Junior Thrower Connor Whalen Competing in an Event
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The Men and Women’s Track and Field team continue to keep up the good work and perform well during the outdoor season.
The men finished eighth out of all 17 schools that competed, and the women finished in eleventh place out of the 19 schools competing.
The 56th annual Gina Relays took place between April 16 through April 18 and the Cougars truly achieved a lot. A lot of personal records (PR) were set, players hitting the NAIA Standard, and setting new school records.
SXU Men’s Track and Field vs. Hillsdale College (Mich.) ‘Gina’ Relays: 8th of 17
The Cougars finished with 56.5 points, while host Hillsdale College claimed first place with 94.5 points, narrowly ahead of Trine University’s 91.5.
Senior sprinter Sean Harris led the way with a standout showing in the 110m Hurdles, breaking the school record in the finals with a time of 14.21 seconds to place third.
On the other hand, junior sprinter Brandon Ferguson followed closely, finishing fourth with a PR time of 14.43 seconds. Both athletes met the NAIA ‘B’ Standard in both the preliminaries and finals.
Harris also excelled in the 100m dash, recording the second fastest time in program history at 10.49 seconds to place second in the finals after setting a school record in the preliminaries at 10.48.
Junior sprinter Jamaurien Thomas added a strong performance with a finish of 10.79 seconds, while junior sprinters Nazheer Moore and Jayquan Hampton contributed times of 10.94 seconds and a PR of 11.25 seconds, respectively.
In the 200m, Thomas posted a finish of 22.90 seconds, followed by Moore at 23.50 seconds and freshman sprinter LaShawn Scott making his debut at 25.10 seconds.
Moore also competed in the 400m for the first time, clocking 50.97 seconds, while freshmen sprinter Sam Elusoji set a PR at 51.96 seconds. Then freshman sprinter Ben Gresham improved his PR significantly, finishing in 54.69 seconds, and Scott added 55.72 seconds to mark his debut.
In field events, freshmen jumper Daniel Cabal led the long jump with a 5.86m effort.
Senior thrower Riley Lundgren paced the shot put group with a 12.37m throw, while senior thrower Drake Hayes set a personal record at 11.64m.
The throwing squad displayed more dominance in discus, hammer, and javelin events, with sophomore throwers Adam Turner, and Luis Perez, hitting new PRs. Turner threw for a distance of 34.16m, and Perez threw for 31.89m.
Freshman thrower Brennan Culpepper also achieved a PR, throwing for 39.63m. While junior thrower Connor Whalen stood out in the Hammer Championship, finishing seventh with a throw of 53.43m.
All this amazing work resorted to a couple of the guys claiming CCAC Awards. With Harris earning CCAC Track Athlete of the Week and Whalen earning CCAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.
SXU Women’s Track and Field vs. Hillsdale College (Mich.) ‘Gina’ Relays: 11th of 19
The highlight of the meet for the women came from fifth-year senior middle distance runner Lexi Clarke, who captured first place in the 800m Championship with a time of 2:11.71. Her performance marked her second best career time and the fifth fastest in school history, while also meeting the NAIA ‘B’ Standard.
In the 800m Open, freshmen and junior sprinters Briana Krapf and Isabel Calderon made their debuts in the event. Krapf finished with a time of 2:27.20 and Calderon finished in 2:30.51 minutes.
Senior sprinter Emerson Colins continued her record setting season, breaking her own school record in the 100m dash for the second consecutive meet with a time of 12.02 seconds in the preliminaries.
Junior sprinter Amaya Rique also delivered a standout performance, setting a personal record at 12.10 seconds, the fourth fastest time in program history.
In the 400m, senior sprinter Yanira Deana Paninka broke her own school record for the second straight week, finishing in 56.98 seconds. Rique also improved her PR in the event with a time of 1:00.27 minutes.
In field events, Colins set a new personal record in the long jump with a mark of 5.30m, ranking among the top 10 in school history.
In the throwing events, senior thrower Jamie Sierocki led the way with a sixth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 11.28m and a fifth-place finish in the javelin. Sierocki threw for 29.51m.
Both men and women’s teams are preparing for another meet next week. They will be traveling to Des Moines, Iowa to take part in the Drake University (Iowa) Relays. Events will go from April 21-24.
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