SAN MARCOS, Texas – A big final day saw one ULM track & field student-athlete crowned champion and four runner-ups at the 2014Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships on Sunday at Bobcat Track & Field Stadium, hosted by Texas State University.
Overall, the men moved up two spots from Saturday to finish fifth in team scoring while the women ended in a tie for eighth.
“We finished really strong. The men moved up from eighth to fifth in the final two events, and the women had its best showing in several years. We scored about 20 points more than we had projected,” said ULM head coach J.D. Malone. “Our guys really competed well and we had a lot of adversity. Our girls really turned it around from the beginning of the season. Not everything went perfect but we had a lot of people step up today. The coaching staff is really happy with the results.”
The 400m hurdles headlined the day for the Warhawks as junior Jamel Sams won the race with a season-best time of 52.19. He earned a spot on the All-Conference First-Team. Freshman Andre Phillips also picked up a pair of points in the event with a seventh-place showing of 55.14.
Sophomore Dusan Makevic turned in a very strong showing with a pair of runner-ups. He first stopped the clock at 3:50.20 in the 1500m and then paced himself for a 15:07.96 time in the 5000m. Makevic secured a spot on the All-Conference Second-Team. Junior Hillary Kirwa also scored in the 1500m with a sixth-place time of 3:55.34.
“Dusan had a great day. He really came through in the clutch. We were in eighth place before starting the 5000m and he really propelled us,” Malone said.
The men’s 4x400m relay team of Sams and sophomores Nigel Cribbs, Mark Demus and Andrew Tate posted a second-place performance with a season-best time of 3:10.58. All three sophomores solidified their spot on the All-Conference Second-Team.
Sams was ULM’s top scorer in the meet with 18 points.
“Jamel really came on strong near the end of the season and saved his best for last. He ran very well tonight with an individual win and a second-place in the relay,” said Malone.
The women’s 4x400m relay also set a season-best time of 3:50.03 to place sixth. It was run by freshmen Brittany Miller and Alexis Hewitt, sophomore Victoria Bowie and junior Teona Glave.
On the All-Conference Third-Team, freshman Jevaughn Shaw tossed for a personal-record mark of 52.63 in the discus to place third. In the women’s discus, freshman Alexis Gordon tallied three points with a sixth-place throw of 46.83m.
A pair of Warhawks scored in the 400m as Tate finished fourth at a personal-record of 47.78 and Demus timed at a season-best of 48.61.
With a top-five time of 2:17.03, Glave tallied five points for ULM in the 800m. Glave is the current school-record holder in the event indoors. Freshman Vinnie Van Puyvelde secured a point in the men’s 800m with a 2:00.35 time.
Another top-five finish came from freshman Brandon Banks in the 110m hurdles as he clocked in at 14.27, a personal-record. It beat out his preliminary time by 0.01.
Sophomore Ke’Andrea Wilson locked up sixth-place in the 200m as she registered a time of 24.05, a personal-record and 0.20 seconds faster than her preliminary time.
Freshman Jeremy Harden notched a seventh-place finish in the 100m with a wind-aided time of 10.59. In the men’s pole vault, sophomore Christian Jacob grabbed a point with an eighth-place jump of 4.60m, a personal-record.
ULM will now await NCAA Regional pairings and see where its individual times stack up nationally. NCAA East Regionals will be held in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 29-31.
Support the Warhawks through participating in the Athletic Foundation, you can join the ULMAF by calling 318-342-5415.
Men's Team Scores
1. Texas-Arlington 145
2. Western Kentucky 138
3. South Alabama 132
4. Texas State 86
5. ULM 83
6. Arkansas State 77
7. UL-Lafayette 70
8. Troy 67
9. UALR 21
Women's Team Scores
1. Western Kentucky 173
2. Georgia State 111
3. Texas State 108
4. Arkansas State 104
5. South Alabama 87.5
6. Texas-Arlington 83.5
7. UL-Lafayette 77
T-8. ULM 30
T-8. Troy 30
10. UALR 14
ULM’S SUN BELT CONFERENCE AWARDS
Jamel Sams, All-Conference First-Team
Nigel Cribbs, All-Conference Second-Team
Mark Demus, All-Conference Second-Team
Dusan Makevic, All-Conference Second-Team
Andrew Tate, All-Conference Second-Team
Corey Wesley, All-Conference Second-Team
Jevaughn Shaw, All-Conference Third-Team
Joey Womack, All-Conference Third-Team
Mi'ca Lowe, All-Conference Third-Team