Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Led by Christoph Graf's win in the mile run, the University of South Alabama men's and women's track and field teams had five individuals finishin among the top three in their events Friday at the UAB Vulcan Invite held at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Graf — who advanced to the NCAA cross country championships in the fall — earned the victory with a time of 4:15.46.  Patrick Rohr, making his season debut, was right behind him, finishing second with a 4:16.12 clocking while Justin Housley in fifth place with a time of 4:20.00.

Graf also posted a top-five result in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.80, just over a second behind the winner.

"Christoph and Patrick looked strong and had an excellent start to the season," commented Jag head track and field coach Paul Brueske, "Our men's distance group should be competitive this season."

Ravaughn Pope finished in second place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.18, only .02 seconds behind the leader. It was the best time of Pope's career, moving him into fifth on the school's all-time performance list in the event.

Rafael Scott placed third in the 60-meter dash for the second straight week with a time of 6.92, .08 seconds behind the leader, and he also came in ninth in the long jump (6.76m).

LaMia Miller added a pair of top-five performances for the second event in a row, coming in third in the women's weight throw with a distance of 15.78m — just over a meter behind the winner — as well as recording a fifth-place finish in the shot put (13.34m).

Jan-Louw Kotze placed fourth in the men's shot put after recording a career-best mark of 15.48m, finishing just over a meter behind the victor, while Renaldo Frechou also earned fourth place with a distance of 17.77m in the men's weight throw; that figure was little more than a meter from finishing in the top three.

On the track, Mark Watts finished fourth with a time of 48.76 in the 400-meter dash, less than a second behind the leader, while the men's 4x400 relay team ended up in fourth with a time of 3:19.89 in a race that Florida A&M won the race with a 3:12.23 mark.

Ariel Johnson had a career best mark in the triple jump with a distance of 11.78m earning her fourth place, with the winner of the event posting a mark of 12.85m. Tyler Holenbeck recorded a fifth-place results in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.5m, only a half meter behind the winner.

"This was another step forward for us, we had about 10 athletes set personal bests at the meet," said Brueske, "We had a few athletes who should move up in the Sun Belt rankings, although in some events that we were just a bit off from having a huge breakthrough."

Laura Labuschaigne moving to sixth on the all-time performance list in the women's mile run in her collegiate debut, finishing in 5:00.32 — seven seconds out of first — and she came in 10th place finish in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:17.84.  Nicole Durham placed seventh in the mile with a time of 5:13.79as well.

Jasmine Ferguson, competing in the women's high jump, earned seventh place with a height of 1.54m, just .14 meters behind the winner, with the Jags also receiving 10th-place performances from Jordan Friz in the women's pole vault (3.50m) and Marina Swanepoel in the women's 400-meter dash (57.90).

The Jaguars will be back in action at the Birmingham CrossPlex for the Samford Invitational and Multi Feb. 13-14, their final meet prior to the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships. 

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).