Track and Field Places 23 Individuals and Three Relays on Southland Outdoor All-Conference Teams

Photo by: Michael Wade/Southland Conferenc

Track and Field Places 23 Individuals and Three Relays on Southland Outdoor All-Conference Teams

5/15/2019 2:42:00 PM | Track & Field

23 SFA Athletes earn a total of 26 All-Conference plaudits

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Southland All-Conference Release

FRISCO, Texas – Fresh off claiming its ninth women's outdoor title and a third-place finish by the men, the SFA Track and Field team received plenty of acclaim for its efforts on the Southland's All-Conference Teams, per a Wednesday afternoon release. A total of 23 SFA student athletes and three relay teams earned a total of 26 All-Conference plaudits, including eight First Team, eight Second Team and ten Third Team accolades. All-Conference honors are distributed based on an athlete's respective finish in an event, with a gold medal constituting First Team honors, a silver earning Second Team and a bronze landing an athlete on the Third Team.

In addition to the All-Conference selections for SFA, the 'Jacks were also chosen to receive two of the league's individual superlative awards, as head coach Phil Olson was chosen as the women's outdoor Coach of the Year, and senior transfer Madison Pecot was named the league's Female Newcomer of the Year. The award is the second of the season for Olson and 25^thoverall, as he led the Ladyjacks to a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles this season to secure his 34^thand 35^thchampionships at SFA. Superlatives were voted on by the league's coaches.

The First Team honorees for the 'Jacks include six individual medalists and a pair of Ladyjack relays, all of whom took the top spot in their respective competitions. Kelsey Ramirez (1500m), Dominique Jackson (400m hurdles), Nastassja Campbell (Pole Vault), Branson Ellis (Pole Vault), Cord Neal (Javelin) and Drake Murphy (800m) were the individual gold medalists, while the women's 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay team of Imani Nave, Dominique Jackson, Aaliyah Teel and Cayla Burch took gold in both races as well. Of SFA's individual gold medalists, Campbell, Ellis, Ramirez and Murphy repeat as Southland Conference individual champions, while Neal and Jackson earn their first solo golds.

Making up the Second Team honorees is a total of six individuals, including a double honoree, as well as the men's 4x400m relay. Madison Pecot (Pole Vault), Cayla Burch (400m), LaSean Davis (800m), Brittany Innis (3000m steeplechase and 5000m), Jillian Turner (100m hurdles) and Daijia Carr (400m hurdles) round out the individual honorees, while the men's relay of Antonio Ruiz, Muzuri Mattar, Drake Murphy and AJ Bennett also claim Second Team accolades. Davis, Turner and Innis are repeat All-Conference honorees, while Burch and Carr mark the first individual medals and All-Conference honors of their careers. Pecot claimed her first medal and SLC accolade in her first and only season competing for the Ladyjacks.

Returning All-Conference honorees Taryn Surratt (Distance), Noah Berney (High Jump), Kaylee Bizzell (Pole Vault), Isaiah Pittman (Long Jump), Imani Nave (400m) and Jillian Turner (Heptathlon) headline the Third Team honorees, while first time selections Kadejah Wilson (High Jump) and Carter Scott (Pole Vault) earn the first SLC medals of their careers. Surratt earned a trio of Third Team honors, having taken the podium spot in the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m and 10000m runs.

SFA Track and Field led the Southland in All-Conference honors with a total of 26 plaudits earned among 20 individuals and three relay teams. No other SLC program finished with more than 20 All-Conference selections, with Abilene Christian's 17 total selections ranking second.

The Ladyjack's capture of their ninth outdoor title was nothing short of dominant, coming up just six points shy of the Southland's all-time high in points scored in the outdoor championship of 201.5. The Ladyjacks totaled 195.5 points scored were scored via 33 Top-Eight finishes and scoring at least one athlete in 18 of the 21 events overall. The total was also 75.5 points ahead of runner-up Incarnate Word.

Next up for the 'Jacks is competition in the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Sacramento, California to close out the month. A contingent of around 20 SFA student-athletes have qualified for the meet and will represent SFA there, hoping to move on to the NCAA National Championship meet in Austin on

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