BATON ROUGE, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University track and field team kicked off its season in a big way, seeing Olu Ogunyemi tie the school record in the 60-meter hurdles on the season's first day at the LSU Purple Tiger meet at the Carl Maddox Field House.
 
Terrell Webb kicked off the day in a big way, setting a new personal best in the men's weight throw as his third attempt went 20.44 meters, 67' 0.75", which held up as the day's longest to win him the day's gold medal.
 
While Webb was winning gold, Ogunyemi was setting the stage for his record run. He took to the start line in the second heat of the 60-meter hurdles competition and made sure he made it to the day's final by winning the heat with a time of 8.17 seconds to automatically qualify. As he waited for the final, he kept himself warm by competing in the 600-meter run, which he finished in 1:44.98. Then came the moment of the day as Ogunyemi finished the 60-meter hurdle final in 8.04 seconds, good for a fourth-place finish on the day but also fast enough to tie his own Southeastern school record, a record he set at the 2023 Southland Conference Indoor Championships.
 
Slavko Stevic also stepped up for his first high jumps of 2024, and he would match the highest jump of the day, clearing 2.12 meters (6' 11.5"), garnering a silver medal finish in Baton Rouge.
 
Donroy Brown capped a successful day in the shot put as his second toss landed 16.88 meters (55' 4.75") away, a number that stood up for a third place finish.
 
Other top performances on the day include Tim Anstett crossing the finish line in the men's 600-meter run in 1:22.92, good for a fourth-place finish while Josh Anding finished that same event in ninth with a time of 1:26.02. Onya Favour finished 10^th in the women's 600-meter run with a time of 1:41.73. In the men's 800-meter run, Darian Chestnut finished fourth with a time of 1:59.95 while Courtlin Baunchand set a new personal best with a time of 2:02.89. Ava Pitarro had a successful debut in the women's 3,000-meter run, finishing in 10:48.44 which was good enough for seventh place. Noa Skomorowski also made his debut, which came in the long jump. His best jump on the day went 6.81 meters (22' 4.25") which placed him seventh in the competition. Tristan Goodly's first attempt at the triple jump for SLU landed him a fourth-place finish on the day with his best jump going 14.00 meters (45' 11.25").
 
With an eye on Nationals after opening weekend, Stevic sits 14^th in the nation in the high jump following his performance on Saturday while Webb sits 16^th in the weight throw and Brown is currently 49^th in the nation in shot put.
 
With a successful opening weekend now behind them, the Lions head to Alabama next weekend to take part in the Samford Open next Saturday. The opening events of the Samford Open start at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
PODIUM CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the track and field program are encouraged to join the Podium Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Podium Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern track and field program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
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