BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's track & field team finished second, and the men's team fourth after the final day of the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships Tuesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

The Jaguar women totaled 88.5 points, while the men accumulated 76 on the strength of heptathlon event wins from Berron Tyson and Chris Taylor. Hanna-Mai Vaikla earned the third Jaguar win of the day in the women's long jump indoor pentathlon.

MEET INFORMATION
Event: Sun Belt Indoor Championships
Date: Feb. 19-20
Host: Sun Belt Conference
Site: Birmingham CrossPlex
Results

NOTES
-Tyson's 4.08m (13-04.50) effort in the men's pole vault heptathlon broke his previous career-high mark of 3.70m (12-01.50) and tied him for sixth in the event.  
-Vaikla posted career-best performances with an eighth-place finish in the 60m hurdles (9.15) and a fifth-place performance in the high jump (1.58m (5-02.25)) portions of the pentathlon. A 11.50m (37-08.75) effort earned her fourth place in the shot put pentathlon. 
-Olivia Swan earned third place in the women's high jump pentathlon with a 1.70m (5-07.00). A personal-best distance of 5.24m (17-02.25) placed her seventh in the long jump pentathlon. 
-In their first time running the women's 800m this season, Swan finished second with a time of 2:21.98 and Vaikla finished fifth with a time of 2:28.98. 
-A trio of Jaguars ran career-low times in the men's one mile finals. Migael Strydom finished second in the event and jumped to second in the Sun Belt season standings with a time of 4:11.14. Warno Potgieter (4:11.42) and Ben Rolader (4:12.27) finished third and fourth, respectively.  
-Rafael Scott ran a 6.69 in the men's 60m finals, claiming second place in the event. He posted a season-low 21.44 to place fourth in the men's 200m finals.  
-Megan James placed third in the women's pole vault finals with a mark of 3.75m (12-03.50). Jordan Friz tied for fourth place with a 3.65m (11-11.75) effort; Caitlin Dressler posted a season-high 3.65m (11-11.75) and finished eighth in the event. 
-Larry Lombard's 1:53.79 time in the men's 800m was a career best and earned him sixth place in the finals. 
-Michella Obijuaka moved from sixth to fifth in the all-time Jaguar record books with a career-high, third-place mark of 14.37m (47-01.75) in the women's shot put. Autavia Fluker placed sixth and Esherika Hawkins placed seventh with a personal-best 13.80m (45-03.50). 
-Carolien Millenaar earned third place in the women's 5,000m finals with a time of 17:46.06; Ashley Heitling placed sixth in the same event with a time of 17:55.47. 

UP NEXT
The Jaguars begin the outdoor track & field season March 2-3 as they host the Jaguar Opener in Mobile. 

QUOTES FROM COACH BRUESKE
On the two teams' respective finishes… "Considering the number of setbacks we had this week, I am proud of the effort of our athletes."  
 
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).

Join the Finish Line Club, the track and field and cross country specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund.  All donations to the Finish Line Club go directly to support the South Alabama track and field/cross country programs.  For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/finishlineclub

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