SFA Hosts 2007 SLC Outdoor Track & Field Meet
5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 1, 2007
NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin men's and women's track and field team will be hosting the 2007 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Fletcher Garner Track this weekend. The three-day event begins Friday, May 4th with the combined events will conclude Sunday evening. Tickets can be purchased through the SFA Ticket Office by calling (936) 468-JACK. An all-session pass can be purchased, as well as single-day tickets. Adult tickets are $10 for an all-session pass and $7 for a single-day ticket. A student/youth all-session pass can be purchased for $7, while student/youth single-day tickets are $4.
SFA is among the favorites to win the title on both the men's and women's side. Both squads return some of the league's top talent in multiple events. At the top of the list is one of the school's most decorated distance runners, Ashley Monteau. A six-time conference champion, Monteau has guided the Ladyjacks to three SLC track and field titles and a conference cross country crown. Monteau enters the outdoor championships as a 13-time All-SLC selection.
Along with Monteau, Markeshia Edwards provides SFA with a big-time threat in the throwing events. Edwards is a legitimate contender for the league title in the shot put and hammer throw. A five-time All-SLC selection, Edwards won the 2005 outdoor shot put title.
Senior Leah Matthews arrived at SFA as a hurdler and a sprinter, but has since become one of the top threats in the multi events. The Fort Worth Dunbar product is a four-time All-SLC athlete who is coming off an all-conference performance in the pentathlon during the indoor season.
A staple of the Lumberjack track and field program has been its distance runners, and nothing has changed in 2007. The 'Jacks enter the outdoor championships with a host of talent in the distance races led by seniors Chance Edwards and Marc Farris. Edwards is a former SLC individual champion and between the two they have hauled in 12 All-SLC honors over the course of their careers.
Along with the distances, SFA also returns a strong group of throwers. Seniors Darwin Johnson, Kenneth McKinley and James Williams and junior Wade Whittington provide SFA with the potential for scoring a lot of points in four events. Three of the four have won individual league titles, and a big weekend from this quartet would go a long way toward helping SFA win its second men's track title and field under head coach Phil Olson.
Another senior that has really stepped up for the 'Jacks is hurdler Zach Ross. The Longview, Texas, native has put together a strong senior campaign an enters the championship meet among the league's top seven in the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. Ross is currently fifth in the 110 hurdles and seventh in the 400 hurdles.
SFA will also be battling for the top two spots in the men's and women's high jump with the return of four of the best jumpers in the league. SFA returns 2006 high jump champion Ryder Peacock for the men and 2006 indoor champ Audrey Azu on the women's side. But during the 2007 indoor season the duo was outperformed by teammates Justin Reyes and Meghan Denman, who took home the individual crowns.
Despite its wealth of veteran leadership, SFA has been forced, due to injury, to turn to its younger athletes for production and they have come through with flying colors. Freshman Josh Cruse is the defending SLC indoor champion in the triple jump, while transfer Sumbo Adeniran brought home the conference's indoor long jump crown. Freshmen Chris Moody and Terry Rowe helped guide the 'Jacks' 4 x 400-meter relay team to an SLC indoor runner-up finish back in February. Freshman Tabitha Riley has also made an impression in the multi events during her first trip through the Southland Conference. A Carrollton, Texas product, Riley just missed all-conference honors in the pentathlon during the indoor season. She was edged out by teammate Leah Matthews for third place.
Coach Olson has also restocked the throws squad with some talent that has already paid dividends. Matt Langdon and Frednisha Marshall have already set school records, while Kaitlyn Andrews is coming off an all-conference performance during the indoor season. All three athletes were point scorers during the indoor season.
The events get under way Friday morning with the heptathlon and decathlon. The women's hammer throw finals are set to begin at 4 p.m., with the men's finals scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Track events will begin at 8:30 p.m. with the women's 10,000 meter finals.
-SFA-
