BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of South Alabama's track and field teams were victorious at the Battle of I-65 meet for the second year in a row.

"It was a good meet for us," said Jaguar head track and field coach Paul Brueske.  "I thought we had some solid performances and it was a good competition."

The women's team won with a score of 161 points, 20 points in front of host Samford, while the men's squad finished with a score of 138.50 points, over 30 points ahead of Samford.  

The men's 4x400-meter relay team — whose members included Trey Clarkson, Michael Smith, Tevin Barnett, and Mark Watts — finished first with a time of 3:18.25. 

"I thought the sprinters on the team really showed mental toughness," Brueske commented.  "They didn't have a lot of recovery time in between events. However, they showed perseverance in overcoming fatigue to help us win. For us to reach our potential we have to be mentally tough."

Watts also won the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 48.44. Smith (49.11) and Clarkson (49.96) also competed in the 400 and earned third and sixth place, respectively.

Cameron Ellis won the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.23, with teammate Justin Housley was right behind him at 1:55.93.

Lezyon Legarde claimed the men's triple jump with a jump of 14.14m, also winning the long jump with a measurement of 6.64m. Berron Tyson and Cameron Stokes also competed in the long jump and earned fourth and sixth with jumps of 6.31m and 6.04m, respectively. 

Kaitlyn Beans won the triple jump with a measurement of 12.33m, and she placed second in high jump with a height of 1.59m and fifth in the long jump with a 5.54m mark as well. Jasmine Ferguson tied Beans for second with the measurement of 1.59m in the high jump, with Ariel Johnson (11.55m) also competing in the triple jump and earning fifth place 

In the men's discus, Jan-Louw Kotze placed first with a throw of 53.64m and Zach Blahnik earned second with a measurement of 44.65m. Kotze also earned third place in the shot put with a throw of 15.57m while Blahnik was sixth at 14.34m. 

Spencer Anderson finished first in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.95, with teammate Barnett placing second with a time of 54.83. Competing for the women in the same event were Marina Swanepoel — who came in second with a time of 1:03.03 — and Berta Lucas, who was sixth with a time of 1:08.26. Lucas also placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.50.

Phoebe Dowson won the women's discus throw with a throw of 48.50m, and fellow Jaguar Morgan Jones placed second with a measurement of 45.37m. LaMia Miller won the women's shot put with a throw of 14.36m as well as the hammer throw with a distance of 52.15m, with Dowson placing third in the latter event with a 48.61m distance.

Competing for the men's javelin were Robert King (58.82m), David Reinhardt (57.54m), Daniel Fort (56.52m), Andrew Allen (54.86m), Stokes (51.94m), and Charles Collins (51.33m) all placing first through sixth place, respectively.  

In the women's javelin Barbara Rivera (44.46m) and Sarah Petty (40.60m) earned first and second places, respectively. Competing in the men's pole vault were Nick Farrell (4.95m) and Neil Giliomee (4.80m) in second and fourth places, respectively. 

Renaldo Frechou finished first in the men's hammer throw with a distance of 65.60m, ahead of teammates Blahnik (second, 60.21m) and Kotze (third, 56.10m). 

A trio of Jags placed in the men's mile run. Patrick Rohr (4:17.93), Robert Mann (4:26.23) and Joe Gratton (4:26.85) crossed the line second, third, and fourth, respectively. Joanna McCoy placed fifth in the race for the women with a time of 5:08.28. 

Ireland Armstrong and Jordan Friz tied for second in the women's pole vault with a measurement of 3.41m. 

In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Ravaughn Pope (14.85), Matthew Dillon (14.92), and Anderson (15.76) placed second, third and fourth, respectively.

Nicole Durham earned second in the women's 3000-meter run with a time of 10:25.39. Ivy Chastain also competed in the race and finished fifth with a time of 10:47.77.

The women's 4x400-meter relay teams placed second and third with times of 4:03.67 and 4:19.62, respectively. In the women's 800-meter run, Laura Labuschaigne placed third (2:18.86) and Alivia Bryars was fourth (2:19.97). 

Daniel Carter and Buddy Soto competed in the men's 3000-meter run, earning third and sixth places, respectively, with times of 9:09.49 and 9:20.86. 

In the men's 100-meter dash, Rafael Scott (10.93) posted a fourth-place finish with Dillon (11.05) earning sixth place. Tiombe James competed in the women's 400-meter dash and was eighth with a time of 58.48.

"It was a good effort by both teams," said Brueske.  "We just need to build on the momentum."

The Jags will be back in action next weekend at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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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