Hammond, Louisiana – Performances from the Lion and Lady Lion throwers once again paced Southeastern's efforts, as the final day of the 2015 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships came to a close.
The 2014 defending champion Lions came in third in the weekend's events, earning 119.5 points. The men's team came in twenty points behind Sam Houston State University, who placed second.
The women's team placed seventh, with a total of 48 points. Both the men's and women's teams of Stephen F. Austin took home Southland Conference titles.
"All you can ask for as a coach is that your athletes show up and give it their best," said head coach
Sean Brady. "And many of them did. We just caught a few bad breaks today. But that's the ebb and flow of any championship competition."
The Southeastern throwers took advantage of the championship atmosphere, as the group earned a total of 92 points between them.
In his final event at the Southeastern Track and Field Complex, senior
Brett Olsen placed first in the men's discus event. With a toss of 181 feet, 7.75 inches, the senior earned ten points. His teammate
Alex Young followed close behind in second place, with a 8-point toss of 176 feet, 1.75 inches.
Young tied with Lamar senior distance runner Sam Stabler, as they were named Male Co-High Point scorers. Each scored a total of 26 points throughout the competition.
On the women's side,
Misha Frazier earned six points for the Lady Lions in the discus event. The junior threw 159 feet, three and 3/4 inches, placing third.
The women's 4x100 meter relay team also stood on the podium, as
Daijah Washington, Nakiya Smith,
Shanetria Thomas, and
Kaelynn Smith combined for the third place time of 45.28 seconds.
"I'm very excited for our girls. They showed some things today that we will definitely be able to build from for next year," said Brady.
A total of twenty-two points were earned by the Lady Lions on Sunday alone, as most of them came from success in running events.
Markeisha Jack placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.98 seconds (three points). In the 400 meters,
Vanessa Williams came in seventh, earning two points (57.51); and in the 100 meters, Nakiya Smith (11.74) and Sharrona Williams (11.80) placed sixth and seventh respectively, earning a total of five points.
"For the men, it's kind of bittersweet. We had some amazing performances, but we also had a few that just didn't show up, or were injured. It's a hard pill to swallow at home, but we will work through it," Brady said.
Ashley Riley placed 4
th in the men's 400 meters, with a time of 47.20 (five points). The men's 4x100 relay team (Ken Breland,
Raheem Brown,
Dillon Brumfield, and
Kadarius Williams) earned four points with a combined time of 40.57 seconds. Also earning four points for Southeastern was Brown in the 100 meter dash. The junior recorded a time of 10.49 seconds.
Sophomore
Alex Holden came in sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.08, while Williams came in seventh in the high jump with a mark of six feet, six inches. Brown added to his personal point total again with a seventh-place finish in the 200 meters (24.31 seconds), and the men's 4x400 relay team (Riley, Holden,
Brendon Mitchell,
Andre Colbrook) combined for an eighth-place time of 3:13.6.
A total of 38.5 points were earned by the men on the final day of competition.
The 2015 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, presented by Tangi Tourism, was the first conference event held at the Southeastern Track and Field Complex.
"Having it here in our hometown was something special," said Brady. "Of course, hosting comes with its challenges, but it gave us a chance to shine."
Out of all Southeastern's track and field student-athletes, fifteen seniors competed this weekend.
"For most of the seniors, this was a sad day, said Brady. "But for a few of them, they still have some life left. They'll be moving on to the first round of nationals. They shouldn't feel like this is the end, because it most definitely isn't".
Men's Final Standings1. SFA, 153.5
2. SHSU, 139.5
3. SLU, 119.54. ACU, 85
5. Lamar, 62
6. UCA, 60
7. NSU, 59.5
8. MSU, 54
9. UIW, 31
10. HBU, 26
11. UNO, 15
12. TAMCC, 12
Women's Final Standings1. SFA, 148
2. SHSU, 143.5
3. NSU, 90
4. Lamar, 84
5. MSU, 82
6. ACU, 59
7. SLU, 488. TAMUCC, 45
9. HBU, 36
10. UNO, 29
11. UIW, 27.5
12. UCA, 14
13. NICH, 11
Photo GalleryComplete Meet Results
