SFA Track and Field Competes Well at Howie Ryan Invitational

Friday, February 9

Houston, Texas

ALL DAY

Stephen F. Austin

Howie Ryan Invitational

SFA Track and Field Competes Well at Howie Ryan Invitational

2/9/2018 11:11:00 PM | Track & Field

SFA wraps up one day event with several personal bests and school record in 800m

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Final Results

HOUSTON, Texas – In a meet that represented a final opportunity to compete at a level befitting the performance expected at the upcoming conference meet, the SFA track and field team put forth numerous good performances on Friday at the Howie Ryan Invitational. The meet, hosted by the University of Houston, featured a large number of SFA athletes competing in a variety of events.

Despite competing on a flat track that does not lend itself to fast times, the SFA sprinters had a field day at the event, with several athletes posting exceptional performances. Meghan Bell, competing in her first action of the season, posted a fourth place finish in the 60m dash (7.80), as well as a ninth place spot in the 200m race (25.76). Imani Nave ran alongside Bell in the 60m, placing sixth in the semi-finals with a time of 7.71.

The 60m hurdles on the women's side featured a pair of top eight performances by Camille Messer (8.97) and Dominique Jackson (8.77) in sixth and seventh, respectively, while Jillian Turner turned in a huge PR with a fourth place finish in the finals heat at 8.81. For the women's relay, the SFA team of Tiffany Williams, Ford, Davis and Kadrienne Sanders took first with a time of 3:57.12, while SFA's "B" team of Messer, Allison Compass, Madison Compass and Singleton placed third with a time of 4:08.02.

The men's 60 meter hurdles featured a 1-2 finish in the semi-finals from Kerry Gleason (8.03) and Jordan Washington (8.09). The 4x400 relay team of Gleason, Murphy, Davis and Tedrick Hawkins then won the event with a time of 3:19.37 , and the "B" team of Washington, Logan Houser, Fentress and Sam Smethers came in third at 3:28.14.

In the 200m, Camille Singleton tied for second with a time of 25:34, followed by Bell in ninth. A trio of runners in the 400m placed within the top nine, as Kadrienne Sanders (58.99), Vanessa Egwuatu (59.53) and Aaliyah Teel (59.58) came in fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively. The women's 800m also featured a trio of runners within the top eight, as LaSean Davis (2:15.68) took second, followed by Madison Compass (2:17.99) and Shania Ford (2:19.53) in fourth and sixth, respectively.

The men's sprinters also had a bevy of strong performances, led off with Aaron Piper's fifth place finish in the 60m dash (6.90). Payton Davis and Charles Fentress finished third and fourth in the 400m dash at 50.05 and 50.12, respectively, while Drake Murphy turned in a school record in the 800m run with a converted time of 1:52.45, beating the old record of 1:52.65.

In the mile run, Christina Hernandez and Kelsey Ramirez finished third and fourth, respectively, with times of 5:06.58 and 5:08.11. Winning the women's 3000m was Brittany Innis with a time of 10:16.09, while teammates Samantha Ottman (10:24.52) and Taryn Surratt (10:31.94) finished third and sixth, respectively. On the men's side, Titus Kiplagat and Larry Deramus finished seventh and eighth in the mile run with times of 4:24.68 and 4:24.87, respectively. Teammate Erick Rotich placed second in the 3000m run at 8:39.66, while Caleb Pickett came in at 8:50.32 to finish fifth overall.

Competing in the high jump for SFA, Kadejah Wilson placed seventh with a mark of 5'-04".25, while in the long jump Aolani Harris placed fifth with a distance of 17'-11.50" and teammate Kariyah Lanehart placed eighth with a mark of 17'-09.75". In the men's high jump, Noah Berney tied for second with a mark of 2.00m (6'-6.75"), while Isaiah Pittman won the long jump event with a distance of 24'-3.50". Teammate Denzel Green placed fourth with a mark of 22'-08".

A trio of Ladyjack pole vaulters shared the first place finish in the event at a mark of 3..85m (12'-07.50"), as Carson Dingler, Dakota Mayr and Kaylee Bizzell each hit the same mark. Elsewhere at the Don Kirby Invitational, men's pole vaulter Antonio Ruiz was the top collegiate performer in the pole vault with a mark of 5.40m (17'-8.50").

In the women's throwing events, Mallory Dotson placed third in the shot put with a distance of 42'-10.25", while Lacey Lee notched a distance of 41'-10.50" and finished fifth overall. The women's weight throw featured three top-eight performances by the Ladyjacks, as Tierra Wilson won the event with a mark of 57'-07.75", followed by Maggie Okul in sixth (50'-05.50") and Dotson in seventh (48'-04.50"). The men's throwers performed well also, with Kevin Steward placing second in the shot put with a mark of 53'-05.75", and Trenton Bridges placing third in the weight throw at 58'-00.50". Ben Bibby placed within the top eight for the weight throw with a mark of 52'-09.25".

The 'Jacks now have a week and a half left to prepare for the Southland Conference Indoor meet on February 21-22in Birmingham, Alabama.

-SFA-