Cajuns Deliver Strong Performances at ASU Invitational
JONESBORO, Ark. – A successful 2013 season debut for Albert Fournette, the top three finishers in women’s high jump, a multiple-event champion in Jasmin Fusilier and school records in three women’s events were just some of the top moments for the Ragin’ Cajuns men’s and women’s track and field squads here Friday in the ASU Invitational.
Nonetheless it was a highly successful venture for coach Lon Badeaux’s troops into the Convocation Center – site of the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships.
Louisiana exited the meet with five individual titles and numerous Top 10 finishes.
“I couldn’t imagine getting off to a better start to the year,” said Badeaux, whose teams competed for just the second time in the 2013 indoor campaign. “There were so many personal bests as well as school records broken that it’s just too hard to single out one effort.
“Overall, this meet will prove to be a good kick start to better performances down the line,” Badeaux added.
Fournette, a returning All-American and defending Sun Belt shot put champion, participated in his first meet of the indoor season and he didn’t disappoint. While not his customary 60-plus feet tosses, the New Orleans native did heave the shot put 18.11m/59-5 in taking the title and finished nearly six feet further than the next closest competitor (teammate Myles Melancon – 16.40m/53-9 ¾).
Jasmin Fusilier pulled double duty in the jumps and took home titles in both women’s long jump and triple jump. Fusilier, coming off Top 5 finishes in both events at McNeese a week ago, leaped 5.70m/18-8 ½ in the long jump and 11.86m/38-11 in the triple jump. Her triple jump mark was a personal best. The New Iberia native bested Arkansas State’s Emenderlyn Iwuji in both events.
Michael Vani took home top collegian honors in pole vault for a second straight week. Vani notched his first 16-plus foot mark of his senior season, clearing the beam in 4.92m/16-1 ¾.
Women’s high jump saw the first of three school indoor records established as well as the Cajuns nabbing the Top 3 finishers. Lafayette native and Teurlings Catholic product Lindsey Harmon registered a clearance of 1.76m/5-9 ¼ for the school record and Friday’s event title. For Harmon, it marked her collegiate debut.
Tarvia Conway came in second in the high jump with a mark of 1.65m/5-5 and Madalyn Trisler finished third with the exact same mark, a personal best for both athletes.
Freshman Meredith Driskell (Buda, Texas) continues to impress in women’s pole vault. After just missing out on a vault of 11 feet at McNeese (3.35m/10-11 ¾), she easily surpassed the 11-foot barrier with a vault of 3.65m/11-11 ¾. Not only was she a foot higher than last week, but Driskell set the Cajuns indoor record besting the previous mark of 11-8 set by Andree Bonvillain in January 2006.
Brittany Blunt, a school indoor record holder in women’s weight throw entering the meet, bested her benchmark with a throw of 16.94m/55-7, placing fifth. Blunt had established the mark (16.81m/55-2) at last season’s LSU Twilight.
Like Fournette, it was a solid season debut for sophomore Devin Davis. Davis, building off Sun Belt outdoor track and field outstanding freshman honors, landed Top 5 placements in long jump and high jump. The Lusher Charter School product leaped 7.09m/23-3 ¼ to claim first place in the long jump, while his clearance of 1.95m/6-4 ¾ in the high jump was good for fifth place.
In track events, Justin Jones (Jonesboro, La.) and Kacey Elphage (Donaldsonville, La.) were the top finisher in the preliminary rounds of the men’s 55 meter dash and women’s 55 meter hurdles, respectively.
Elphage ran 7.94 seconds in the prelims, then bested that time in the finals clocking in at 7.83 seconds. Jones zipped through prelims in 6.39 seconds and topped that at 6.36 seconds in the finals. Both finished second place in the finals of their event.
Freshman Matt Rice competed in his first individual event, running the 800 meter race. The Baton Rouge native clocked in at 1:59.43 to place third. He was a mere six seconds off the top time held by UALR’s Rickard Gunnarsson (1:53.16).
In the women’s 800 meter race, freshman Danielle Castaldi also made her individual debut and placed fourth with a time of 2:20.91. She too was six seconds shy of first place.
