Stephen F. Austin Women, Southeastern Louisiana Men Lead After Opening Day in Birmingham

Stephen F. Austin Women, Southeastern Louisiana Men Lead After Opening Day in Birmingham

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CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a grueling opening day of action at the 2019 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, winners were crowned in 12 events at the Birmingham CrossPlex on Sunday. With day one complete, Stephen F. Austin has ahold of the first-place position in the women’s standings with 46 points, while Southeastern Louisiana ranks at the top of the men’s leaderboard with 45 points.

Sunday morning kicked off with the men’s and women’s multis events where 22 individuals competed in the men’s heptathlon and 13 women took part in the women’s pentathlon. For the heptathlon, Denim Rogers heads into day two sitting in the first-place position with 3,150 points. Incarnate Word senior Rodney Littlejohn resides in second-place after collection 3,021 points. With the 60-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000m run remaining, Rogers will look to complete his efforts thus far for a gold medal in the heptathlon.  

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Sashane Hanson secured a narrow win over the field in the pentathlon scoring 3,858 points en route to a gold medal. Lamar’s Migle Muraskaite finished in second-place overall with 3,808 points across all five portions of the pentathlon. Parl Eelma nabbed a bronze medal with 3,695 points for Lamar.

The women’s 5,000m race opened up at noon with 28 runners vying for the top position in the “finals-only” event. McNeese senior Alex Eykelbosch surged to the front of the pack to capture 10 points and a first-place finish with a 17:07.04 clip. Stephen F. Austin’s Brittany Innis grabbed second-place honors crossing the finish line 17-seconds later at 17:24.09. Valentina Campos provided a bronze-medal performance with a time of 17:35.01 for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

On the men’s side of the 5,000m run, competition came down to the wire for the 32-man field that saw the top four runners finishing within 10 seconds of each other. Lamar’s Matthew Arnold rode the wave of a late kick that propelled the junior to the forefront of the field, just edging out Central Arkansas’ Markus Schweikert. Arnold topped the field with a time of 14:40.86, while Schweikert crossed the line with a 14:41.26 clip to earn second-place honors. Southeastern Louisiana’s Grant O’Callaghan took third-place with a 14:42.76.

Beginning at 1 p.m. was the women’s weight throw competition that saw McNeese junior Alanna Arvie take first-place with a toss of 63-5.8 (19.35m). Abilene Christian’s Lonnie Smith concluded in the silver-medal position following a 62-6.0 (19.05m) throw. Fellow Wildcat Kayla Melgar was right on Smith’s heels with a third-place performance (62-2.9/18.97m).

Stephen F. Austin boasted the top two finishers in the women’s pole vault event with Nastassja Campbell taking first overall. Campbell tied a bow on a record-breaking performance jumping 14-0.9 (4.29m) to set a new Southland Conference Championship record. SFA’s Kaylee Bizzell earned second-place honors following a 13-1.1 jump. Northwestern State’s AnnMarie Broussard also cleared 13-1.1, but took home a bronze medal in the event.

Stephen F. Austin also claimed the top pole vaulter on the men’s side through freshman Branson Ellis who leaped his way to a 18-0.5 (5.50m) finish. Southeastern Louisiana’s Devin King earned second-place accolades clearing the bar at 5.40m. Sam Houston State’s Clayton Fritsch also jumped a 5.40m mark and was awarded third-place honors for his trouble.

Stephen F. Austin’s women closed out day one with a first-place finish in the distance medley relay followin a time of 11:58.93. On the heels of the Ladyjacks was Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who crossed the line for a 12:07.51 clip. Houston Baptist took third-place in the event after putting together a 12:08.02.

Lamar’s men rounded out day one action with a first-place performance in the distance medley relay after crossing the line with a final time of 10:10.78. Central Arkansas’ team was narrowly pushed to the second-place position after tabbing a 10:10.89. Sam Houston State took third-place with a 10:12.68.

Day two action begins Monday morning at 9 a.m. with the 60m hurdles portion of the men’s heptathlon. Field event finals will resume at 10 a.m., while running events begin at 11 a.m. with the women’s 60m hurdles finals. For a full schedule of events, click here.

The 2019 Southland Indoor Track & Field Championships will be streamed on the Southland Digital Network. Visit southland.org/live or download the Southland Conference app, available for iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.

Women’s Standings After Day One
Pl. School Points
1. Stephen F. Austin 46
2. McNeese 32
3. Lamar 29
4. Abilene Christian 26
T5. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 24
T5. Sam Houston State 24
T7. Incarnate Word 19
T7. Northwestern State 19
9. Houston Baptist 8
10. Southeastern Louisiana 4
11. Central Arkansas 2
12. New Orleans 1
 
Men’s Team Standings After Day One
Pl. School Points
1. Southeastern Louisiana 45
2. Stephen F. Austin 33.5
3. Sam Houston State 28
4. Lamar 27
5. Central Arkansas 24
6. Northwestern State 18
7. Abilene Christian 17
8. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 13.5
9. Incarnate Word 13
10. Houston Baptist 6
10. New Orleans 6
12. McNeese 3
 
Day One Champions
Event School Name Cl. Distance/Time/Points
Women’s 5,000m McNeese Alex Eykelbosch Sr. 17:07.04
Men’s 5,000m Lamar Matthew Arnold Sr. 14:40.86
Women’s Pentathlon Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sashane Hanson Sr. 3,858
Women’s Weight Throw McNeese Alanna Arvie Jr. 63-5.8 (19.35m)
Men’s Long Jump Southeastern Louisiana D.J. Ruffin Sr. 25-1.2 (7.65m)
Women’s Pole Vault Stephen F. Austin Nastassja Campbell Fr. 14-0.9 (4.29m)
Men’s Pole Vault Stephen F. Austin Branson Ellis Fr. 18-0.5 (5.50m)
Men’s Weight Throw Sam Houston State Joshua Hernandez Jr. 64-2.9 (19.58m)
Men’s High Jump Southeastern Louisiana D.J. Ruffin Sr. 6-9.9 (2.08m)
Women’s Long Jump Incarnate Word Sarea Alexander RSr. 20-11.2 (6.38m)
Women’s DMR Stephen F. Austin -- -- 11:58.93
Men’s DMR Lamar -- -- 10:10.78