Pole Vault Sweep Headlines Strong Opening Day at SLC Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 3

Natchitoches, La.

ALL DAY

Stephen F. Austin

Southland Conference Outdoor Championships

Pole Vault Sweep Headlines Strong Opening Day at SLC Outdoor Championships

5/3/2019 8:36:00 PM | Track & Field

Women in first place after opening day of SLC Championships

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Day one results | Meet schedule

NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Stephen F. Austin track and field team had a strong showing at the first day of the 2019 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships on Friday inside the Walter Ledet Track Complex. The Ladyjacks vaulted into first place with a 1-2-3 finish in the pole vault competition to close out the day, and sit atop the scoreboard with 40 points. Host Northwestern State and Abilene Christian are tied for second with 38 points apiece.

SFA scored in every event it competed in on the women's side, beginning with the 10000m run in the morning and culminating in the pole vault sweep. On the men's side, the Lumberjacks have some ground to make up in the remaining two days of competition, but are on the scoreboard with six points (seventh place) thanks to a third-place finish by Isaiah Pittman in the long jump.

Taryn Surratt got the Ladyjacks off to a strong start in the 10k, finishing third in her first ever running of the race (38:05.91). Teammate Claire Crone ran to a sixth-place finish thanks to a time of 38:27.28 to add three points to the 'Jacks tally.

In the afternoon session, Maggie Okul would add to the lead with a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw off a personal best distance of 54.97m (180-04). Avery Ellis-Byerly finished seventh in the women's open javelin, launching back-to-back personal bests on her last two throws to end with a mark of 41.78m (137-01). Aolani Harris then scored a pair of points with a long jump distance of 5.72m (18-09.25) to finish seventh and lead into the women's vault.

After the field of pole vault competitors narrowed to a trio of Ladyjacks and an athlete from host Northwestern State, the Ladyjacks wrapped up the 1-2-3 finish by each clearing a stadium record of 4.04m. Advancing further and rushing to get the event wrapped up before inclement weather hit, the trio then cleared 4.12m (13-06.25) to wrap up the podium sweep and garner 24 points for their team total.

In the heptathlon, Jillian Turner sits in second place with 3160 points with three events left to go, while Caitlin Lennon is in sixth with 2952 points. Ellis-Byerly is close behind in seventh with 2949 points. Decathletes Tanner Parks and Conner Wilbur sit in seventh and eighth, respectively, amongst the field with five events left to go. Parks has 3560 points thanks to new PRs in the 100m dash and long jump, while Wilbur also set a new best in the 100 and has 3460 points. Bradley Beaty holds down the 10^thplace spot with 3401 points, while Noah Berney is in 11^thwith 3369 points.

Competition is set to resume tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. with the conclusion of the combined events, but imminent inclement weather may cause delays in the meet's second day. Updates on the condition of the meet will be released as soon as they become available, and will be shared via SFA's social media platforms.

-SFA-