BATON ROUGE, La. – University of South Alabama track & field freshman Graham Collins set a school record with 5,122 points and a first-place finish in the heptathlon at LSU's Bayou Bengal Invitational held Thursday and Friday, while Christian Ellis shattered the USA triple jump record with a 15.50m (50-10.25) mark at Sunday's Jaguar Invitational in Birmingham.

MEET INFORMATION
Event: Bayou Bengal Invitational
Date: Jan. 31 – Feb. 1
Host: LSU
Site: Carl Maddox Fieldhouse
Results

NOTES AND RESULTS
-Emilie Berge scored a personal-best 3,970 points to win the pentathlon and remain second in the school's all-time records.
-Hanna-Mai Vaikla accumulated 3,502 points and currently ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference pentathlon standings.
-Collins' record-breaking performance came in his collegiate debut. He won the long jump and pole vault portions of the heptathlon.
-Berge and Collins lead the league in their respective events.
 
MEET INFORMATION
Event: Jaguar Invitational
Date: Feb. 3
Host: South Alabama
Site: Birmingham CrossPlex
Results

NOTES AND RESULTS
-Three Jaguars ran the men's 200m in times which rank among the top 10 in the USA record books. Alex Elam moved to fifth place with a time of 22.03 seconds. Keith Davis (22.29 seconds) and D.J. Taylor (22.58 seconds) are eighth and ninth, respectively. Elam ran the 60m in a personal-best 6.97 seconds and remains 10^th in the school records.
-Carolien Millenaar ran the women's mile in 5:00.58, the eighth-best time in school history. The sophomore won the 3,000m after covering the distance in 10:13.48.
-Autavia Fluker won the women's shot put with a 15.33m (50-03.50) mark and Angeline Smit took fourth place with a 13.71m (44-11.75) throw.
-Freshman Hunter Appling won the men's 60m hurdles preliminaries after crossing the line in 8.18 seconds and finished second in the finals with a time of 8.23 seconds.
-Connor Allred took the runner-up spot in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.62m (15-01.75). Noah Mumme cleared 4.47m (14-08.00) to tie for third.
-Michaela Preachuk finished third in the women's weight throw with an 18.20m (59-08.50) effort. Fluker moved to fourth in the Jaguar record books with a 17.51m (57-05.50) mark.
-A 17.82m (58-05.75) weight throw from Jobi Finau was good for a third-place finish in the men's event.
-Seniors Olivia Swan and Taylor Dames earned top-five women's high jump finishes with jumps of 1.74m (5-08.50) and 1.69m (5-06.50), respectively.
-Harry Barthelemy's fourth-place, 6.68m (21-11.00) long jump was a personal-best. Sam Brown finished fifth in the event with a 6.58m (21-07.25) mark.
-Warno Potgieter earned fifth-place finishes in the men's mile (4:15.29) and 3,000m (8:39.09).
-Ellis' triple jump is the best in the Sun Belt this season.
 
UP NEXT
USA will return to Birmingham Feb. 8-9 for the Samford Open, its final regular-season indoor meet.

QUOTES FROM COACH BRUESKE
On the Bayou Bengal Invitational: "Graham has been working hard and making steady improvements. He is one of the newcomers that has emerged for us. It was good to see Emilie and Hanna-Mai perform well for us; they are leaders for the team."
 
On the Jaguar Invitational: "It was a good meet. We improved in some areas and had several personal and season bests."
 
On newcomers making an impact: "We have a few guys new to the team that have emerged as solid competitors. Christian Ellis is another new addition making an immediate impact. He was able to break the school record today in the triple jump. Hunter Appling, Harry Barthelemy, and Noah Mumme are all newcomers who have entered our record books already."
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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
 
—USA—