Senior Thrower Ayobami Arokoyo Preparing for Discus Event @chiefbami_ on Instagram
The Cougars made it to the outdoor portion of the season and things are off to a great start. We’ve seen players hit new personal records (PR), NAIA standards, claim weekly awards, and cruise past competition.
The main leaders of the Cougar dominance came from senior sprinter/hurdler Lendale Franklin, and senior thrower Ayobami Arokoyo.
Franklin earned CCAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week, making this his second time claiming the award this season, and his fourth overall award combining both indoor and outdoor honors.
Arokoyo earned CCAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week, making this sixth time overall claiming the award as he claimed the honor both in Outdoor and Indoor.
SXU Men’s Track and Field vs. St. Louis University (Mo.) Bilikins Invitational: 2nd of 20 – 91 points
The Cougars made sure to come out strong in their outdoor season debut, earning a total of 91 points at the Invitational which earned them second place out of the 20 teams competing. This is the second time in team history where the Cougars placed second at a meet.
The 91 points are the third most accumulated points by the Cougars at any meet. With the first two being their best, a total of 106 points at the CCAC Outdoor Championships in 2014, and their team record 123.5 points at the CCAC Championships in 2023.
Franklin’s performance at the Bilikins Invitational is the reason for him claiming the weekly awards. He achieved a lot at this meet as he broke his own school record in the 100m Dash, placing first with a time of 10.68 seconds.
Franklin became the first Cougar to win this event since former standout John Stancato did so in the CCAC Championships and the Ted Hayden Invite in April 2013 and 2014. Franklin also hit the NAIA ‘B’ Standard in the 110m Hurdles, placing second in the event with a time of 14.32 seconds breaking his own program record.
Arokoyo hit the NAIA ‘A’ Standard in Discus as he posted his third-best throw with a throw of 54.23m. He placed first winning the event, making it the 13th time in Arokoyo’s career where he has won the Discus event.
He also took part in the Shot Put event where he placed at fourth with a throw of 15.39m, which is his sixth-best career mark.
During the 200m Dash, junior sprinter Sean Harris hit the NAIA ‘B’ Standard when he clocked in a time of 21.17 seconds. Harris also set an SXU record with this time.
Sophomore sprinter Nazheer Moore set a new PR in the 200m Dash with a time of 22.63 seconds.
Moore also took over in the 100m Dash, setting another PR in this event by finishing with a time of 11.13 seconds. Placing him at 11th place.
At the Hurdles event, junior Karam Jaber performed well in the 400m Hurdles. Jaber established a new PR with a time of 55.15 seconds, placing third in the event. Jaber broke the record that was set by former standout Chris Spencer back in 2010.
Senior jumper Ronnie Foster took part in the Triple Jump event and broke his own program record. Foster placed second overall when he jumped with a distance of 14.51m.
Sophomore jumper Faruq Sulaimon also competed in the Triple Jump, setting a new PR with a distance of 12.08m. Barely getting over the edge with this PR by 0.01, with his last best being a distance of 12.07m.
SXU Men’s Track and Field vs. Chicagoland Championships: No Team Score
The Cougars did it again and took over the meet. We saw the guys win up to four different events at the Chicagoland Championships which was hosted by Elmhurst University (Ill.).
Arokoyo continued to sweep the competition at the Discus event making a throw of 52.22m, making him the only thrower to surpass the 50.00m mark at the meet. This also makes it Arokoyo’s 14th time in his career where he won the Discus event.
Franklin also had a good weekend as he posted the third-fastest time of his career and in program history in the 110m Hurdles preliminaries. Franklin posted a time of 14.36 seconds, proceeding to claim first place in the finals with a time of 14.63 seconds.
Franklin wasn’t done here, as he took part in the 4×100 Relay Team that won the event with a time of 41.85 seconds. He joined Harris, junior sprinter Ryan McFadden, and sophomore sprinter Jamaurien Thomas as they recorded the fourth best time in team history, and gave SXU their fourth win in the meet.
Foster takes credit for one of SXU’s victories of the weekend as he won the Triple Jump with a distance of 14.66m. Foster broke his school record with this distance and also proceeded to hit the NAIA ‘B’ Standard.
Harris made a new PR in the 100m Dash preliminaries with a time of 10.97 seconds, qualifying for the finals and posting a time of 11.03 seconds.
Senior distance runner Isaac Sytsma made his outdoor season debut in the 1500m, finishing with his third-best career time of 4:08.32 minutes.
The Cougars look to continue winning and taking over at these meets as they head down to Bourbonnais, Ill. to compete in the Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) Tiger Open on Apr. 12.