HARRISONBURG, Va. — South Alabama's men's and women's track and field teams sit atop the leaderboard following the opening day of the Sun Belt Outdoor Conference Championships on Thursday, powered by a conference title from Reuben Booysen and a total of seven All-Conference performances.
The Jaguar men lead the standings with 33 points, ahead of Arkansas State with 21 and App State with 19. On the women's side, South Alabama holds a narrow lead with 37 points, just ahead of Texas State with 35 and Louisiana with 27.
South Alabama opened strong in the hammer throw, producing three personal bests and three podium finishes. Iyana Johnson earned silver on the women's side with a throw of 59.88 meters (196 feet, 5 inches). On the men's side, Samuel Mika also claimed silver with a mark of 61.29 meters (201-1), followed by Bobby Gray in third with 60.25 meters (197-8).
In the women's javelin, Calli Stokes recorded a personal-best throw of 48.17 meters (158-0) to secure the silver medal. Ava Wheaton followed in third with a mark of 46.66 meters (153-1), earning All-Conference honors.
Charleen Elizondo added another podium finish for the Jaguars in the women's 10,000 meters, placing third with a personal-best time of 35:12.93, the fifth All-Conference performance on the women's side for the day.
Booysen delivered the standout performance of the day for the Jaguars, capturing the Sun Belt title in the men's javelin with a winning toss of 68.46 meters (224-7) on his only throw of the competition.
Dianna Goodman matched her personal best in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 4.01 meters (13-1.75) to finish fourth, while Alexis Gratia placed sixth with a jump of 3.81 meters (12-6).
South Alabama also made a strong showing in the sprint prelims. Javon Glenn ran 21.27 seconds in the 200 meters to place sixth and qualify for the finals. In the 400-meter hurdles, Kendal White finished third in 51.72, and Ryler Gould placed fifth with a personal-best 52.34, securing spots in the finals on Saturday.
In the combined events, Stokes sits fifth after Day 1 of the heptathlon with 2,941 points. On the men's side, Samuel Warriner is fifth in the decathlon with 3,645 points.
Competition resumes Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT with the 110-meter hurdles in the decathlon and the long jump in the heptathlon.
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