HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The University of South Alabama track & field teams closed the regular season this weekend, picking up seven individual victories at the Southern Miss Open.
 
Multiple student-athletes posted career-best efforts in the last meet before the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships.
 
MEET INFORMATION
Event: Southern Miss Open
Date: April 27-28
Host: Southern Miss
Site: Marshall Bell Track
Results
 
NOTES
Men's Field Events
-Andrew Allen took second place in the javelin event with a 57.29m (187-11.50) throw. David Reinhardt finished fourth with a 52.94m (173-08.25) mark.
-Allen was also the runner-up in the hammer throw after a 60.15m (197-04.00) effort. Thomas Boyd (56.72m, 186-01.00) and Ethan Boyd (54.61m, 179-02.00) finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
-Jobi Finau's 49.21m (161-05.25) discus throw was the third-longest in this weekend's event.
-Sean Collins claimed his fourth pole vault victory of the season with a 5.32m (17-05.25) height. Chris Taylor jumped to sixth in the Sun Belt Conference standings and is among the top 50 in the NCAA East Region rankings with a third-place, personal-best 4.97m (16-03.50) mark.
 
Women's Field Events
-Freshman Hanna-Mai Vaikla earned her third victory in four javelin events this season with a 42.30m (138-09.25) throw. Halee Thomas finished second and remains eighth on the league performance list after a personal-best 41.23m (135-03.00) mark. Liz Bolden's season-best 39.92m (130-11.50) effort was good for third place in the event and is one of the top 15 marks in the conference.
-Michaela Preachuk earned another top-two finish in the hammer event with a 59.54m (195-04.00) throw. Michaela Obijiaku (54.50m, 178-09.50), Meagan Hall (54.34m, 178-03.25), Jessie Droogsma (49.37m, 161-11.50) and Thomas (43.36m, 142-03.00) had the best performances of their careers in the event. Obijiaku and Hall are currently fifth and seventh, respectively, on the Sun Belt performance list. 
-Droogsma's fourth-place, season-best 45.12m (148-00.25) discus throw is the tenth-best mark in the conference.
-Autavia Fluker claimed third place in the shot put (14.40m, 47-03.00); Esherika Hawkins took fifth (13.57m, 44-06.25).
-Megan James won the pole vault event for the second time this season with a season-best 3.81m (12-06.00) mark. The senior ties Jordan Friz for third in the conference standings. Friz tied for second in the event with a 3.66m (12-00.00) height. Christina Wiggins' 3.51m (11-06.00) jump was a personal record, and Savannah Howie had her best performance of the season with a 3.36m (11-00.25) effort.
-Taylor Dames and Olivia Swan posted identical 1.73m (5-08.00) high jump marks to finish second and third, respectively, based on attempts.
-Darnesha Harris remains 21st in the conference standings after a career-best 10.62m (34-10.25) (+2.7) triple jump effort.
 
Men's Running Events
-Alex Elam ran the 100m dash in 10.55 seconds (+1.6) to earn fifth place.
-Rafael Scott and Keith Davis had top-10 finishes in the 200m with times of 21.75 seconds (+0.3) and 21.81 seconds (+1.7), respectively.
-Davis and DJ Taylor recorded career-best times in the 400m dash. Davis crossed the line in 50.39 seconds, while Taylor completed the race in 52.22 seconds.
-Migael Strydom's 1:55.83 time in the 800m earned him a top-five finish.
-Jaguars took the top three spots in the 1,500m race. Warno Potgieter was first with a time of 3:55.51; Ben Rolader finished in 3:56.96 for the runner-up spot. Luke Fielding took third place and moved up to 12th in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a personal-best 3:58.36.
-Dylan Pausic earned the first individual 3,000m victory of his career. The freshman completed the race in 8:53.99, more than 20 seconds faster than his previous time. Phillip Friedlander crossed the line in a season-best 9:17.26 to take third place.
-Javen Jackson (55.88 seconds) and Jacob Johnson (57.24 seconds) finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the 400m hurdles.
 
Women's Running Events
-Cierra Hedrick completed the 100m dash in 12.19 seconds (+.07) for a top-five finish.
-Senior Laura Labuschaigne won the 1,500m race in 4:35.81. She took second place in the 800m and ranks 11th in the conference after recording a season-best 2:13.48.
-Two other Jaguars finished in the top-five of the 800m; Cindy von Ahlefeldt (2:20.59) and Gillianne Sharp (2:30.73) were third and fifth, respectively.
-Carolien Millenaar earned a top-five finish in the 1,500m, completing the race in 4:42.69.
-Nicole Van Der Merwe finished second after running the 3,000m in 10:38.47. The freshman took more than 10 seconds off her previous career-fastest time. She also had a personal-best in the 1,500m race, posting a time of 5:06.51.
-Swan won the 400m hurdles with a 1:01.60 time. Darnesha Harris recorded a personal-best in the event, crossing the finish line in 1:04.36.
-The 4 x 400 relay team ran a season-best 3:57.60 for a second-place finish.
 
UP NEXT
The Jaguars will compete in the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships May 11-13 in San Marcos, Texas.

QUOTES FROM COACH BRUESKE
On performances over the weekend and a strong finish to the regular season… "We had some good competition this weekend. We also had some season- and personal-best performances. It was a good meet for us heading into the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships."
 
On how the team will prepare for the Sun Belt Conference meet… "The next couple weeks we must train smart and have everyone feeling ready to compete at their best."  
 
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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