Louisiana’s 4x400 meter relay units finished Top 5 in both men’s and women’s events. The men’s grouping of Morgan Cormier, Keygan Keys, Zach Meche and Antoine Jackson finished third out of 11 teams with a time of 3:23.10. The women’s grouping of Krystal Chevis, Stacy Imagbe, Danielle Castaldi and Amanda Roberts clocked in at 4:00.31 to place fourth out of 12 teams.
In men’s distance medley, the freshman trio of Scott Brewster, Matt Rice and Cole Stafford paced a 44 second improvement from the McNeese meet. Sander Maes joined the trio and helped them finish the event in 11:00.65, a significant improvement from 11:44.36 at McNeese.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Louisiana competes close to home once again, making a second trip to Lake Charles for an event hosted by McNeese State. The Ragin’ Cajuns are scheduled to compete in the Jeff Davis Bank Invite on Friday, Feb. 1 at the McNeese State Indoor Recreation Complex which is located on the main campus off Common Street.
MEN’S PERFORMACE LIST
55 meter dash preliminaries
Justin Jones (1) 6.39
Micah Thomas (21) 6.73
55 meter dash finals
Justin Jones (2) 6.36
200 meter dash
Justin Jones (5) 22.21
DeMarcus Runnels (34) 23.29
Keyondrick Boykins (61) 25.25
400 meter dash
Antoine Jackson (7) 50.88
Zach Meche (9) 51.44
Keygan Keys (13) 51.82
DeMarcus Runnels (16) 51.94
800 meter run
Matt Rice (3) 1:59.43
1 mile run
Cole Stafford (6) 4:31.75
Scott Brewster (7) 4:32.23
55 meter hurdles preliminaries
Morgan Cormier (10) 7.83
Keyondrick Boykins (13) 7.92
Sander Maes (15) 7.99
55 meter hurdles finals
Morgan Cormier (9) 7.97
4x400 meter relay
Morgan Cormier, Keygan Keys, Zach Meche, Antoine Jackson (3) 3:23.10
Distance Medley
Scott Brewster, Sander Maes, Matt Rice, Cole Stafford (3) 11:00.65
High Jump
Devin Davis (5) 1.95m/6-4 ¾
Wes Gonzales (14) 1.80m/5-10 ¾
Pole Vault
Michael Vani (2) 4.92m/16-1 ¾
Josh McDaniels (8) 4.32m/14-2
Nicholas Laurant (14) 4.17m/13-8 ¼
Derek Foreman (16) 4.17m/13-8 ¼
Long Jump
Devin Davis (1) 7.09m/23-3 ¼
Micah Thomas (8) 6.65m/21-10
Triple Jump
Quadaex White (3) 14.34m/47-0 ¾
O’Daylon Thibeaux (4) 14.07m/46-2
Shot Put
Albert Fournette (1) 18.11m/59-5
Myles Melancon (2) 16.40m/53-9 ¾
Justin Victor (16) 12.79m/41-11 ½
Sander Maes (18) 12.69m/41-7 ¾
Weight Throw
Justin Victor (4) 17.46m/57-3 ½
Kenneth Nassar (16) 15.04m/49-4 ¼
WOMEN’S PERFORMANCE LIST
55 meter dash preliminaries
Alexis Malone (4) 7.19
Morgan Breaux (11) 7.35
55 meter dash finals
Alexis Malone (7) 7.24
200 meter dash
Morgan Breaux (10) 26.18
Alexis Malone (34) 26.94
400 meter dash
Krystal Chevis (11) 1:00.86
Amanda Roberts (15) 1:01.64
800 meter run
Danielle Castaldi (4) 2:20.91
5000 meter run
Ashley Irwin (2) 19:28.59
55 meter hurdles preliminaries
Kacey Elphage (1) 7.94
Alex Harrell (28) 9.40
55 meter hurdles finals
Kacey Elphage (2) 7.83
4x400 meter relay
Krystal Chevis, Stacy Imagbe, Danielle Castaldi, Amanda Roberts (4) 4:00.31
High Jump
Lindsey Harmon (1) 1.76m/5-9 ¼
Tarvia Conway (2) 1.65m/5-5
Madalyn Trisler (3) 1.65m/5-5
Alex Harrell (5) 1.60m/5-3
Pole Vault
Meredith Driskell (3) 3.65m/11-11 ¾
Long Jump
Jasmin Fusilier (1) 5.70m/18-8 ½
Tia Mitchell (6) 5.56m/18-3
Ta’Shania Bean (7) 5.54m/18-2 ¼
Triple Jump
Jasmin Fusilier (1) 11.86m/38-11
Tarvia Conway (5) 11.40m/37-5
Ta’Shania Bean (7) 11.28m/37-0 ¼
