BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Lamar added five gold medals to its five total from Sunday for a grand total of 10 medals in the 2019 Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. LU took gold in the men's 5,000-meters, men's distance medley, men's mile, men's 3,000-meters, men's 400-meter dash, men's triple jump, and women's 60-meter dash and added a silver and bronze in the women's pentathlon and a bronze in the women's long jump.
Thai Williams continued to dominate the women's 60-meter dash Monday with an impressive 7.51 race, taking home the first gold of the day and her third consecutive gold in the event.
Jordan Rowe took the first of his two gold medals in the men's mile. He won the event with a race of 4:08.17, a new personal best and just about five seconds behind the SLC meet record. The junior from Frinton-on-Sea, UK, finished four or five strides ahead of the next competitor, Abilene Christian's Ryan Cleary.
Tylen Guidry captured the third gold of the day in his very first attempt in the men's triple jump. The Richmond, Texas, native hit a mark of 50' 11" in that first jump, 3.5" more than any other jump by the 21 SLC competitors.
The men's 400-meter dash champion,
Webster Slaughter, won his first career individual title with a race of 47.76, his best race of the year. He ran a 49.08 in the same race last year for 10th place.
Rowe's second medal of the day and one of the closest races of the meet came in the men's 3,000-meters. He led with 200 meters to go and UIW's Garett Cortez nipping his heels. Rowe put on a final burst of speed and won the event by two lengths.
In addition to the medals several other LU student-athletes had great showings in Monday's SLC finale.
Sophie Wood took fourth in the women's 3,000-meters with a race of 10:01.32 and Julie Emmerson also finished in the Top 10 of the event with a 10th-place mark of 10:16.55.
Liam Burthem finished eighth in the men's 3,000-meters with a race of 8:30.43, and
Paula Sprudzane took sixth in the women's 60-meter hurdles as a freshman with a time of 8.98. She was the only freshman in the finals of the event.
The top three finishers in each event final are recognized as First, Second and Third Team All-Conference, respectively. Individual men's and women's awards for Coach of the Year, Outstanding Running Events Performer, Outstanding Field Events Performer, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Athlete of the Year will be nominated and voted upon by head coaches next week.
For athletes that achieved
qualifying marks this season, the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will also take place at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The event will run March 8 & 9.
