After completing seven events Friday, the University of South Alabama track and field teams produced three all-league performances on the first day of the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships.
“This is a great start to the meet,” USA head track and field coach Paul Brueske said. “I think we’ll keep producing throughout the weekend.”
Sophomore Joey Torres (Navarre, Fla.) took the top spot in the discus with a personal-best throw of 56.05m/183-11.00 for the Jags’ first win of the meet, beating out the second-place finisher by over eight feet. The throw marks the fourth time this year that the Navarre High School graduate has broken a school record, beating his own standard in the discus by over six feet. The mark will likely put him in the top 10 in the event in the East region.
Torres is the first individual in the program’s history to win the discus at the SBC Outdoor Championships.
“Joey has been steady and consistent in his improvement this season,” Brueske said. “He’s had several personal bests and set a lot of school records. He just keeps getting better and better.”
Zac Edwards snagged a third-place finish for all-conference recognition in the 10,000 meters with a time of 30:08.00. The sophomore crossed the line just ahead of fellow Jag Micah Tirop, who placed fourth at 30:31.80. For the women, junior Magrina Chepkoech placed fifth in the event with a time of 37:27.63.
“Zac started out leading the race at first, and ended up falling to fifth at some point. But, he fought hard and got back up to third,” USA distance coach Tim Goldsack said. “Any time you get all-conference honors, you can’t really be upset.
“Magrina had a great run. She miscounted laps and sprinted in at fourth with 400 meters to go and stopped before realizing she had a lap to go,” he continued. “But she ran back for fifth. That shows the heart of champion, for her to gut out fifth place with a lot of runners around her that could have easily passed her.”
Freshman Shannon Stever also claimed an all-conference honor as she landed third place in the pole vault with a 3.76m/12-04.00m jump. Stever was one of just four out of 11 competitors to exceed the 12-foot mark.
“Shannon really came through and performed well for us today,” Brueske said. “To get all-conference recognition as a true freshman is really impressive.”
In the running for another all-conference honor is sophomore Lindsay Schwartz, who currently leads in the two-day-long women’s heptathlon with 3,134 points overall, followed closely by UALR’s Ambrea Brimmage at 3,073 points. Freshman Noelle Jones is currently in sixth place with 2,796 points while senior Ebonee Moody is sitting in ninth at 2,712 points.
On the men’s side, junior Josh Jones is currently in fourth place in the men’s decathlon with 3,258 points while freshman Ashton Krause is in ninth with 3,040 points.
At the end of the first day, the men stand in second place overall with 21 points while the women posted 10 points for fifth place.
The meet will resume Saturday with the continuation of the heptathlon and the decathlon at 9 a.m., followed by the women’s long jump at 12:30 p.m.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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