SUN BELT MEN S/WOMEN S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD Week 5 Release: April 16, 2014 Contact: Keith Nunez (nunez@sunbeltsports.org) Office: 504-556-0884 Cell: 504-256-8937 TRACK ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Sharika Nelvis, Arkansas State, Senior, Memphis, Tennessee Nelvis claimed first-place honors in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the South Alabama Invitational. She sprinted to an 11.32 time in the 100 meters which was.62 seconds in front of the next sprinter while her personal record time of 23.29 in the 200 meters was also 1.02 faster than the second-place finisher. Nelvis 100-meter time at the USA Invite presently leads the Sun Belt Conference while ranking tied for sixth among the NCAA-I West Preliminary qualifiers and tied for 10th place nationally. Her time in the 200 meters is currently second best among the conference leaders. Clayton Vaughn, UT Arlington, Junior, Sulphur Springs, Texas UTA s Clayton Vaughn won the 100 meters at the Texas Invitational in his first event of the outdoor season after returning from injury. His time of 10.07 (wind aided) set a new school record and is the fastest time in the Sun Belt Conference this year by.21. The wind (+4.4) was over the NCAA allowable maximum of +4.0, or the time would rank as the third fastest in the NCAA this season. FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK Jessica Ramsey, WKU, Senior, Boynton Beach, Fla. Ramsey continues to demolish Sun Belt Conference and WKU records in the shot put and did so once more at the Hilltopper Relays, posting the longest heave in the country this season at 57-feet-4.75 inches (17.49). Ramsey s throw was more than two feet longer than the league and school record she set just last week and leads the nation in 2014. The senior thrower now leads the league in the event by more than five feet. Seth Arnold, Texas State, Sophomore, New Caney, Texas Seth Arnold cleared 5.31 meters (17-feet-5-inches) in the pole vault to finish second among collegiate athletes at the Texas Longhorn Invitational and earn points to help the Bobcat men finish third and beat UTSA, Baylor and Stephen F. Austin, opponents ranked higher regionally. Despite finishing second at the meet, Arnold s height is the highest in the Sun Belt Conference and the highest he has cleared in this outdoor season. He has not gone higher since Feb. 15 in the indoor season. That height puts him 18th on the NCAA West Qualifying List. NOTABLE UT Arlington Sets A couple School Records at Texas A pair of UT Arlington school standards managed to fall, as men s sprinter Clayton Vaughn and women s pole vaulter Noemie Forget had record-breaking afternoons. Vaughn, who was competing for the first time this outdoor season due to injury, posted a first-place time of 10.07 seconds in the 100 meters. It was wind-aided (+4.4) and will not be recognized among the NCAA standards, but will be entered in the UTA record book. The old record (10.12) was set by former Mav Cordero Gray in 2011. Jags Claim Nine Titles at USA Invitational The University of South Alabama men s and women s track and field teams earned nine victories, setting a new school record in the process, to highlight day two of the 14th Annual South Alabama Invitational at Jaguar Track. Phoebe Dowson posted a new school and meet record in the women s discus with a 48.01m hurl to win the crown in that event. It marked the second occasion this season the sophomore has surpassed her own Jaguar standard. Bobbie Williamson earned a runner-up finish in the event with a 43.82m measure, and Morgan Jones was right behind her for third with a mark of 43.56m. Jaguar runners occupied each of the top four spots in the men s 1,500-meter run, led by a victory from Michael Pienaar in a time of 3:51.46. Patrick Rohr (second, 3:52.04), Joe Gratton (third, 3:53.56) and Justin Housley (fourth, 3:56.22) followed. Ian Bordelon garnered another victory for the men s distance squad as he clocked in at 8:55.86 in the 3,000-meter run to top a field of 26 competitors. The women s team claimed a pair of victories in the hurdle events; in the 100-meter hurdles, Noelle Jones captured the win and a new meet record with a time of 14.02 seconds. Berta Lucas (14.19) finished in third place, while Tasha Russell (14.26) was close behind for fourth. Marina Swanepoel won top honors in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.05 as Chalandra Gooden (1:07.05) was third and Ireland Armstrong (1:07.75) was fourth. UALR Track and Field Boasts Six Event Wins, New School Hurdles Record at First-Ever UALR Open On a historic day for the UALR track and field teams, the Trojans had one new school record and six event victories