsh earned second place in the race after registering a time of 4:36.36 and Elizabeth Martin of Arkansas State earned a medal by running a 4:37.89.
Bennett Pascoe won his second gold medal of the championships, retaining his 1,500 meter title in meet record time of 3:46.89. His A-State teammate, Seth Water, clinched the silver with a 3:49.39 and USA’s Giacomo Deluca landed on the podium after crossing the tape at 3:52.07.
Coastal Carolina’s sprint ladies began to take over, starting with Mekenze Kelley’s SBC Championships record mark of 51.98 in the 400 meters. Teammate Jermaisha Arnold (52.21) finished second, while Teresa Thomas of Little Rock landed in third at 54.16. On the men’s side, Texas State’s Dominick Yancy claimed the top podium spot at 46.37, Louisiana’s Caemon Scott posted 46.38 to finish second, and Taahair Kelly of Texas State claimed third with 46.76 in a tight 400 meter dash.
Troy’s Edita Skelnska overcame a second-place finish last season at the championships to claim gold in the 800 meters at 2:07.48. Right behind her was A-State’s Cheyenne Melvin (2:07.72), while Lee-Anne Blake of Texas State finished third with a 2:08.43 time. The men’s 800 meters was a close affair as well, but the Red Wolves’ Seth Waters took gold in 1:49.90, with UTA’s Jackson Cichon right behind at 1:50.71. Alan Johnson of Troy completed the podium at 1:51.51.
In arguably the sprint performance of the meet, Coastal Carolina’s Melissa Jefferson set an SBC Championships record and moved into third on the NCAA performance list with a 10.88 100-meter performance. UTA’s Iyana Gray (11.22) and A-State’s Jonae Cook (11.43) took silver and bronze, respectively. The men’s event was paced by Cameron Jackson of Little Rock, posting a winning time of 10.12, while ULM’s Keith Robinson claimed second at 10.24. App State’s De’Shawn Ballard claimed third at 10.33.
Coastal Carolina swept the 100 meter hurdles podium, led by Alexis Glasco (13.16), followed by Shani’a Bellamy (13.42) and Sydney Clemens (13.72). The men’s 110 meter hurdles left no room for error, as Louisiana’s Yves Cherubin’s 13.71 claimed gold, but Coastal Carolina’s Tyler Graces (13.79) and UTA’s Joel Bengtsson (13.80) were close behind.
In another SBC Championships record-breaking performance, Shelby West of UTA handed in a personal-best time of 57.68 to win the 400 meter hurdles. Her teammate Jade Bontke finished at 59.15, and A-State’s Chleby Melvin earned bronze with a 59.30 effort.
Lucas Van Klaveren of UTA grabbed his second gold in the championships (decathlon) by hitting a time of 50.48 in the 400 meter hurdles. Tyler Graves of Coastal Carolina nabbed silver at 50.50, and Nathan Fergusson boasted a 51.29 mark to round out the podium finishers.
If one gold medal and championship record wasn’t enough, Coastal Carolina’s Melissa Jefferson returned to grab the 200 meter dash in record time of 22.48. Teammate Mekenze Kelley landed her second medal of the championships, finishing second at 22.78, while UTA’s Iyana Gray claimed bronze with a time of 23.13. Cameron Jackson of Little Rock claimed his second gold of the championships, this time with a 20.54 mark in the 200 meter. Texas State’s Bervensky Pierre grabbed second place with a 20.64, while Kashie Crockett (20.82) of Louisiana finished in third.
In a rematch of a closely contested 10,000 meter event on Thursday, A-State’s Sophie Leathers (17:38.16) bested Sophie Daigle (17:47.52) for the top spot in the 5,000 meter. Coastal Carolina’s Molly Jones rounded out the top finishers at 17:53.98. South Alabama claimed the gold and bronze on the men’s side, which helped clinch the Jaguars the men’s team title, thanks to Kirami Yego’s time of 14:21.24 and Teagan Flanagan’s time of 14:36.59. In the silver position, A-State’s Jacob Pyeatt finished at 14:28.69.
Coastal Carolina repeated as 1,600-meter relay champions with a time of 3:36.43 – a championship meet record. Anchored by Jermaisha Arnold, Amelia Canetto, Lauren Gordon and Alexis Glasco helped edge out UTA by less than a second as ULM took home the bronze.
Brian West, Taahir Kelly, Avery Veiseh and Dominick Yancy combined to deliver Texas State a repeat 1,600-meter relay crown. The Bobcats bested UTA and Coastal Carolina for the gold.
The 2022 NCAA outdoor track and field championships run from June 8-11. Both the men's and women's championships are held simultaneously at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Both days of events will air live on the ESPN family of networks.
2022 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 14, 2022)
Men’s Team Scores (through 21 events):
- South Alabama (148.5)
- Arkansas State (137)
- Texas State (107)
- UTA (94)
- Louisiana (86.5)
- App State (58)
- Troy (54)
- Little Rock (52)
- Coastal Carolina (43)
- ULM (37)
Women’s Team Scores (through 21 events):
- Arkansas State (157)
- Coastal Carolina (136)
- UTA (120)
- Texas State (77)
- Louisiana (72)
- South Alabama (59.5)
- App State (51)
- ULM (51)
- Georgia State (36)
- Troy (35.5)
- Little Rock (20)
- Georgia Southern (2)