BEAUMONT, Texas – The 2026 outdoor track and field season has led up to the Southland Conference Championships, as Lamar University will head to Homer Bryce Stadium on the Stephen F. Austin campus to compete in the three-day event beginning Thursday. Both the men and women will look to improve upon their runner-up finishes from last season.
 
The Cardinals last competed in the Texas A&M Alumni Muster and came away with 38 top-10 finishes. For the second meet in a row, Neelie Schiel broke her own school record in the javelin with her toss of 48.54m (159-3) to place fifth. Ethan Ellis had a strong meet by winning the men's 400-meter hurdles with a personal best of 50.76 and was part of the third place 4x400-meter relay team (3:09.72). His performance made him the fourth Cardinal this season to win SLC Athlete of the Week honors and the first to do so on the track.
 
Ellis is also one of two Cardinal athletes ranked in the top 50 nationally, as his 400-meter time puts him 44th. Mariam Buenanueva Saleme sits in 20th place in the heptathlon after her school-record-breaking 5,596 points at the 44 Farms Invitational.
 
In last season's meet, Big Red collected 19 medals, including six individual titles, six runner-up finishes and seven third-place marks. Anthony Oliver (hammer), Cameron Chin (400m) and Schiel (javelin) were among the gold medalists in their respective events.
 
The meet begins Thursday with the first half of the decathlon and four of the seven events in the heptathlon at 9:30 a.m. The field portion opens at 10 a.m. while the track events get underway at 5 p.m.
 

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