MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's and women's outdoor track and field teams are set to compete in the 2019 Sun Belt Outdoor Track and Field Championship Friday through Sunday at Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark. 

MEET INFORMATION
Event: 2019 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships
Date: May 10-12
Host: Arkansas State
Site: Arkansas State University Track & Field/Cross Country Complex
Live Results 
ESPN+ Coverage Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 

FIELD (12)
Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Little Rock, Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State, Troy, ULM, UT Arlington

NOTES
General
-The Jaguars return eight 2018 Sun Belt all-conference athletes, including first-team honorees Emilie Berge (heptathlon), Sean Collins (pole vault), Michaela Preachuk (hammer throw) and Hanna-Mai Vaikla (javelin). 
-Collins set the Sun Belt pole vault record as a freshman with a 5.51m (18-01.00) mark at the 2016 conference championships. 
-Berge's 5,632-point heptathlon effort at last year's Sun Belt Outdoor Championships set a new league standard. The junior broke her own record this year, scoring 5,718 points at the 2019 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. 
-Fifty-one student-athletes are traveling to the conference meet. Friday and Saturday's events will begin at 9 a.m. with the decathlon, while the women's discus will open Sunday's schedule at 11:30 a.m.

Men's Track
-Freshman Hunter Appling ran the 110m hurdles in 14.14 seconds—the third-fastest time in Jaguar history—at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge to take fourth place in the conference rankings. 
-USA holds two of the top four spots on the 1,500m performance list. Junior Warno Potgieter is second with a 3:51.54 effort and sophomore Onesmus Kemboi is fourth with a career-record time of 3:52.00; both times were from the South Alabama Jaguar Opener. Kemboi's 14:40.72 mark in the Florida Relays 5,000m ranks sixth in the league. 
-Larry Lombard is fifth in the conference after clocking a personal-best 1:52.68 in the War Eagle Invitational 800m. 
-Javen Jackson's 53.95-second time in the Florida Relays 400m hurdles was a career-best effort which ranks seventh in the Sun Belt.
-USA's men's relay teams are fifth (4 x 400m, 3:16.11) and seventh (4 x 100m, 41.27 seconds), respectively.
-Jalen Boyd ran the 10th-fastest 400m time in the Sun Belt, crossing the line in 48.62 seconds at the War Eagle Invitational. 

Women's Track
-Carolien Millenaar took fourth place in the Jaguar record books and fifth in the Sun Belt season rankings with a 2:12.57 800m time at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge. The sophomore's 4:33.84 effort in the War Eagle Invitational 1,500m is sixth on the all-time USA performance list and this season's conference standings. She holds the fifth-best 3,000m steeplechase time in the league after completing the event in 11:02.31 at the Florida Relays. 
-Andonet Cheruiyot ran the Florida Relays 5,000m in 17:26.28, a time which ranks fifth in the Sun Belt and sixth in the USA records.
-Silje Lindstad's 3,000m steeplechase time of 11:04.34 at the Florida Relays is sixth in the league and the third-fastest in Jaguar history.
-Olivia Swan and Darnesha Harris are fifth and sixth in the conference 400m hurdles standings with times of 1:01.61 and 1:02.67, respectively, from the Southern Miss Open. Harris' time ranks seventh on the USA performance list.
-The 4 x 400m relay team is eighth in the Sun Belt after completing the race in 3:54.27 at the War Eagle Invitational.
-Cierra Hedrick's 11.94-second 100m time from the Southern Miss Open is the ninth-fastest in the conference standings. 

Men's Field
-Collins' 5.44m (17-10.25) pole vault at the Southern Miss Open leads the league, is fourth in the NCAA East Region and ranks 13th in the nation this season. Four other Jaguars are among the Sun Belt top 10: Noah Mumme (fifth), Chris Taylor (sixth), Connor Allred (eighth) and Graham Collins (10th). 
-Christian Ellis broke a 35-year-old USA triple jump record with a 15.75m (51-08.25) mark at the 2019 Florida Relays. He ranks first in the Sun Belt and is 23rd on the NCAA performance list. 
-Freshman Graham Collins scored 6,836 decathlon points at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge to take second place in the Jaguar record books. The point total is third in the league, 16th in the NCAA East Region and lists among the top 50 in the country. 
-Thomas Boyd is second in the conference and 45th in the NCAA East Region hammer throw standings after a 58.44m (191-08.75) effort—the ninth-best in Jaguar program history—at the Southern Miss Invitational. The senior's 16.21m (53-02.25) shot put mark from the Jaguar Opener is eighth in the Sun Belt.
-Harry Barthelemy's 2.07m (6-09.50) high jump at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge ranks fifth in the Sun Belt and third on the all-time USA performance list. 
-Freshmen Devon Swainston and Cade Marty are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the conference javelin standings. Swainston's 55.56m (182-03.25) throw came at the South Alabama Invitational, while Marty's 53.57m (175-09.00) mark was from Auburn's Tiger Track Classic.
-Ethan Boyd took seventh in the league rankings with a 56.11m (184-01.00) hammer throw at the Southern Miss Invitational.
-Jobi Finau recorded a 48.84m (160-02.75) discus throw at the Jaguar Opener to place ninth in the conference standings.
-Thad Porter's 14.32m (46-11.75) triple jump at the Jaguar Opener is the seventh-best in USA program history.

