Casper breaks pole vault record for third straight week
LAKE CHARLES – McNeese State freshman pole vaulter Nicole Casper made history for the third consecutive week when she set a school record at Friday's Jeff Davis Bank McNeese Indoor II meet by clearing 12-05.5.
Casper's record was one of many highlights for both the Cowgirls and Cowboys track and field teams as they continue to prepare for the Southland Conference Indoor Championship coming up in a few weeks.
She broke the 6-year-old record of 11-7.75 with a 11-11.75 at the McNeese Indoor I on Jan. 18. She bettered that with a 12-01.50 last week at the UH Howie Ryan Indoor.
“We had some great performances and everyone is getting better prepared,” said head coach Brendon Gilroy.
In addition to Casper's first place finish in the pole vault, McNeese had six other first place finishes and another seven top three places.
Alex Bruce-Littlewood won the highly anticipated men's 1-mile race with a time of 4:08.10 as he edged out former Cowboy Jarrett LeBlanc. Also in that race, David Rooney ran a 4:11.63 to finish fifth, Martin Delguste sixth at 4:12.14 and Alex Evans in seventh place with a 4:16.62 as the Cowboys attempted to break four minutes in the event.
Distance runner Stephen Kerr won the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:38.00 followed by a third place finish from Nicholas Kiprono at 8:44.89 and Lewi Manirumva in fourth place with a finish of 8:46.88.
Football standout Diontae Spencer competed in his first meet of the season and placed second in the 55 meter dash with a 6.52 time and Cody Skarupa was second in the 800 meters with a 1:56.59.
In the field events, Thomas Canchola won the shot put event with a mark of 54-9.25 and placed fourth in the weight throw with a 56-11.5 mark.
Kartavius Hamilton finished second in the long jump with a mark of 22-7.75 while Parminder Singh was second in the high jump with a 6-4.25.
On the women's side, La'Shantena Rounds swept the weight and shot put events after she marked out at 60-11.5 in the weight throw and 46-4.75 in the shot put.
Jasmine Cornelius placed fifth in the high jump with a 5-1.75 mark followed by a sixth place finish from Maya Tunwar at 4-11.5. And Kaitlyn Wisehart finished sixth in the pole vault with a 9-6.25.
On the track, Jill Biagini won the 600 meters with a time of 1:42.67 and Jasmine George tied Cornelius for third place in the 55 meter dash with an identical time of 7.32.
Badeaux Pleased With Effort in Second Indoor Outing at McNeese
LAKE CHARLES – Continued success in field events was the theme of the Ragin’ Cajuns men’s and women’s track and field squad’s outing at the Jeff Davis McNeese indoor meet here Friday evening on the McNeese campus.
Louisiana had Top 3 finishers in women's triple jump (Jasmin Fusilier, Tarvia Conway, Ta'Shania Bean) and Top 2 finishers in women's long jump (Tia Mitchell and Ta'Shania Bean).
Meredith Driskell matched her indoor school record for pole vault, Devin Davis led all competitors in long jump for the second straight week and senior O’Daylon Thibeaux picked up his first triple jump title of the 2013 season.
Michael Vani came away as the top collegian in pole vault once again, only this time he took home first place.
Head coach Lon Badeaux departed the Ralph O. Ward Recreation Complex in Lake Charles pleased with his team’s performance as the indoor campaign crossed the halfway point of the schedule.
“We pretty much accomplished all of our goals at the meet,” Badeaux stated. “We improved nicely in the jumps and throws and we were pretty successful with the people we did take out on to the track.
“It was nice to see Kenneth Nassar open up in the shot put,” Badeaux added. “He’s going to be a big help on the men’s side.”
Fusilier notched her season-best leap in triple jump on the way to a first place finish for the second straight week. Her leap of 12.01m/39-5 was a significant improvement from the 11.86m/38-11 at Arkansas State. Fusilier increased her total number of first place finishes this season to three (claimed long jump and triple jump at Arkansas State on Jan. 25).
Conway followed in second place at 11.67m/38-3 ½ and Bean was third at 11.65m/38-2 ¾. The Cajuns trio was dominate as the fourth place finisher, Incarnate Word’s Edohoukwa, Elizabeth, was a full foot behind Bean’s mark.
Mitchell also used a season-best leap to claim top honors in the women’s long jump. She notched a distance of 5.80m/19-0 ½ and came in just ahead of Bean (5.71m/18-9). Mitchell, a native of Shreveport competing in her first indoor season, collected her first career title.
Vani’s pole vault clearance of 4.80m/15-9 gave him his third mark of at least 4.75m/15-7 this season. On the women’s side, Driskell vaulted 3.65m/11-11 ¾ for the second straight week.
Devin Davis (long jump) and Thibeaux (triple jump) were to top competitors in their respective events. Davis recorded a long jump marking of 7.23m/23-8 ¾, while Thibeaux held steady in the triple jump at 14.31m/46-11 ½. Davis just missed his indoor personal best (7.26m/23-10 at last season’s McNeese Invite), while Thibeaux leaped past 46 feet a third straight meet.
Junior college transfer Justin Victor topped the men’s performances in throws. Victor placed third in men’s weight throw with a toss of 17.65m/57-11 – his best mark in a Cajuns uniform. The Deridder, La., native also finished in the Top 10 in shot put, placing 10th at 13.55m/44-5 ½.
