HOUSTON, Texas - The Southeastern Louisiana University men's and women's track teams concluded the 2009 Southalnd Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in school record fashion on Saturday afternoon. The Lions recorded their best ever finish at the league's indoor meet with a third place total of 81.5 points and the women set a new record for their program with 36 points and finished seventh, their best finish at indoors since joining the SLC for the 1998 indoor season.
The Lions entered the day tied for first with the UTSA, but the Roadrunners pulled away in the sprints on the second day. However, that didn't stop head coach Sean Brady from praising record-setting performances from both his men's and women's programs.
"Coming into the meet, we were third or fourth in the conference for the men and ninth or tenth for the women if you went by the performance lists. Anytime you can better your conference standing at the league meet, you know you've had a great meet," Brady said. "Things lined up the way we needed them to. Our big time scorers scored where we needed and some of our second-tier people chipped in with points to help us out. This was a great day for our program."
The Lions were led by junior thrower Adonson Shallow on Saturday. The Kingston, St. Vincent and the Grenadines native claimed third place All-SLC honors in the shot put with a throw of 55 ft. 2.75 in. (16.83 m). This came one day after Shallow set an school and conference record with a championship throw of 65 ft. 2.25 in. (19.87 m) that exceeded the NCAA Indoor Championships Provisional Qualifying mark in the weight throw.
Junior jumper Corey Billizone followed a fourth place finish in the high jump on Friday by claiming the triple jump title on Saturday with a leap of 50 ft. 2 in. (15.29 m). Billizone was joined by sophomore Michael Rheams, who overcame an ankle injury to earn All-SLC honors with a third place jump of 49 ft. 5.75 in. in the triple jump on Saturday, one day after winning the long jump crown.
Junior heptathlete Cory Roberts also came up big for the Lions despite nagging injuries. After missing the last two weeks of practice with knee and groin injuries, Roberts entered the final event of the heptathlon in fourth place. However, after a time of 2:44.48 in the 1,000 m run, Roberts moved up two spots to claim second and add a crucial eight points to the Lion cause.
The men's 4x400 m relay team added three more points despite sophomore Jerel Butler tripping during the exchange. In a crowded field, Butler fell to the track after taking the exchange, yet still managed to get back in the race and help Southeastern to a season best time of 3:20.10 that was just 0.17 seconds behind a school record.
The Lady Lions were led by their pole vaulters on Saturday as junior pole Aquellah El-Amin set a new school record of 11 ft. 11.75 in. (3.65 m) for second place All-SLC honors and freshman Lacey Sanchez tied a personal best by clearing 11 ft. 5.75 in. (3.50 m) to claim fourth.
Freshman triple jumper Michelle Ogashi came up big for Southeastern in her first conference meet, placing fifth in the triple with a leap of 38 ft. 4.75 in. (11.70 m).
"We had a lot of great performances today," Brady said. "Our kids stepped up when it was gut check time and really represented our program well. I can't say enough about the way Michael gutted it out with a bad ankle in the triple jump, or how Cory ran out of his mind in the 1,000 to jump two places despite injuries, or how Jerel could have dropped the baton and disqualified us but instead he took one for the team, landed face-first got back up and still almost broke a school record. Michelle came up huge in her first SLC championship. Our female pole vaulters were tremendous. Overall, it really speaks volumes about how far this program has been able to come thanks to the support of our administration and the hard work of our student-athletes. I'm really excited to see what this team can do when we head to the outdoor season."
Before the outdoor season, however, a few Lion student athletes will look to punch their tickets to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14 in College Station, Texas when they visit the LSU Last Chance Meet on March 6. Shallow and senior jumper Babatunde Babalola are almost certain to be among a select group of Lion student-athletes that will head to Baton Rouge trying to surpass the NCAA Indoor Championships Automatic Qualifying marks.
The rest of the Southeastern men's and women's track team will return to practice and prepare for the 2009 outdoor season which begins on March 14 at the McNeese State Invitational.
NOTES:
Coaching Milestone: With Corey Billizone's triple jump championship, the Lions continued a dominating tradition in the event under jumps coach Michael Bartolina. Billizone's title gave Bartolina his sixth SLC triple jump champion since joining the Southeastern coaching staff in 2005-06.
Weight Throwers Come up Big: Under the tutelage of throws coach Brian Mondschein the Lions advanced all four of their weight throwers to the championship finals, the highest number of finalists Southeastern has ever had at a league meet.
2009 SLC Indoor Champions:
Adonson Shallow - Weight Throw
Michael Rheams - Long Jump
Corey Billizone - Triple Jump
2009 Indoor All-SLC (Top Three Finisher):
Adonson Shallow - Weight Throw (1st), Shot Put (3rd)
Michael Rheams - Long Jump (1st, 3rd)
Corey Billizone - Triple Jump (1st)
Babatunde Babalola - High Jump (2nd)
Cory Roberts - Heptathlon (2nd)
Aquellah El-Amin - Pole Vault (2nd)
Roseann Bell - Long Jump (3rd)
2009 SLC Indoor Championship Point Scorers (Top Eight Finisher):
Adonson Shallow - Weight Throw (1st), Shot Put (3rd)
Michael Rheams - Long Jump (1st), Triple Jump (3rd)
Corey Billizone - Triple Jump (1st), High Jump (4th)
Babatunde Babalola - High Jump (2nd)
Cory Roberts - Heptathlon (2nd)
Aquellah El-Amin - Pole Vault (2nd)
Roseann Bell - Long Jump (3rd)
Kovey Simmons - Pole Vault (6th)
Kyle Francis - Weight Throw (7th)
Everlyne Matonyei - 3,000 m Run (6th), 5,000 m Run (5th)
Dorcus Kapkiai - 5,000 m Run (6th)
Lacey Sanchez - Pole Vault (4th)
Michelle Ogashi - Triple Jump (5th)
Men's 4x400 m Relay - 6th
Women's 4x400 m Relay - 8th