SFA, McNeese State Maintain Leads Heading into Final Day of Outdoor Championships
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women and the
McNeese State men were able to maintain their leads through the second day of
competition at the 2012 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field
Championships at the Bobcat Track and Field Complex on the campus of Texas
State University.
Stephen F. Austin, which is trying to win its fourth
consecutive outdoor championship, has scored 55 points through the first eight
events and leads second-place UTSA by five points entering the final day of
competition on Sunday.
SFA senior Randi Plentl picked up the Lumberjacks lone win
of the day in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She was clocked with a time of
10:49.34 to score 10 points for the Ladyjacks, who also got five points more
points in the event thanks to a fourth-place finish by sophomore Laurie Byrd.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi sophomore Cecilia Gonzalez was second (10:54.96),
followed by UTSA sophomore Samantha Fish in third (11:05.38).
SFA added 16 points in the high jump going 3-4-6-7 in the
event. Texas State sophomore Daniell Candelaria cleared 5-8 to win the event.
UTSA junior Chenale Smith finished second. SFA freshmen Melai Carter and
Caitlin Jones led the Ladyjacks charge with junior Carrie Hahn finishing sixth
and freshman Ashley Gadson seventh.
Texas State (47), McNeese State (38) and Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi (28) round out the top five teams in the women's
standings.
UTSA junior Zaquita McClanahan won the women's shot put
with a toss of 49-5 1/2. Texas State junior Kelsey Titzman was second (48-9)
and McNeese State junior Ashlee Smith was third (47-6 1/4).
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Kassandrea Son became
the school's first four-time winner when she won the women's long jump with a
clearance of 20-9 3/4. She won the event in 2008, 2009 and 2010, but did not
compete during the outdoor season last year when her teammate Ernestine Gray
kept the title in the Islanders family. Son is just the fourth four-time winner
in the conference outdoor championships, but the first in the long jump.
McNeese State sophomore Mariah Georgetown won the women's
heptathlon with 5,265 points. She was in second place after the first four
events that saw wins in the 100-meter hurdles (13.78) and 200 meters (24.80).
She placed fourth int he shot put (37-4 1/2) and fifth in the high jump (5-2
1/2). On Saturday, she started the day with a seventh-place effort in the long
jump (17-5 1/4) before finishing second in both the javelin (116-0) and 800
meters (2:23.09). She took the lead after the javelin. Sam Houston State senior
Morgan Davis finished second (5,149 points) and Texas State junior Danessa
Lyssy, who held the day-one lead, finished third (5,101).
In the men's competition, McNeese State maintained a
14-point advantage over UTSA though the Roadrunners are mounting a charge. The
Cowboys led by 33 points after day one when it won three events, but scored
only 16 points on Saturday. McNeese is in search of its first outdoor
championship, while UTSA is trying to win its third outdoor championship in the
last five years.
UTSA junior Richard Garrett threw 61-8 1/4 to win the men's
shot put and spark at 1-5-8 finish by the Roadrunners, who earned 15 points in
the event. Garrett's win marked the first in the shot put by a Roadrunner at
the outdoor championships. McNeese State junior Thomas Canchola finished second
(57-7 1/2) and Sam Houston State sophomore Preston Sanders was third (57-1
1/2).
Texas State is in third with 43 points, followed by UT
Arlington (42) and Stephen F. Austin (41) to round out the top five men's
teams.
UT Arlington senior Isiah Clements won the high jump with a
clearance of 7-0 1/2 for his first outdoor championship in the event. He edged
UTSA junior Keith Benford, the defending champion in the event, who cleared the
same height but missed at an earlier height (6-8 3/4) that Clements cleared.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Roger De La Cruz also cleared 7-0 1/2, but
did so on his third attempt, whoe the others needed only one approach.
UT Arlington junior Romain Martin successfully defended his title in the men's
decathlon. He won eight events, including the first four events of the day, to
total 7,426 points, which was 130 points off his winning total of 7,556 last
year. The day-one leader began his quest by winning the 110-meter hurdles
(14.76) and followed with victories in the discus (124-6), pole vault (15-9)
and javelin (180-11) before easing to a sixth-place finish in the 1,500 meters
(5:05.74). He opened the decathlon on Friday with wins in the 100 meters
(11.26), shot put (42-7), high jump (6-8 3/4) and 400 meters (49.40). He
finished third in the long jump (21-11 3/4). Texas State senior Ben Marvin was
second (6,929) and senior teammate Carter Nell finished third (6,516).
Stephen F. Austin sophomore Jamal Peden won the men's long
jump after he cleared 25-8 3/4 on his final jump. UTSA junior Tyler Williamson
was second (24-8 1/4) while UT Arlington junior Lionel Mungwari was third (24-7
1/4).
Lamar senior Joe Wade earned Lamar 10 points in the men's
3,000-meter steeplechase with his winning time of 8:54.70. Stephen F. Austin
junior Adam Saloom, last year's winner, was second (8:58.75) and Texas State
senior Michael Morris was third (9:02.57).
