Hayes, Jones Named Southland Track and Field Athletes of the Week
FRISCO, Texas - Sam Houston State senior D.J. Hayes has been named the Southland Conference men's track and field athlete of the week, while Nicholls senior Lauren Jones was named the conference's women's track and field athlete of the week, the league office announced Wednesday.
Hayes, from Lancaster, Texas (Lancaster), won the 400-meter dash at the Wichita State Herman Wilson Classic with a time of 47.47 seconds, the third-fastest mark in the nation after one week of indoor action. Hayes' finish in the 400m was also the third-fastest time in Sam Houston history.
The senior was also part of the men's 4x400 relay team that finished second with a time of 3:19.81.
Jones, from Centerville, Iowa (Centerville), shattered her own school record by nearly half a minute by winning the 5,000m run in a time of 17:57.10 at the Leonard Hilton Invitational at the University of Houston. Jones' time is the 13th fastest in the nation and was 28.52 seconds faster than her previous school record (18:25.62), which she set at the 2010 Southland Conference Championships in Norman, Okla.
Honorable mention for this week's men's award goes to McNeese State senior sprinter Charles Jackson, Southeastern Louisiana senior thrower Adonson Shallow and UTSA thrower Richard Garrett Jr. For the women's award, honorable mention went to McNeese State's Mariah Georgetown, Northwestern State thrower Trecey Rew, Sam Houston State hurdler Sabrina Starr, UTSA jumper Eboni Johnson and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi long distance runner Julia Sambu.
A student-athlete must receive 25-percent of the votes from the league's SIDs in order to qualify for honorable mention. Each school's SID nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own player.