Women's Field
-Berge leads the conference outright in the heptathlon standings and is tied for first in the high jump. Her 5,718-point total in the Texas Relays heptathlon ranks fifth in the NCAA and second in the NCAA East Region. She recorded a 1.79m (5-10.50) high jump at the South Alabama Invitational to tie for 25th in the nation, 13th in the NCAA East Region and second in the Jaguar record books. The junior's 5.96m (19-06.75) long jump at the Texas Relays is eighth on the all-time USA performance list and seventh in the Sun Belt, while her 40.20m (131-10.50) javelin throw from the same meet is ninth in the conference.
-Autavia Fluker is nationally ranked in the shot put and hammer throw. Her school-record 16.22m (53-02.75) shot put throw at the Triton Invitational is 39th in the NCAA, 23rd in the NCAA East Region and tops the conference standings. The junior recorded a 60.56m (198-08.25) hammer throw at the Florida Relays, a mark which ties for 33rd in the NCAA East Region, and ranks second in the Sun Belt and third on the all-time USA performance list. 
-Preachuk broke her own USA hammer throw record with a 61.59m (202-00.75) toss which leads the Sun Belt. The senior ranks 47th in the NCAA and 27th in the NCAA East Region in the event. 
-Vaikla recorded the second-longest javelin throw mark in Jaguar history—48.42m (158-10.25)—at the Southern Miss Invitational. The mark is first in the league and 24th in the NCAA East Region. The sophomore's 13.34m (43-09.25) shot put throw at the Southern Miss Open lists at 10th in the Sun Belt standings. 
-Swan's 1.78m (5-10.00) high jump at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge is tied for 33rd in the country and 18th in the NCAA East Region and is third on this season's conference performance list. 
-Halee Thomas took sixth place in the school records and fourth in the Sun Belt standings with a 45.98m (150-10.00) javelin throw at the South Alabama Invitational. The mark puts the sophomore at 40th in the NCAA East Region rankings. She earned 10th place in the USA record books with a 50.45m (165-06.00) hammer throw at the Southern Miss Invitational. 
-Angeline Smit's 14.60m (47-11.00) shot put mark at Samford's Alabama Track Challenge is the third-longest in the league and the fourth-longest in Jaguar program history. The sophomore holds eighth place on this season's Sun Belt performance list with a 44.68m (146-07.00) discus throw at the South Alabama Invitational.
-Jessie Droogsma took fourth place in the league discus standings with a 46.90m (153-10.25) throw at the South Alabama Invitational. She won the Alabama Track Challenge hammer throw event with a 54.30m (177-03.00) mark that ranks sixth in the conference and eighth in the USA record books. 
-Liz Bolden recorded a 44.00m (144-04.25) javelin throw at the Tiger Track Classic to earn fifth place on the conference performance list. 
-Taylor Dames is seventh in the Sun Belt after a 1.74m (5-08.50) high jump at the South Alabama Invitational. 
-Caitlyn Dressler's 3.61m (11-10.00) pole vault at the Tiger Track Classic ranks seventh on the conference performance list, while Savannah Howie's 3.50m (11-05.75) mark from the Jaguar Opener is ninth. 


QUOTES FROM COACH BRUESKE
On practicing for the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships: "This week, most of the athletes were tapering so that we can peak at the conference meet. It's basically been just fine-tuning a few small, technical things and making sure the athletes are rested, healthy and ready to go."  

On competition within the conference: "The Sun Belt is always tough, but I think that we are too. Going in, we feel like we should be very competitive. We've got some athletes who have an opportunity to be very competitive in the league and vie for all-conference honors. We have several athletes who are capable of doing that. We've just got to go do it." 

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

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