The top three finishers in each event earn all-conference
honors. All event winners earn first-team honors, all runnersup earn
second-team honors and all third-place finishers earn third-team honors.
The third and final day of competition gets underway Sunday
at 10 a.m. with field events. Running event finals begin at 3:05 p.m. The
championships should conclude at approximately 6 p.m.
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Women's
Team Standings - Day Two
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Through
Eight Events
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1. Stephen F. Austin
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55.0
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2. UTSA
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50.0
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3. Texas State
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47.0
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4. McNeese State
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38.0
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5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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28.0
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6. Southeastern Louisiana
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26.0
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7. Sam Houston State
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21.0
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8. Northwestern State
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16.0
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9. Nicholls State
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11.0
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10. Central Arkansas
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8.0
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T11. Lamar
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6.0
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T11. UT Arlington
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6.0
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Men's
Team Standings - Day Two
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Through
Eight Events
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1. McNeese State
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65.0
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2. UTSA
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51.0
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3. Texas State
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43.0
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4. UT Arlington
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42.0
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5. Stephen F. Austin
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41.0
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6. Lamar
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26.0
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7. Sam Houston State
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14.0
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8. Central Arkansas
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10.0
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9. Southeastern Louisiana
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9.0
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10. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
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8.0
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11. Northwestern State
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3.0
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Event
Champions
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Event
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Men
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Women
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3,000 Meter Steeplechase
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Joe Wade, LU (8:54.70)
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Randi Plentl, SFA (10:49.34)
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10,000 Meters
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David Rooney, MCN (30:51.78)
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Lauren Smith, SFA (36:13.32)
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High Jump
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Isiah Clements, UTA (7-0.50)
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Danielle Candelaria, TXST (5-8)
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Long Jump
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Jamal Peden, SFA (25-8 3/4)
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Kassandrea Son, AMCC (20-9 3/4)
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Shot Put
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Richard Garrett, UTSA (61-8.25)
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Zaquita McClanahan, UTSA (49-5 1/2)
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Javelin
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Ben Chretien, MCN (227-11)
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Ashley Aldredge, NWLA (151-8)
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Hammer
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Jared Crafton, MCN (187-9)
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Katie Bragg, UTSA (189-10)
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Decathlon
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Romain Martin, UTA (7,426 pts.)
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--
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Heptathlon
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--
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Mariah Georgetown, MCN (5,265 pts.)
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Winners' Quotes...
Women's Heptathalon Winner
Mariah Georgetown, McNeese State,
So. 5,265 points
"I put in a lot of work and I did
a lot of praying. I trusted in the Lord and in my coaches and my training. I
just did what I know how to do."
Men's Shot Put Winner
Richard Garrett, UTSA, Jr. (61-8
1/4)
"I went into it, knowing what we
needed to do to get points. I just wanted to do my part and encourage my
teammates to do what they needed to do. After having a pretty good throw
I felt like I could start going after it, so I could build off it going into regionals."
Women's Shot Put Winner
Zaquita McClanahan, UTSA, Jr. (49-5
1/2)
"It's been a long year. I worked
hard today and just want to say good luck to all my teammates and hopefully we
can take this Southland Conference championship."
Men's High Jump Winner
Isaiah Clements, UT Arlington,
Jr. (7-0 1/2)
"This is my senior year and I had
won my freshman year, then I hadn't won since then so I came in thinking I
wanted to go out with a bang. I went out and gave it my best and came out on
top."
Women's High Jump Winner
Danielle Candelaria, Texas State,
So. (5-8)
"It was really good. Everything
went really well. The weather was good. Everything went above my expectations."
Men's Long Jump Winner
Jamal Peden, Stephen F. Austin,
So. (25-8 3/4)
"It was a good competition. Going
into it I was fourth, and I need to pop one and I did. I want to come out
tomorrow and do well in the triple jump.
Women's Long Jump Winner
Kassandrea Son, Texas A&M
Corpus Christi, Sr. (20-9 3/4)
"I'm a fifth year senior so this
is my last year to compete. I did sit out a year in order to compete with the
athletes we have on this year's team. I told them yesterday this weekend was
about leaving it all out there. You have to give it everything you have."
Women's 3,000-meter Steeplechase
Winner
Randi Plentl, Stephen F. Austin,
Sr. (10:49.34)
"I knew that some would start out
fast, but I was just going to run my race. If I ran my race, I was the fastest
one out here. I've been working hard for this moment all year, and it was
really nice to finish off my senior moment with a win. All the glory goes to
God."
Men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase Winner
Joe Wade, Lamar, Sr. (8:54.70)
"I normally go for the 1,500
meter at the Southland Conference but I suffered a burn a couple weeks ago and
wasn't able to race at Stanford, so I needed this race for preparation at regionals.
I went out just trying to get around people as they got tired and I felt pretty
comfortable."