MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's track and field team played host to the Jaguar Challenge, an event that primarily featured the Jags facing Minnesota, on Friday at Jaguar Track.
"Minnesota's program is ranked in the top 20 in the country. It was a great opportunity for our girls to come out and compete with a very high level of competition — to do it at home was even better," USA head coach Paul Brueske said. "A lot of our girls had personal bests and really stepped up and competed. That's what we're looking for out of the women's team."
LaMia Miller earned first place in the shot put for the third time in as many weeks with a 14.34m distance, and she added a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 52.84m.
"She's doing a lot better outdoors and slowly starting to figure things out," Brueske said. "That's what we've got to have out of her because she's a very good athlete and we need her competing at her ability levels; she's starting to move in that direction. But I think there's a lot left, she can accomplish a lot more than what she's done so far."
Other victors for the Jaguars included Ireland Armstrong and Jordan Friz, who tied for first in pole vault with a measurement of 3.50m. In the long jump, Erikka Williams placed first with a distance of 5.44m while Ariel Johnson, with a distance of 10.49m, won the triple jump.
In the 400-meter dash, Marina Swanepoel (57.84) and Tiombe James (59.75) finished first and second, respectively. Joanna McCoy posted a time of 10:12.23 and placed second in the 3,000-meter run. In the 100-meter hurdles, Berta Lucas earned second place with a time of 14.36 second and Tasha Russell, with a time of 14.69, came in fourth place; Lucas also placed second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.10. Jasmine Ferguson posted a height of 1.60m to earn second place in high jump.
Phoebe Dowson placed fourth with a throw of 47.50m and Morgan Jones — with a 46.74m mark — placed fifth in discus. In pole vault, Kayla Carlile posted a measurement of 3.35m and placed third. Ariel Johnson (5.06m), Jasmine Ferguson (5.00m) and Kriszti Szabo (4.99m) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the long jump.
"It's simple, we've got to keep working hard and trying to improve week to week. That's what we've emphasized, getting better — if you're not getting better you're falling behind," Brueske commented. "When we return for our next training session on Sunday we will be working hard and trying to build on that moment. The girls gained some confidence this week in the competition, so hopefully this gives them some extra motivation.
"We had some good performances, it was good to see the girls step up when the competition was there."
There were several men's throwing events as part of the meet as well. In the hammer throw, USA's Renaldo Frechou broke his own school record with a throw of 68.31m while placing first out of eight participants while Zach Blahnik finished third with a throw of 58.24m.
The Jaguar men's squad will conclude competition Saturday at the John Mitchell Alabama Relays. Both teams will be back in action at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in Atlanta, Ga., on March 27-28.
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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