at the UALR Open the first-ever track meet at UALR s Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex on Saturday afternoon. Casey Lane had an incredible day, winning his heat in the 400-meter hurdles in 53.06 seconds, setting a school and personal record. His previous personal best was 53.61 seconds, set last May. Lane moved from second to first all-time at UALR and now holds the school record by two hundredths of a second. Rebekah Gibbons was the Trojans star in the field, winning the javelin with a throw of 126 9 1/4 despite hurling the javelin into swirling winds. She followed that with a win in the discus, throwing the disc 135 5. In her third event of the day, Grissom placed second in the shot put with a throw of 43 7. She has now won three of the six outdoor events she has competed in this year and placed second in the other three. Cheryl Nolan was strong in the 1500, placing second in the field with a time of 4:42.06. She was joined by teammate Rebekah Gibbons, whose 5:24.02 run was good for seventh place and fifth among Division I runners. Nolan s day wasn t done, though, as she tied for first place in the 800 with a time of 2:21.95. Nolan was trailing in the final 100 meters, but she used an incredible kick and leaned across the finish line at the same time as Rhodes Kendall Reed. Brittney Brasuell was sixth in that race in 2:28.24. Ramsey, Hardy Set WKU Records Hilltopper Relays The WKU track and field teams combined to win 13 events Saturday at the Hilltopper Relays, which included record-setting performances from senior thrower Jessica Ramsey and freshman sprinter Carrol Hardy at the Charles M. Ruter Track and Field Complex. Ramsey obliterated her own school and Sun Belt Conference shot put record, which she set just last week at the Florida Relays, with a heave of 57-feet-4.75 inches (17.49m). Ramsey s throw was the longest in the NCAA this season by nearly a foot and broke the league and WKU record by nearly two feet. Hardy s 11.41 second finish 100-meter dash was the fastest in WKU history, the fastest in the Sun Belt Conference this season and ranks 12th in the NCAA as of Saturday. The rookie sprinter also emerged victorious in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.79 seconds, which ranks second in the league and fifth in WKU history. Sandra Akachukwu, another Lady Topper rookie, had a big day on her home track as well, winning the high jump and finishing second in the long jump. Akachukwu cleared the high jump bar at 5-feet-7.25 inches, which ranks second in the Sun Belt and third in WKU history. She also posted a personal best mark of 20-feet-3.5 inches in the long jump, a clip that leads the Sun Belt and ranks fifth in school history. A-State Track Registers Strong Finishes at South Alabama and Tennessee Meets The Arkansas State University men s and women s track and field teams produced a strong finish at both the South Alabama Invitational and Tennessee Relays this weekend (April 10-12) with 13 top-three performances, which included winning five individual events. A-State s top showings at the non-scoring South Alabama Invitational came in the 200-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, and the long jump for the men while the women s team captured first-place honors in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at USA s Jaguar Track in Mobile, Ala. Senior Sharika Nelvis paced Arkansas State in women s competition with a pair of individual event titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Nelvis sprinted 11.32 in the 100 meters to tie for the eighth fastest time nationally this spring and generated a personal record of 23.29 time to win the 200-meter dash. May 9-11, 2014 Hosted by Texas State San Marcos, TX WEEK 1 Male Track AOW < Spencer Anderson, South Alabama Female Track AOW < Tatiana Colbert, Georgia State Male Field AOW < Jan-Louw Kotze, South Alabama Female Field AOW < Leah Hixon, South Alabama WEEK 2 Male Track AOW < Jordan Landburg, Troy Female Track AOW < Talia Colbert, Georgia State Male Field AOW < Renaldo Frechou, South Alabama Female Field AOW < Noelle Jones, South Alabama OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE WEEK 3 Male Track AOW < Ryan Tilotta, UT Arlington Female Track AOW < Niamh Kearney, Georgia State Male Field AOW < Wes Gonzales, UL Lafayette Female Field AOW < Bobbie Williamson, South Alabama WEEK 4 Male Track AOW < Elvyonn Bailey, WKU Female Track AOW < Marika Brown, Texas State Male Field AOW < Tomas Guerra, WKU Female Field AOW < Jessica Ramsey, WKU WEEK 5 Male Track AOW < Clayton Vaughn, UT Arlington Female Track AOW < Sharika Nelvis, Arkansas State Male Field AOW < Seth Arnold, Texas State Female Field AOW < Jessica Ramsey, WKU