Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championships Home
ARLINGTON, Texas - University of South Alabama track and field student-athlete Barbara Rivera earned her third women's javelin league title, breaking the school record and leading the Jaguars on day one of the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championship.
Both squads are first in the team standings after the women recorded 47 points and the men scored 28. The South Alabama women scored as many points as the next two teams combined - UT-Arlington stands in second with 26 points and Coastal Carolina third with 21 points.
"We are off to a decent start," track and field head coach Paul Brueske said. "We need to stay focused. We had athletes step up today and we'll need more to do the same tomorrow."
Rivera earned her third consecutive javelin title and all-league honors with a school-record 50.39-meter throw, .41 meters shy of the Sun Belt Conference Championship record. Liz Bolden clinched her first all-league performance, placing third in the event with a 44.35-meter throw - a personal best for the freshman. Jessica Matthews added another point, placing eighth with a 40.73-meter throw and giving the Jaguar women 17 points from the event.
Zach Blahnik led the men in the hammer throw with a personal-best 65.92m for second place and all-league honors. Five of the senior's six attempts were better than his previous personal record. Three other Jaguar throwers earned 11 points for the men: Ethan Boyd finished fourth with a throw of 59.54m, Andrew Allen finished fifth with a throw of 55.95m and Thomas Boyd finished seventh with a throw of 54.26m.
LaMia Miller tossed a personal-best 57.68-meter throw in the women's hammer, placing third and earning all-league honors and six points for the senior. Michaela Preachuk (57.16m) and Autavia Fluker (53.47m) added six more points with her personal-best throw, placing fourth and eighth, respectively.
"It was really good to see some seniors step up and lead the way today," Brueske said.
Megan James was the final Jaguar to earn all-league honors with a third-place finish in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.81m. Jordan Friz (fourth) and Ireland Armstrong (fifth) cleared the same height on the third and fourth attempts, respectively, to add to the women's overall total.
David Reinhardt and Allen competed in the men's javelin, placing fifth and fourth, respectively. Allen's 62.58-meter throw gave the Jags five points while Reinhardt's personal-best 62.35-meter throw earned an additional four points.
On the track, senior Joanna McCoy finished sixth in the women's 10,000-meter run with a 38:02.66-minute time, giving the Jaguars three points, while Nicole Durham crossed the line at 14th with a time of 40:10.48. Phillip Friedlander also competed in the men's 10,000m, placing 12th with a time of 33:11.96.
Emilie Berge currently sits in second with 3,290 points through four events in the women's heptathlon. Three of those completed events (100-meter hurdles, high jump and 200m) were personal bests for the freshman. The remaining events for the heptathlon will continue at 9:30 a.m. with the long jump. Chris Taylor, who sits at ninth with 2,899 points through five events, will continue the men's decathlon tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. with the 100-meter dash.
Field events will follow the multis tomorrow beginning at 11:30 a.m. with the women's long jump, while running events are set to begin at 5 p.m. with the women's 100-meter hurdles. Live results and schedule can be found
here.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with USAJaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at Twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub
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