Kenneth Nassar had the breakout performance in throws with his fourth-place shot put toss of 15.98m/52-5 ¼. It was the freshman from Houston’s first collegiate appearance in the event.
Albert Fournette and Brittany Blunt, the Cajuns leading performers in throws, did not appear in Friday’s meet.
Louisiana sent a small group in the track events, with mainly distance runners getting the work.
Anna Katherine Devitt appeared as an individual for the first time in her career. She ran the 1 mile race. Devitt came in eight with a time of 5:25.07 and was a mere six seconds from a Top 5 placement. Devitt also took part in the 3,000 meter run and claimed fourth place honors after clocking in at 10:55.15.
Antoine Jackson (2nd – 1:27.48), Zach Meche (3rd – 1:31.59), Keygan Keys (4th – 1:32.26) and DeMarcus Runnels (5th – 1:34.61) each competed in the men’s 600 meter race.
Freshman Corbett Ourso paced four Cajuns men’s competitors in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 9:22.69.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin’ Cajuns take part in their lone multi-day event of the 2013 indoor campaign Friday-Saturday, Feb. 8-9 as they travel to Birmingham, Ala., for the Samford Multi and Invitational.
The meet will be held at the Birmingham Crossplex which is a future site of the Sun Belt Championships. The heptathlon and pentathalon begin on Friday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. Running events are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, with field events getting underway at 9 a.m.
Southeastern Throwers Lead The Way At McNeese
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Southeastern turned in another solid performance in the throwing events Friday at the McNeese Indoor II.
“Our male throwers and pole vaulters were pretty good,” head coach Sean Brady said. “But we left some people at home today and it showed.”
Reigning Louisiana Newcomer of the Year Jeffrey Milliron won the men's weight throw (60-09.50) and finished third, behind runnerup teammate Jonathan Kinchen (54-04.50), in the shot put (53-03.00). Kinchen's toss set a personal record. Lion newcomer Brett Olsen also PR'ed in the shot (49-07.75), placing fifth.
Kinchen finished fifth in the weight throw (55-5.75) while Olsen placed seventh (52-01.25).
Lion pole vaulters Vance Law (15-03.00) and Kevin Dorhauer (15-03.00) placed third and fourth, respectively. Holland Bussell finished third in the men's triple jump (44-04.75).
Brianna Golden placed third in the women's weight throw (53-06.25), leading three Lady Lions who placed in the top-five. Shalicia Rochon (52-06.00) finished fourth and Misha Frazier (52-04.50), making her first collegiate final, placed fifth. Rochon also placed third in the women's shot put (41-06.00).
“After a hard week of training, the throwers showed good form in the ring,” assistant coach Lucais MacKay said.
Two Lady Lion pole vaulters finished with top-five marks. Brittany Pfantz (11-05.75) placed third and freshman Sharon Ann Ourso (10-06.00) finished fourth.
Hurdlers Teirral Thompson (8.71 seconds) and Tess Mullings (8.77 seconds) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the women's 55-meter hurdles.
The women's 4x400-meter relay team placed fourth (4:09.03) as did Brookais Milton in the long jump (18-00.50). Ikea Kaufman also placed fourth in the high jump (05-01.75).
Both of Southeastern's distance medley teams won their respective events as the men turned in a time of 11:30.72 and the Lady Lions wrapped up their victory in 12:42.70.
Freshman Emanuel Kennedy, from Walker, La., placed fourth in the men's long jump (22-01.75). Brendon Mitchell and Billy Minnifield turned in identical marks (23.97 seconds) in the men's 200-meter dash, securing a fourth-place tie.
Minnifield also placed sixth in the 400-meter dash (52.66 seconds).
Southeastern has a week off before returning to competition Feb. 15 at the LSU Twilight.
“We still have two weeks to heal up some soft tissue and nagging injuries,” Brady said. “LSU will be the best competition we've seen so far.”
Colonels Track Wraps Up Competition At McNeese Indoor Meet
Newson's highest finish came in the women's 200-meter dash event, where she finished tied for third overall in a time of 26.55 seconds. She followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the 55-meter dash finals, crossing the tape in 7.40 seconds.
Ashley Johnson had the next best finish for the Colonels, as she placed eighth in the 400-meter dash event, finishing in 1:01.65. Rachante Colebrook finished ninth in the women's 600-meter run after finishing in 1:52.98, while Cymone Hamilton finished tenth in the shot put with a throw of 11.11 meters (36-05.50) to round out the Nicholls athletes finishing in the top ten.
The Colonels will be back in action next weekend, taking part in the ISU Classic hosted by Iowa State University in Ames.
Track & Field Turns in Solid Performance in Indoor Opener
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- The ULM track & field team made its season debut Friday with four runner-up finishes at the McNeese Indoor Invitational. The Warhawks were led by newcomer Dusan Mekavic, who turned in a pair of solid performances in the distance runs.
Mekavic finished second in the men's mile run behind Lamar's Joe Wade with a time of 4:21.83. He capped his day off with a runner-up finish in the men's 3,000-meter run, just behind Martin Delguste in a time of 8:33.12.
Senior Daniel Mutai also got his season started on a good note as he finished second in the men's 800-meter run (2:03.25).
On the women's side, senior Sharon Sason earned a runner-up finish in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:26.19. In addition, sophomore Teona Glave ran to a third-place finish in the women's 600-meter run in a time of 1:39.34.
ULM returns to action on Friday, Feb. 8, at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.