BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – South Alabama finished in the top-five of both the men's and women's competition at the Sun Belt Indoor Track & Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex Monday and Tuesday.
 
The men's team finished in third place with 120.5 points, and the women placed fourth, scoring 58 points. In total, South Alabama earned seven first-place finishes in the meet, three track events and four field events.
 
Arkansas State took home first place finishes in the men's and women's competition with 174.5 and 106.5 points, respectively.
 
TRACK EVENTS
Adele Magaud and Starlynn Costa each set new personal-bests in the women's 5,000 meters to place third and fifth, respectively. Magaud finished with a time of 16:50.60, and Costa finished in 17:00.15. Magaud's time is just eight one-hundredths of a second short of setting a new school record.
 
A new meet record was set in the men's 5,000 meters, as Kirami Yego finished with a time of 13:51.03. Teagan Flanagan finished in second place, crossing the finish line in 13:58.83. Each of the runners lapped the field, as third place finished over 30 seconds later. Amos Pkemoi finished in sixth place with a time of 14:54.69.
 
South Alabama also took first place in the men's distance medley relay. The team, anchored by Yego, finished in 10:06.02.
 
Yego added to his championship performance by taking first place in the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:09.39, a new meet record. He beat second place by one one-hundredth of a second. Flanagan finished in third, crossing the line at 8:13.98.
 
In the women's 3,000 meters, Magaud finished in fifth place with a personal-best time of 9:48.14.
 
FIELD EVENTS
In the first field event of the meet, Bodine Degli-Umberti took the top spot in the women's weight throw, reaching a distance of 19.29 meters (63 feet, 3.5 inches).
 
In the men's weight throw, Francois Prinsloo finished in second place, reaching a distance of 18.54 meters (60 feet, 10 inches). Dimitrios Manesiotis also finished in the top-10, coming in sixth with a personal-best distance of 17.52 meters (57 feet, 5.75 inches).
 
Sebastian Reyneke took first place in the heptathlon with a personal-best and new school record, 5,578 points. He placed in the top-four of six of the seven events, including first place in the high jump (2.00 meters), long jump (7.20 meters) and shot put (13.98 meters). Brylan Shirley (4,986 points) and Graham Collins (4,911 points) finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
 
In the men's pole vault, Evans Finnorn finished tied for fifth place with a new personal-best, 4.88 meters (16 feet). Alexis Gratia was top finisher for South Alabama in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.69 meters (12 feet, 1.25 inches) and finishing ninth.
 
Kiara Risher finished in first place in the women's high jump, clearing 1.74 meters (5 feet, 8.5 inches). On the men's side, Dorian Curry placed second, scoring a height of 2.12 meters (6 feet, 11.5 inches).
 
Freshman Iyana Johnson finished sixth in the women's triple jump, reaching a personal-best distance of 12.48 meters (40 feet, 11.5 inches).
 
The Jaguars took first and third place in the women's shot-put event. Colette Uys took the top spot with a distance of 16.13 meters (52 feet, 11 inches), a personal-best and new school record. Degli-Umberti received the bronze medal for her effort of 15.74 meters (51 feet, 7.75 inches) a personal-best as well.
 
On the men's side of the shot-put, Sebastian Loschner finished in second place. He recorded a personal-best distance of 17.08 meters (56 feet). Prinsloo and Manesiotis also finished in the top-10. Prinsloo's new personal-best of 16.16 meters (53 feet) netted him fifth place, while Manesiotis finished in seventh (15.09 meters).
 
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Paul Brueske:
"I was pleased with the effort. Our student-athletes overcame some adversity this past week and showed a lot of mental toughness. We are looking to keep improving for the upcoming outdoor season."
 
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