MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. | South Alabama looks to defend its conference championship on the men's side when the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships get underway Thursday afternoon at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.

The meet begins with the multi-events at 12 pm on Thursday led by a trio of Jags in the top eight on the performance list heading into the weekend including Sebastian Reyneke with the second-most points scored on the season (7270). Brylan Shirley and Nic Glass each will challenge for the medal stand and for points for the Jags as they have two of the other top eight point totals on the season.

On the women's side, Hanna-Mai Vaikla will challenge for the medal stand as she recorded the second-most points at a meet (5057) this season.

South Alabama will challenge for the medal stand in several events, with several of the same individuals competing in multiple events including Kirami Yego who has the top times in the 5,000-meters (13:34.50) and 10,000-meters (28:22.94) this season. He also has the fourth-fastest time in the 1500-meters (3:49.96). He is followed by Teagan Flanagan in both the 5000 (13:58.52) and 10,000 (28:59.69) with the second-fastest times in each.

In field events, Dorian Curry will look to challenge for the top spot in the high jump after recording the second-best jump of the season in the conference at 2.15 meters (7-00.05), while a pair of Jags look to get to the medal stand in the pole vault including one of the nation's best in Kyle Rademeyer who cleared 5.82 meters (19-01.00) this season. His teammate, David Dolan, has the third best clearance this season at 5.26 meters (17-03.00).

The Jags will also challenge for several spots in throws with Francois Prinsloo holding the top spot in the discus (62.53 meters) and third in the hammer (62.25 meters), while Sebastian Loschner has the third best throw in the discus (54.59 meters).

On the women's side, Lauren Tinkler and Adele Magaud will look to challenge for the medal stand in the 5000-meters. Tinkler has the third-fastest time (16:36.04) and Magaud the fourth (16:35.02) in the conference heading into the championships. Grace Wolf will challenge for the medal stand in the 400-meter hurdles entering the weekend with the fifth-fastest time at 1:01.15, while Starlynn Costa has the sixth-fastest time in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

The Jags will look to score in the field as well with Kiara Risher having the best height in the high jump (1.78 meters) and a pair of student-athletes having two of the best five clearances in the pole vault. Savannah Morgan has the fourth-best clearance in the event (3.88 meters), while Alexis Gratia is fifth (3.87 meters).

In the throws' competition, Colette Uys and Bodine Degli-Umberti will look to score in three events. Uys is second in the shot put (16.81 meters), second in the discus (53.35 meters), and fourth in the hammer (59.99 meters). Meanwhile, Degli-Umberti is sixth in the shot put (15.52 meters), first in the discus (53.35 meters), and third in the hammer (62.09 meters).

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