NASHVILLE, TN. – University of South Alabama track and field runner Rafael Scott broke his own school record, earned a top-five NCAA ranking, and led the Jaguars in the Vanderbilt Invitational held Friday and Saturday at Vanderbilt's Multipurpose Facility.
Scott clocked a time of 6.59 seconds for first place in the men's 60-meter dash to best his own school record. The junior's performance is the second-fastest time in the NCAA for the event and the best in the Sun Belt Conference this indoor season to date.
"Rafael Scott's school record was definitely a highlight," Jaguar track and field head coach Paul Brueske said. "He had a very good start out of the blocks and that is what made the difference."
Sean Collins finished fourth in the men's pole vault in his first meet of the season. Two other Jaguars placed in the top 15 with Preston Morrison placing twelfth (4.60m) and Tyler Hollenbeck fifteenth in the event.
Four men placed in the top 10 in the weight throw led by senior Zach Blahnik who posted a throw of 17.17m for sixth place, a personal record for the Green Bay, Wis., native. Blahnik also placed 25th in the men's shot put at this weekend's meet. Jan-Louw Kotze (17.06m) placed eighth in the weight throw, with Ethan Boyd (16.63m) and Thomas Boyd (16.29m) placing ninth and tenth, respectively, in the event
Thomas also placed 13th in shot put with a 16.06 throw, a personal best, moving him to fifth on the Jaguar's all-time list. Matt Weinhold followed his first career win last week with a personal best in the same event to place twelfth, third-best in school history with a distance of 16.25m.
Three women posted personal bests in the weight throw, including two freshmen. Michaela Preachuck placed 16th in the event with a personal best 16.27m throw, while freshman Autavia Fluker also marked a personal best in the weight throw (15.67m) placing nineteenth along with a seventh place finish in women's shot put. Michella Obiiaku's personal best (16.27m) placed her in the top 25 along with a 25th-place finish in shot put (12.45m).
Senior jumper Kaitlyn Beans finished sixth in the triple jump with a 12.57m mark, the best in the Sun Belt for the event this season. Kristina Szabo placed 11th in the event with a jump of 12.04 meters. In the men's long jump, Lezyon Lagarde had his best indoor performance (7.05m) to place 10th.
"We had some really positive results today," Brueske said. "It is still early in the season and we have to continue to train hard and stay healthy. Hopefully, we gained some confidence, but we need to stay focused. We still have a lot of work to do and a long season ahead."
USA track and field will be back in action in two weeks when the Jags host the South Alabama Invitational in Birmingham, Ala., at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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