MOBILE, Ala. – After three days of competition, the University of South Alabama finished out the weekend-long Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships with eight all-conference performances on Sunday, bringing the total tally for the program to 12 over the course of the three-day event.

In the team standings, the men finished second overall with a total score of 105.50 points after recording an eighth-place finish last year. It’s the best finish for the Jaguars since placing second at the 2005 championship.  The women finished sixth overall with 66 points, an improvement of three spots in the standings from last year’s SBC Outdoor Championship where they tied for ninth.

Junior Saber Salah (Strasborg, France) led the Jags on Sunday, earning all-SBC honors twice. Salah earned the recognition with a victory in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:59.12 and a second-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.12. Salah also scored in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:49.25, which was fifth.

Distance runners Zac Edwards (Roanoke, Va.) and Micah Tirop (Eldoret, Kenya) also put together all-conference performances in the 5,000 meters. Edwards took second with a 14:27.82, while Tirop ended third with a time of 14:39.18.

“Saber really stepped up for us today. He scored a total of 22 points for the team,” USA head track and field coach Paul Brueske said. “Zac and Micah scored a lot of points for us today, too. The guys really came through on the last day of the event.”

Sophomore Angela McCord (Mobile, Ala.) joined the all-conference ranks with a win in the javelin, posting the Jags’ second victory of the day. McCord threw for a new personal best with a 46.84m/153-08.00 mark for the victory, while teammate Noelle Jones scored in the event with a 43.15m/141-07.00 toss for fifth place. McCord set a new school record with the throw and could break into the top 12 in the region. McCord beat out fellow Mobile native Elizabeth Clough from Troy by only a few inches.

“Angela had a rough year last year with injuries and other setbacks,” Brueske said. “This year she’s just been tremendous. She’s finally competing at the level that she’s capable of. It’s great to see a local kid performing so well for us.”

Sophomores Joey Torres (Navarre, Fla.) and Stephen Nobles (Fairhope, Ala.) also added two all-SBC performances for the Jags Sunday in the hammer throw; Torres claimed the second spot in the event with a 57.20m/187-08.00 throw for his second all-conference performance of the weekend, while Nobles threw a 54.50m/178-10.00 toss for third.

“Joey has a really good chance to making it to nationals. A lot of our athletes have a chance to make it to nationals, actually,” Brueske said. “The exciting thing about this year’s team is that a lot of our athletes are underclassmen. We only have three seniors graduating and a handful of juniors. We’re a young team. If we continue to work hard, we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

Freshman Vince Frawley (Midlothian, Texas) earned all-conference recognition with a third-place finish in the pole vault with a 4.77m/15-07.75 leap, while his twin brother Eric chipped in a few points for the Jags with a sixth-place finish in the event with a 4.62m/15-01.75 mark.

Sophomore Latifah Johnson (Pensacola, Fla.) tossed in a few points for the Lady Jags, falling short of all-SBC honors after coming in fourth place in the hammer throw with a 51.62m/169-04.00 toss, while teammate Savannah Steiner (Mobile, Ala.) also scored in the event with a 44.84m/147-01.00 mark for seventh place.

The women’s relay team, comprise of Shakeria Williams, Janae Jones, Ebonee Moody, and Latoria English, scored some points for the women’s team with a fifth place finish in the 4x100-meter relay at 46.93 seconds and a sixth place finish in the 4x400-meter relay at 3:54.11. Williams also scored in the 200-meter dash with a fourth-place finish at 24.33. The men also scored in the events with a 41.67-second time for seventh place in the 4x100-meter relay and a sixth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:21.85.

Anton Graphenreed (Columbus, Ga.) and Ashton Krause (Mobile, Ala.) scored for the Jags as well, with a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.68) and an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles (15.18) respectively.

Lindsay Schwartz (Watertown, Wis.) added to her multiple scores for the Jags by grabbing sixth place in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.93, while Magrina Chepkoech (Eldoret, Kenya) tossed in points with an eighth-place run in the 5,000 meters with a clocking of 18:04.57.

“Our teams have had an incredible turn-around from last year, especially our guys,” Brueske said. “Everyone involved in the program has worked really hard to get us back to where we need to be, closer to winning conference championships. This was a big step forward tonight. All of our coaches and student-athletes have worked hard and it’s starting to pay off. We’re not there yet, but we’re on way.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).