BATON ROUGE, La. – Reuben Booysen destroyed a 21-year-old javelin school record, and several athletes moved up the record books as the South Alabama Track & Field program wrapped up an impressive outing Saturday at the LSU Lurline Hamilton Invitational.
Booysen launched a monstrous throw of 72.45 meters (237-08) to claim the win and shatter the original school record of 69.63 meters (228-05) set by Justin Cummins in 2004. Not only did Booysen set a new program high he also broke a Lurline Hamilton Invitational record and owns the second-farthest throw in the nation this outdoor season.
South Alabama started the day strong and dominated both hammer throw competitions. Iyana Johnson and Samuel Mika claimed first place for the second straight week. Johnson hurled a throw of 59.78 meters (196-01) to secure the win and move into seventh all-time in the event for the Jags. On the men's side, Mika won with a personal best throw of 58.50 meters (191-11). Teneals Els also had an impressive day in the hammer, placing third with a toss of 48.95 meters (160-07").
Staying in the throwers' circle, Flora Dupans controlled the women's discus, cruising to a win with a heave of 47.97 meters (191-11) and ranking him fifth in the all-time Jaguar record books.
Over on the track, Kendal White had a stellar day in the 110 and 400-meter hurdles. White blazed to a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.29. The Mobile native also clocked a 14.12 in the 110-meter hurdles, ranking him fifth all-time in the event for South Alabama.
Jordan Morrison clinched a win in the 600 meters with a personal best time of 1:18.13.
The Jags dominated both triple jump competitions. Devin Dahunsi clinched first with a season-best jump of 13.92 meters (45-08), while Iyana Johnson earned a win for the women with a leap of 12.19 meters (40-0).
Several Jags moved into the all-time South Alabama record books.
In the men's 200 meters, Javon Glenn blazed to a personal record time of 21.24, improving all-time ranking to No.6.
Presleigh Montalvo continued to impress and placed second in the 100 meters with an 11.95, marking the seventh fastest time in program history. Additionally, she secured fourth place and the eighth fastest time in school history in the 200 meters with a time of 24.45.
Bobby Gray finished just shy of a win in the shot put, recording a throw of 15.64 meters to make him 10th all-time for the Jags.
Mary Hayes Johnson PR'd for the second week in a row in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.69, making her eighth all-time for the Jags.
Marlon Miller clocked a time of 47.65 in the men's 400 meters, making him eighth in school history in the event.
Dianna Goodman placed third in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 3.80 meters (12-5 ½"). This also moves her into 10th all-time for USA.
Quotable
Head Coach Paul Brueske
"Good to break the javelin record finally. It was the one lingering record that we really needed to break. Overall, saw some good things. Just to get a few key athletes healthy and ready to go and we should be ready to field a strong team for conference."
Up Next
The Jags head to Hattiesburg to compete in the Southern Miss Invitational on Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29.
