LION TRACK EARNS BEST CONFERENCE FINISH IN SCHOOL HISTORY

LION TRACK EARNS BEST CONFERENCE FINISH IN SCHOOL HISTORY

HOUSTON, TEXAS - Southeastern newcomer Henry Rop finished third in the men\'s 3000 m run one day after taking second in the 5000 m run putting himself in the running for Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year consideration and helping the Southeastern Louisiana University men\'s track and field team to a fourth-place finish, their best ever at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships since joining the SLC in 1998. Meanwhile the women\'s squad placed eighth, best among the SLC\'s Louisiana programs.

\"Henry Rop was THE man today,\" head coach Sean Brady said. \"Coming back one day after a great performance in the 3K for another solid performance in the 5K was huge for us. He was a major factor in helping us land our best finish ever at this meet. We got off to a bit of a slow start, but we were able to come on strong at the end and score the points we needed to get a top five spot. There were places where we might have left some points on the board, but we saw a lot of young student-athletes step up and this should be a great learning experience as we get ready for the outdoor season.\"

The Southeastern women\'s squad finished eighth after starting the day in fourth place, but finished ahead of intrastate SLC rivals Nicholls State, McNeese State and Northwestern State.

\"Finishing ahead of our in state rivals is always nice,\" Brady said. \"But we just ran out of bullets on the women\'s side. We left some student-athletes at home that could have helped us, and some of the younger student athletes we brought may have been used to the environment at a championship meet. But, we saw our ladies get more comfortable as the tournament wore on and I think that bodes extremely well for the outdoor season. When we come back here in May for the outdoor championships, this experience will have helped prepare them for that.\"

Updated results will be available as soon as possible via the Southland Conference\'s official website, www.southland.org.