Davis and Kent Pace Warhawk Track and Field at Conference Championships

DENTON, Texas – Junior Heather Davis and freshman Kyle Kent picked up individual championships to lead the ULM Track and Field team at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas over the weekend.

With 19 top-eight (point) finishes led by a first-place jump of 1.75 meters by Davis in the high jump, the Warhawk women placed sixth in the 11-team race with 72 total points.

On the men’s side, Kent set a Fouts Field record in the javelin with a heave of 65.71 meters to grab top honors in the event and junior Mychal Word came two hundredths of a second away from a regional mark and top honors in the 400 meter dash. In total, 13 performances netted points for the Warhawk men in helping the squad to a sixth place finish in the 10-team field.

Western Kentucky grabbed the team title on both the men’s and women’s side after tallying 144 and 143 points, respectively.

Junior Destiny Montemayor continued her strong showing on the season. Already qualified in both events, Montemayor placed second in the hammer throw with a distance of 54.71 meters and sixth in the discus with a throw of 44.01 meters.

Three other Warhawk women tallied points in the throwing events with top eight finishes. Freshman Lakeitha Elmore finished third in the shot put with a throw of 13.53 meters and eighth in the javelin with a throw of 36.19 meters.

Freshman Marcie Richard was fourth in the javelin (38.59 meters) while sophomore Aimee Soileaux finished sixth (37.54 meters).

Freshman Brittany Blackmon placed in multiple events, finishing fifth in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:49.61 and seventh in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:24.67. Junior Sadrina Shaw also placed in both the 100 meter hurdles (fifth – 14.64) and 400 meter hurdles (sixth – 1:04.43).

On the men’s side, the Warhawks finished with several close calls. In addition to Word’s second place finish in the 400 meter dash, the 4x400 meter relay team finished second and came .48 away from qualifying for the regional meet.

Junior Isaac Combs finished second in the decathlon after accruing 6769 points. He was followed by teammate Ruslan Hemed who placed third with 6733 points.

Junior Seth Ilaoa finished as the lone Warhawk to place in three events at the meet after finishing fourth in the shot put with a throw of 15.18 meters, fifth in the hammer with a throw of 56.83 meters and eighth in the discus with a throw of 44.10 meters.

ULM’s outdoor season does not end with the conference meet. The Warhawks will return to Denton, Texas on Saturday, May 17 for the UNT Post Conference Meet before leaving for the NCAA Regional Championships.

Top 8 Finishes - Women

10,000 – Jessica Baldino – 8^th – 39:47.48

Pole Vault – Sarah O'Neal – 7^th – 3.40 meters

Discus – Destiny Montemayor – 6^th – 44.01 meters

Heptathlon – Dominique McAdoo – 4^th – 4559

High Jump – Heather Davis – 1^st – 1.75 meters

High Jump – Taylor Hill – 4^th – 1.65 meters

Long Jump – Nicole Simmons – 8^th – 5.68 meters

Shot Put – Lakeitha Elmore – 3^rd – 13.53 meters

200 Meter Dash – Bola Shoyebi – 7^th – 24.71

800 Meter Run – Brittany Blackmon – 7^th – 2:24.67

1500 Run – Brittany Blackmon – 5^th – 4:49.61

100 Meter Hurdles – Sadrina Shaw – 5^th – 14.64

400 Meter Hurdles – Sadrina Shaw – 6^th – 1:04.43

4x100 Meter Relay – 5^th – 46.55

4x400 Meter Relay – 6^th – 3:51.20

Hammer – Destiny Montemayor – 2^nd – 54.71 meters

Javelin – Marcie Richard – 4^th – 38.59 meters

Javelin – Aimee Soileaux – 6^th – 37.54 meters

Javelin – Lakeitha Elmore – 8^th – 36.19 meters

Top 8 Finishes - Men

Discus – Seth Ilaoa – 8^th – 44.10 meters

Decathlon – Isaac Combs – 2^nd – 6769

Decathlon – Ruslan Hemed – 3rd – 6733

Steeplechase – Moses Chelimo – 4^th – 9:57.22

Shot Put – Ryan Hisaw – 3^rd – 15.39 meters

Shot Put – Seth Ilaoa – 4^th – 15.18 meters

400 Meter Dash – Mychal Word – 2^nd – 47.22

800 Meter Run – Andrew Opata – 3^rd – 1:54.73

4x100 Meter Relay – 7^th – 42.30

4x400 Meter Relay – 2^nd – 3:10.48

Hammer – Seth Ilaoa – 5^th – 56.83 meters

Javelin – Jeffery Kent – 1^st – 65.71 meters

Javelin – Tommy Tumey – 4^th – 60.31 meters