SFA Track and Field Set to Compete at Pair of Weekend Meets

Thursday, April 19

Torrance, California

ALL DAY

Stephen F. Austin

Mt. SAC Relays

SFA Track and Field Set to Compete at Pair of Weekend Meets

4/19/2018 10:39:00 AM | Track & Field

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

2018 Mt. SAC Relays
April 19-21 | El Camino College
Torrance, California
Meet Schedule | Meet Information
Results

2018 Michael Johnson Invitational
Hosted by Baylor University
Waco, Texas
Meet Schedule | Meet Information | Heat Sheets
Live Results | Live Video ($)

WACO, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin track and field team embarks on its final weekend of competition before the upcoming 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor meet with a pair of meets this weekend. The bulk of the team will travel to Waco, Texas to compete in the Michael Johnson Invitational on the campus of Baylor University, while the distance group will travel out of state to take place in the annual Mt. SAC Relays. The meet takes place on the campus of El Camino College in Torrance, California, the hometown of famous Olympic runner and WWII bomber pilot Louis Zamperini, AKA the "Torrance Tornado".

After a successful weekend of competition at the 2018 Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas last weekend, the 'Jacks are looking to keep improving and finalizing the roster they'll take to compete in the conference outdoor meet, now less than two weeks away. A second place team finish from the Lumberjacks in their first scored action of the 2018 outdoor season was a strong showing, given the assembled competition, and a handful of superlative performers were the cause. Drake Murphy led the Lumberjacks with a Southland Conference-best time of 1:49.58 in the 800m run, a personal best for the junior and the second-fastest mark all-time at SFA. In the long jump, freshman Denzel Green bested his previous best set one week prior with a distance of 7.71m (25-03.50), good for a second place finish in the event, and Kerry Gleason would take third in the 110m high hurdles with a time of 14:23 for another top-three finish.

Performances like those have given the Lumberjacks plenty to be thrilled about as they look ahead to the conference meet, but the good news is far from exclusive to the men's team. At the Longhorn, the 800m runners for the Ladyjacks placed 1-2-3, with Shania Ford, Madison Compass and Allison Compass finishing close together, in order. Kaylee Bizzell and Dakota Mayr would place third and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault, while the women's 4x400 relay team took third in their race as well.

The distance groups for both the men and women's teams had last weekend off from competition to rest and prepare for Mt. SAC, where they will compete as part of a massive field of teams from all across the United States. Christina Hernandez (5000m), Brittany Innis (steeplechase), Samantha Ottman (10000m), Kelsey Ramirez (1500m) and Taryn Surratt (steeplechase) will compete for the Ladyjacks, while Quinlin McGregor (1500m), Erick Rotich (steeplechase) and Titus Kiplagat (5000m) will appear for the Lumberjacks. A complete meet program with each event can be found above, with heats and times listed above each event.

At the annual Michael Johnson Invitational, the remainder of SFA's team will compete at Baylor's Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium amidst a competitive field of 11 teams, including 10 programs ranked inside the top-30 in the nation. The one-day meet will kick off with field events beginning at 9:00 a.m, followed by an afternoon session of running events at 1:00 p.m., and wrapping up with an evening session of running events at 5:00 p.m. A live video stream of the event is available on a pay-per-view basis (linked above), while live results and heat sheets can be found above as well.

A full recap of the competition by both groups will be available on sfajacks.com at the end of each day of competition.

-SFA-