BEAUMONT, Texas - Lamar University's track and field teams are now set to partake in the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships. The women's squad will look to defend its conference title from last year while the men are in looking for another strong finish.
 
Last Saturday, the Cardinals competed in the Tom Tellez Invitational where they achieved two first-place finishes. The women's 4x100 relay team of Brianna Howard, Kayla Smith, Kayli Johnson and Sydne Porter ran 44.80 seconds to claim their event while Ethan Ellis earned first in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 52.12. Howard (44.80) and Johnson (5.97m-19'7") later added third place finishes in the 100m and women's long jump events, respectively.
 
Kenson Tate was the top collegiate athlete in the men's long jump as his leap of 7.59m (24'11") was good for second place. Freddy Richardson became one of three athletes in the 1500m to break the meet record as he crossed the line at 3:49.66 to earn third. Alex Williams III set personal bests in the shot put (16.68m-54'8.75") for which he earned second, and in the hammer throw (54.74m-179'7"), where he broke his own school record and took sixth place.
 
Last season, the women's team won their first ever conference title with 155 points, a 10-point margin over Northwestern State while the men took eighth place overall with 52 points. Combined, the Cardinals won 17 medals (six gold, six silver, five bronze). Among the gold medalists on the current team are Porter (200m), Chloe Rodriguez (400H) and Crisstin Riley (triple jump). Silver medalists include Cameron Chin (400m), Jacarius Demmerritte (triple jump), Johnson (100H, long jump) and Glennis Woolridge while bronze medalists included Mariam Buenanueva Saleme (Heptathlon), Nia Clatworthy (10,000m), and the women's 4x400m team of Faith Outing, Adebola Odunlami, Rodriguez and Smith.
 
Demmerritte, Outing, and Rodriguez would later compete in the NCAA Regional Qualifiers in their events.  
 
This year's outdoor championship will be hosted at Holloway Field on the campus of Rice University and will be a three-day event starting on Thursday.
 

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