MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama outdoor track & field teams will compete in Samford's Alabama Track Challenge Friday at the Samford Track Complex in Birmingham, Alabama. Competition begins at noon Friday with the hammer and javelin events. Running events will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the 3,000m Steeplechase.
USA senior Rafael Scott and junior Olivia Swan led the team at the Jaguar Classic last weekend. Scott ran the men's 100m dash in 10.32 seconds, placing first in the event and breaking the previous school record set in 2000. He was also part of the men's 4 x 100m relay team which posted a school-record-breaking 40.29-second time. Swan posted a personal-best 1.79m (5-10.50) mark in the women's high jump, tying her for first in the season conference standings and second overall in the USA records. She also earned the top spot in conference standings for the 400m hurdles with a 1:01.84 time; the career-low mark moved the Spanish Fort, Ala. native to fifth all-time in the USA record books.
MEET INFORMATION
Event: Samford's Alabama Track Challenge
Date: March 23
Host: Samford University
Site: Samford Track Complex
Heat Sheets- Field Events
Heat Sheets- Running Events
Live Results
FIELD (5)
Alabama, Miles College, Samford, South Alabama, Troy
NOTES
Field Events
-Andrew Allen had a conference-best 61.30m (201-01.00) mark in the hammer throw at the Jaguar Classic, advancing him from 10th to third in the all-time USA rankings. Ethan Boyd is third in the league with a 57.64m (189-01.00) effort from the March 2 Jaguar Opener. Thomas Boyd posted a fourth-place overall 54.65m (179-03.00) at the same meet.
-Sam Brown's personal-best 1.96m (6-05.00) mark in the men's high jump last Saturday ranks seventh overall in the league.
-Two USA seniors are ranked in the Sun Belt men's discus event top five. Matt Weinhold's 49.36m (161-11.00), second-place finish in the discus event last weekend earned him second in the conference standings, and Jobi Finau's 48.87m (160-04.00) effort at the March 2 Jaguar Opener places him fourth overall to this point in the season.
-Sean Collins and Niel Giliomee are the top two student-athletes in the conference in the men's pole vault. Collins posted a 5.25m (17-02.75) mark and Giliomee followed with a 5.15m (16-10.75) mark at the Jaguar Opener.
-Taylor Dames matched Swan's 1.79m (5-10.50) mark in the Jaguar Classic women's high jump. The career-high effort ties for first in the conference rankings and retains Dames' place in the overall USA records; the junior previously held second place outright.
-Jordan Friz is first in the league women's pole vault rankings with a 3.81m (12-06.00) mark at the Jaguar Opener. Caitlyn Dressler and Megan James are tied for fourth after matching 3.66m (12-00.00) efforts at the event.
-Emile Berge and Elysa Griffin hold third and fourth, respectively, in the women's long jump conference rankings. Berge won the Jaguar Classic event with a career-best 5.64m (18-06.00) effort; Griffin took second place with a 5.61m (18-05.00) performance.
-Autavia Fluker's 14.70m (48-02.75) throw in the Jaguar Classic women's shot put is currently the top distance in the league. Angeline Smit (13.63m, 44-08.75) is fourth in the league and Michella Obijiaku (13.56m, 44-06.00) ranks fifth with season-high performances from the Jaguar Opener. Esherika Hawkins entered the all-time USA standings at the Jaguar Classic with a career-high 13.47m (44-02.50) mark; the performance ranks the sophomore sixth in the Sun Belt this season.
-Smit and Hawkins posted personal-best marks in the Jaguar Classic discus throw to claim third and fourth, respectively, in the conference rankings. Smit recorded a 46.30m (151-11.00) mark, while Hawkins claimed seventh in the Jaguar rankings with a 43.46m (142-07.25) throw.
-Michaela Preachuk earned the top spot in the conference rankings with a career-high 58.44m (191-09.00) hammer throw. Fluker is fourth in the standings after posting a 52.61m (172-07.00) mark at the Jaguar Opener.
-Hanna-Mai Vaikla's Jaguar Opener javelin mark of 46.51m (152-07.00) is the second-highest mark in the conference.
Running Events
-Scott's 10.32-second 100m dash time at the Jaguar Classic last weekend is the leading time in the Sun Belt Conference this season. Three other Jaguars hold spots in the Sun Belt top 20 based on performances at the Jaguar Classic: Keith Davis at sixth with a career-low 10.59, Alex Elam at seventh (10.61) and Thad Porter at 17th (10.85).
- The men's 4 x 100m relay team composed of Scott, Davis, Elam and Porter holds the second-highest spot in this season's Sun Belt Conference rankings.
-Ben Rolader and Larry Lombard ran the Jaguar Classic men's 800m with times of 1:54.47 and 1:54.62, respectively. Migael Strydom completed the event in a personal-best 1:55.25. The times place the trio fourth through sixth in the conference rankings.
-The Jaguar Classic saw Griffin and Cierra Hedrick post the two best times in the conference – 11.85 seconds and 11.86 seconds, respectively – for the women's 100m dash.
-Cindy von Ahlefeldt ran the women's 800m in 2:18.81 last weekend, the eighth-best time in the league.
-Berge's career-low time of 14.21 seconds in the 100m hurdles at the Jaguar Classic is tied for second in the conference. Dames is eighth in the league after posting a 14.66 time in the event.
-Darnesha Harris posted a 1:04.48 time in the 400m hurdles event, which ranks fourth in the league's season standings.
QUOTES FROM COACH BRUESKE
On the Jaguar Classic… "I thought we made a step in the right direction last week. We want to continue on that going into the Samford meet."
On expectations for Samford's Alabama Track Challenge… "We want to see continual improvement. If we keep getting better week to week, we're going to be a very competitive team in the conference by the end of the season. That's what we want to do: we want to see people focus, we want to see them competing well and getting after it."
On the team, particularly newcomers, consistently entering school record books… "Any time you have young athletes achieving, that's always a good thing. We welcome that. That is going to be one of the keys to us being successful— our younger athletes stepping up."
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).
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
—USA—
