Men Finish Fifth, Women 10th at SBC Indoor Championships

JONESBORO, Ark. - Louisiana\'s Ragin\' Cajuns men\'s indoor track and field team finished fifth, while the women finish 10th at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships here at the Convocation Center.

The men finished with 56 points, while the women finished with 19 points.

South Alabama won the men\'s championship with 138 points, followed by host-Arkansas State in second with 124 points. USA\'s Tonny Okello was the men\'s top scorer and outstanding track performer.

North Texas won the women\'s championship with 111 points, followed by Western Kentucky in second with 108 points. NT\'s Rhonda Williams was the outstanding field performer.

MEN Derek Richardson was the runner-up in the men\'s long jump with a jump of 23-7 1/4, while three Cajuns finished in the top 10 in the 5000 meters. Richardson also finished eighth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.53.

Walter Whitfield finished third in the 5000 with a time of 15:02.62, followed by Jake Simmons in fourth with a time of 15:02.97 and Ryan Dupree in seventh with a time of 15:22.67.

Whitfield also finished fifth in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:42.28, followed by Simmons in eighth with a time of 8:46.61.

Scott Lowry finished fourth in the pole vault with a height of 15-5, while Kyle Wood finished fourth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.51.

Three Cajuns finished in the top 10 of the triple jump. Joseph Dickens was the highest Cajuns finisher in third with a jump of 14.44 meters. Kenny Minton finished fifth with a jump of 14.28 meters, followed by Jarman St. Julien in eighth with a jump of 13.57 meters.

Jarvis Murchison was fifth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.47.

The men\'s (J. Lemaire, L. Roquemore, J. Simmons, W. Whitfield) and women\'s (L. Zaunbrecher, S. Enright, J. Collins, J. Gautreaux) distance medley relay teams both finished sixth.

WOMEN Seniors Kim Octave, Rose Wilson and Laura Zaunbrecher each finished in the top 10 of their respective events.

Octave finished fourth in the 55-meter hurdles (8.08), while Wilson finished seventh in the 800-meter with a time of 2:22.43. Zaunbrecher finished ninth in the 800 with a time of 2:23.31.

School record holder Andree Bonvillain finished fourth in the pole vault with a height of 11-00.00, followed by Lauryn Allgood in seventh with a height of 10-06.00.

Final Men\'s Standings 1. South Alabama, 138. 2. Arkansas State, 124. 3. Middle Tennessee, 76 1/2. 4. Arkansas-Little Rock, 68. 5. Louisiana, 56. 6. Western Kentucky, 52. 7. Florida International, 45 1/2. 8. North Texas, 52. 9. New Orleans, 22.

Top Scorer: Tonny Okello, South Alabama, 32 1/2 points. Outstanding Track Performer: Tonny Okello, South Alabama. Outstanding Field Performer: Candon Powell, Arkansas State. Coach of the Year: Lee Evans, South Alabama

Final Women\'s Standings 1. North Texas, 111. 2. Western Kentucky, 108 1/2. 3. Middle Tennessee, 96. 4. Florida International, 80. 5. New Mexico State, 57. 6. Arkansas State, 50. 7. South Alabama, 38 1/2. 8. New Orleans, 38. 9. Arkansas-Little Rock, 25. 10. Louisiana, 19.

Top Scorer: Cara Nichols, Western Kentucky, 21 points. Outstanding Track Performer: Sheri-Ann Brooks, Florida International. Outstanding Field Performer: (3-way tie) Rhonda Williams, North Texas; Elisa Dieme-Erlich, Florida International; Courtney Wood, Western Kentucky. Coach of the Year: Rick Watkins, North Texas.