MONROE, La. – The Louisiana women and South Alabama men lead the 2024 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, contested at the Groseclose Track at Brown Stadium on the campus of ULM in Monroe, La., following the early end to the opening day of the event.
Due to severe weather in the evening, the event was postponed to the next day. The men’s 400m and men’s javelin events were the first to be postponed. The remaining events, men’s and women’s 200m and the men’s and women’s 10,000m, will be conducted on Friday, May 10.
The women’s 10,000m will start at 8:00 a.m. CT. The men’s 10,000m will start afterwards at 8:30 a.m. The men’s javelin throw will then be conducted at 9:30 a.m. The men’s 400m hurdles will be conducted at 11 a.m. The women’s 200m will then take place at 11:15 a.m. The men’s 200m will follow at 11:35 a.m.
The South Alabama men have totaled 15 points through one scored event. Southern Miss is second with eight points as Troy is third with six. The Louisiana women have charted 38.5 points through three events. Texas State is in second with 24 points, while South Alabama is in third with 17.5.
The second day of the Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships begins at 8 a.m. ET Friday. The ESPN+ broadcast will commence at 5 p.m. ET.
In the lone men’s event that has been scored, Francois Prinsloo secured his first gold medal in the men’s hammer throw. Prinsloo launched a season-best 61.62m/202-2 to secure the top spot on the podium. Kaya Ludgood from Southern Miss took silver with a mark of 60.73m/199-3. Morgan Reese earned the bronze with a distance of 59.14m/194-0.
Texas State’s Elisabet Runarsdottir won her second consecutive gold in the women’s hammer throw with a facility record mark of 69.08m/226-8. Lara Roberts from Texas state secured the silver with a mark of 65.28m/214-2. Bodine Degli-Umberti from South Alabama secured bronze and a podium finish for the second consecutive year with a mark of 59.96m/196-9.
In the women’s javelin, Louisiana swept the top four spots. Ellie Manuel finished fourth with a mark of 42.61m/139-9 as Sarah Dupuy finished third with 43.14m/141-6. Marin Barras took second with a distance of 43.77m/143-7 as Blair LaFleur took gold with a mark of 44.93m/147-5.
Arkansas State pole vaulter Bella Coscetti set a new facility record for the women with a height of 3.97m/133-0.25. South Alabama’s Alexis Gratia finished second with a height of 3.87m/12-8.25. James Madison’s Erica Moolman finished on the podium in third with a height of 3.72m/12-2.5.
Through four events of the women’s heptathlon, ULM’s Claudine Raud-Gumiel totaled 3,315 points by winning three of the four events. Louisiana’s Taylor Walls currently sits in second with 3,084 points as Savanna Lawson from ULM is in third with 3,014 points.
Arkansas State’s Colby Eddowes leads the men’s decathlon with 4,043 points after claiming first four of the first five events. Texas State’s Easton Hammond sits in second with 3,793 points as South Alabama’s Nic Glass (3,766 points) and Sebastian Reyneke (3,745 points) round out the top four.
2024 Sun Belt Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 9, 2024)
Men’s Team Scores (through one event):
1. South Alabama (15)
2. Southern Miss (8)
3. Troy (6)
4. Arkansas State (4)
5. App State (3)
6. Louisiana (2)
7. Texas State (1)
- Coastal Carolina (0)
- ULM (0)
Women’s Team Scores (through three events):
1. Louisiana (38.5)
2. Texas State (24)
3. South Alabama (17.5)
4. Arkansas State (14)
5. James Madison (6)
T6. App State (5)
T6. Coastal Carolina (5)
T6. Marshall (5)
9. Troy (2)
- Georgia Southern (0)
- Southern Miss (0)
- ULM (0)
Facility Records Broken
Women’s 1500m Run – Rahel Broemmel, Arkansas State [4:33.91]
Women’s 400m Hurdles – Moseiha Bridgen, Louisiana [58:46]
Women’s Pole Vault – Bella Croscetti, Arkansas State [3.97m/13-0.25]
Women’s Hammer Throw – Elisabet Runarsdottir, Texas State [69.08m/214-2]