TROY, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women’s track and field team captured top team honors while the men’s squad finished second overall to cap day two of the Coach “O” Invitational at Jesse H. Colley Track Saturday.
 
The Lady Jags combined to record 170 total points over the course of the weekend, good for first place among a 13-team field.  In a field of 16 men’s teams, USA compiled 122 points to finish second only to Troy (186.5 pts.).
 
Jan-Louw Kotze took individual honors in the men’s discus throw with a hurl of 54.49m, setting a new meet record in the process.  The victory marked Kotze’s fifth of the season in the event.  Zach Blahnik (45.63m) and Jeff Long (45.60m) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
 
USA’s Briana Aiken, Berta Lucas, Shayna McCarver and Melissa McCluskey teamed up to capture first place in the women’s 4x100-meter relay, posting a time of 47.74.
 
Aiken (second, 5.97m) and Leah Hixon (third, 5.53m) each cracked the top three in the women’s long jump to lead the Lady Jags. 
 
Jaylon Holt set a new personal mark in the men’s triple jump (14.93m) on his way to a second-place finish.  Aiken placed third in the women’s triple jump (12.37m), and McCarver came in fourth at 12.35m, marking a new personal record.
 
Hixon – the Sun Belt Conference’s top women’s javelin thrower this season – notched a second-place finish in the event with a 44.33m toss.
 
Tasha Russell and Lucas each set personal records in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.  Russell (14.26) finished third in the event, while Lucas (14.48) followed to place fourth. 
 
The women’s squad also earned a 3-4 finish in the 400-meter hurdles with the combination of Chalandra Gooden (1:02.75) and McCarver (1:04.06) both notching career-best efforts.  Lucas (1:05.70) placed eighth overall in the event for her second PR of the day.
 
Ashton Krause clocked in at 14.79 in the men’s 110-meter hurdles to finish third just ahead of teammate Tyler Agee, who placed fourth with a time of 14.87.
 
Adam Patterson (third, 15.34m), Jarrod Kedzior (fourth, 14.98m) and Zach Blahnik (fifth, 14.82m) all cracked the top five in the men’s shot put; Blahnik’s effort marked a new personal best in the event.
 
In the women’s discus throw, Bobbie Williamson finished third with a heave of 44.75m, and Phoebe Dowson followed in fourth place with a mark of 44.21m.
 
Robert King, USA’s sole representative in the men’s javelin throw, posted a mark of 48.16m to garner a fourth-place finish.
 
Mary Finn (4:53.65) and Alivia Bryars (4:55.34) paced the Lady Jags in the 1,500-meter run, placing fourth and fifth, respectively.  On the men’s side, the Jags notched a 4-5 finish as well with the duo of Alex Shields (4:05.99) and Justin Housley (4:06.97).
 
In the women’s 800-meter run, Finn recorded a time of 2:28.12 to finish in fifth place.
 
Jasmine Ferguson and Hixon each cleared 1.56m in the women’s high jump to tie for fourth place.  Holt (fourth, 1.92m) and Krause (fifth, 1.82m) competed in the event for the men’s squad.
 
Shannen Weyer represented the Jaguars in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase; she clocked in at 11:30.52 to earn a second-place finish.  Ian Bordelon ran in the event for the men’s team and placed fourth overall (9:53.12).
 
The Jaguar ‘A’ team of Agee, Spencer Anderson, Tevin Barnett and Garrett Schumacher finished in fourth place in the men’s 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:25.06.
 
Noelle Jones was the top finisher for the Jags in the women’s shot put as she broke her previous personal best by nearly a meter (12.60m) to finish sixth in the event.
 
The Jags claimed a pair of PR’s in the men’s 200-meter dash, as Barnett (22.30) and Agee (22.35) placed 10^th and 11^th, respectively.
 
“We saw some really good performances today,” said head track and field coach Paul Brueske.  “There were a number of individuals who stepped up for us in key events that should help us when we get to the conference championships.  With all the good things we saw out of our student-athletes this weekend, I think this meet gives us a lot of confidence as we head into postseason competition.”
 
Samford Invitational
 
In other Saturday action, three Jaguar distance runners garnered top-five finishes at the Samford Invitational in Birmingham, Ala., including an individual victory for Salome Lecoq.
 
Lecoq paced a field of 11 competitors in the women’s 3,000-meter run, clocking in at 9:50.93 to grab the event’s top prize.  Tori Lawson finished fourth overall, crossing the line at 10:09.32.
 
Lecoq’s win brought the weekend tally for the Jaguars to six after three individual titles Friday.
 
Patrick Rohr participated in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase for the first time this season and placed second overall with a time of 9:17.97.
 
Full results from both meets can be found below.
 
The Jaguars begin the postseason with the three-day Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships, which will be held May 10-12 at Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, Fla.
 
Coach “O” Invitational Final Results
Samford Invitational Final Results
 
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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