JONESBORO, Ark. – Southeastern Louisiana began its 2009-10 indoor track and field schedule with what head coach Sean Brady called a tremendous showing at the Arkansas State Kickoff Classic Saturday. The Lions only brought about half of their roster, but still managed to set 15 personal bests.
The meet was capped by the Southeastern men’s 4x400 meter relay team running a school record time (3:16.63) to win the event. George Cunningham ran the first leg, followed by Shannon Grover, Adlus Wiltz and Jerel Butler as the anchor. The Lions topped the Memphis Tigers by nearly two seconds. Southeastern dominated the men’s 55 meter hurdles, with Damian Manning (7.55) capturing the victory, followed by Corey Roberts (7.75) in the fourth position and Kernell Jupiter (7.82) in sixth. The men’s team had several other top 10 performances. Shannon Grover was second and George Cunningham was eighth in the 200 meter dash. Jerel Butler was second and Cunningham was sixth in the 400 meter dash. The 800 meter run saw Wiltz come in eighth. Corey Billizone was second and Chris Robinson was sixth in high jump. Jupiter was sixth in triple jump. Faisal Muhammad was the tenth place finisher in shot put and eighth place competitor in weight throw. On the women’s side, top 10 finishes included Judith Schultheis in third place for the 55 meter hurdles and third for triple jump. Southeastern’s 4x400 meter women’s relay team (Ernestine Caradine, Schultheis, Erika Payton and Whitney Clay) finished second behind Memphis. Shalicia Rochon was fifth and Jessica Fekete was seventh in shot put. Renada Living captured 10th place in weight throw. Southeastern’s student-athletes have final exams starting Monday, followed by winter break. “This gave us a lot of motivation going into the break,” Brady said. “We want to keep training and keep the ball rolling, so that when we come back in January, we can take a shot at an indoor conference title after winning the outdoor last season.” The team’s next meet is Jan. 15 at McNeese State.