BATON ROUGE and LAFAYETTE, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University track & field teams earned 14 podium positions with 13 personal bests set as the outdoor season started Saturday at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational at LSU's Bernie Moore Track Stadium and the Louisiana Classics at Louisiana-Lafayette's Home Bank Soccer & Track Complex.
 
Most of Southeastern's action came in Baton Rouge, where the main contingent was competing. The day's first medal came in men's hammer throw at the Lurline Hamilton Invitational as Gerrit Visser's third throw of the day went 53.17 meters (174'5"), earning him a second place finish after all throws were completed.
 
SLU's second medal of the day was the lone one to come from the group which went to Lafayette. In the pole vault competition of the Louisiana Classics, Trey Faherty cleared 4.40 meters, matching the highest height cleared on the day and earning the silver medal in the competition.
 
Back in Baton Rouge, the next medal won by the Lions came in the men's long jump as Preston Sentino's fourth jump took him 6.67 meters (21'10.75") to earn him a bronze, just ahead of a couple of teammates. Stan Hamilton finished fourth with a jump of 6.61 meters (21'8.25") while Dedrick Gant was right behind them both in fifth with a leap of 6.37 meters (20'10.75").
 
Olu Ogunyemi was next to earn a podium spot as he took bronze in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in a time of 14.08 seconds. He was not done winning hardware as he would return in the 400-meter hurdles and do even better, earning a silver medal in that competition with a time of 52.93 seconds.
 
SLU's first event winner of the day came in the men's shot put. Josh-Ty Brown's first throw of the day traveled 16.64 meters (54'7.25"), which ended up being enough on its own to win the day. But, in the finals, his fifth throw of the day bettered it, flying a personal best 16.66 meters (54'8") to solidify his spot at the top of the podium.
 
Onyah Favour got the Lady Lions on the medal board in the 400-meter dash. Her time of 53.64 seconds was good enough to earn a silver medal. Miriam Kauer finished just off the medal stand with a personal best time of 54.78 seconds, slotting her in fourth place.
 
The Lions took two of the three medal spots in the men's 400-meter dash. Victory Achakpoekri took the silver with a personal best time of 47.27 seconds while Javon-Taye Williams was right behind him, clocking in with a time of 47.38 seconds which earned him a bronze medal.
 
Esther Nwanze got the Lady Lions a gold and immediately established herself at the top of the Southland Conference in the 400-meter hurdles, stopping the clock in a time of 59.15 seconds.
 
Anna Ferrand took bronze in the javelin throw as her first throw proved to be her best, going 38.89 meters (127'07") to earn her a third place finish.
 
Ferrand's counterpart on the men's side, Gabriel Lim, followed her to the medal podium. Lim's longest javelin throw of the day came on his second attempt, which went 58.68 meters (192'6"), earning him a silver medal.
 
After her fourth place finish in the 400-meter dash, Kauer would not be denied a medal in the 200-meter dash. She completed the run in 24.23 seconds, earning her a bronze medal after all the races were run.
 
Ava Pitarro rounded out the day's medal winners by finishing the 3,000-meter run in 10:48.13 seconds, taking home the bronze in the competition.
 
Other personal bests set on the day included Marvellous Asemota in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 12.02 seconds, Ian McAlpine running the 400-meter dash in 51.93 seconds, both Josh Anding and Darian Chestnut setting PBs in the 600-meter dash with Anding finishing in 1:19.68 while Chestnut finished in 1:23.15. Euan Lagan finished just off the podium in the 1,500-meter run with a personal best time of 3:55.61. Caydeb Boudreaux and Isabella Latkovich both set personal bests in the women's 1,500-meter run with Boudreaux crossing the line in 5:06.17 while Latkovich stopped the clock in 5:15.50.
 
Setting new personal bests on the field, both Micah Miller and Porter Gibson had their longest throws in the discus with Miller's best throw going 47.57 meters (156'1") while Gibson's best went 43.68 meters (143'3"). Gibson would also set a new personal best in the shot put with a throw of 16.11 meters (52'10.25").
 
Southeastern is back in action next weekend in Hattiesburg, Miss. at the Southern Miss Invitational. The Southern Miss Invitational starts on Friday with the hammer throw, javelin throw, and triple jump competitions and wraps up on Saturday at the Marshall Bell Track Complex. Live results will be available through the host institution.
 
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.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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