Tia Mitchell (8) 11.19m/36-8 ½
Shot Put
Jana Jones (6) 12.45m/40-10 ¼
Weight Throw
Brittany Blunt (5) 16.94m/55-7
Jana Jones (12) 14.42m/47-3 ¾
Diamond Higgins (14) 14.27m/46-10
Southeastern Turns In Solid Results At Deep ASU Invitational
Louisiana University track and field team still turned in a solid performance with runner-up status in six competitions.
Thrower Shalicia Rochon turned in the Lady Lions' only runner-up finish of the meet with a toss of 43 feet, eight inches in the women's shot put.
In the preliminaries of the women's 55-meter dash Nia Stewart tied the school record she established last meet (7.12 seconds), but fell one one-hundredth of a second shy during the finals (7.13 seconds) of hitting the mark for a fourth-consecutive performance. Stewart finished third in both the 55 and the women's long jump (18-05.25).
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of T.J. Herbert, Shaquell Windley, Billy Minnifield and Tremayne Daniels turned in arguably one the Lions' best performances of the day, finishing second with a time of three minutes, 22.32 seconds.
Windley also claimed runner-up status in the men's 400-meter dash (49.29 seconds) while Herbert placed third in the 200-meter dash (22.13 seconds). Abram Taylorfinished second in the men's 55-meter hurdles (7.60 seconds).
Southeastern dominated the men's long jump as three Lions finished in the top-five, including a second-place effort by Phillippe Moore (23-02.75). Brandon Danielsclaimed fourth (22-09.00), just one spot ahead of fellow Lion Jerome Rudolph (22-05.25).
Jeffrey Milliron, the 2012 Louisiana Male Newcomer of the Year, placed second in the weight throw (58-10.25) and third in shot put (53-05.50). Jonathan Kinchenclaimed fourth in the shot put despite equalling Milliron's toss.
Southeastern continues its 2013 season Friday with a return to Lake Charles, La., for the Jeff Davis Bank McNeese Indoor II.
Colonels Fare Well At ASU Invitational
JONESBORO, Ark. – The Nicholls State University women's track and field team returned to Jonesboro, Ark., for the second time in the 2012-13 indoor season, coming away with three top five finishes at the ASU Invitational hosted by Arkansas State.
Jackie White, Tessni Carruthers and Sarah Pressley were Nicholls' top finishers on the day, as Nicholls had seven different top ten finishes during the event.
After winning the 600-meter event last week in Lake Charles, White moved up to the 800-meter run and finished second overall with her time of 2:16.91. It's the second time this season that White has finished with a sub-2:20 mark in the event. Ashley Johnson finished seventh in the event, crossing the tape in 2:24.76.
Carruthers earned a third place finish in the 3000-meter run with her time of 10:18.69, while Emily Charlesworth placed tenth with a time of 10:55.30. Pressley finished fifth in the 5000 meter run, reaching the finish line in 19:55.58. Kryshell Rolle got through the preliminaries of the 55-meter hurdles, and had an eighth place finish in the finals, finishing in 8.26 seconds.
The last top ten finish for the Colonels on the day came in the DMR, as the Nicholls “A” team finished in 12:36.01.
The Colonels will be back in action next Friday, returning to Lake Charles to compete in the second McNeese indoor meet this season.