Men third at Southland outdoor track

NACOGDOCHES -- With five first place individual finishes, the Sam Houston State men placed third in the final team standings while the Bearkat women earned two individual gold medals as they placed fourth in the 46th annual Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

"I was very pleased,” Sam Houston State track and field head coach Curtis Collier said. “The level of the performances and the effort was fantastic. Every conference championship meet is test of will and stamina.

“The athletes ran, threw and jumped at an intense level. I told the team that I was as pleased with our third- and fourth-place finishes as a team as I was about our individual first-place finishes.”
Darryl Hayes and Michael Courtney finished first and second in the 400-meter dash with times of 45.93 and 46.04 seconds, respectively, which broke Charlie Phillips' school record of 46.2 that has stood since 1982.

“This race was everything we thought it was going to be,” Collier said. “Darryl was just the one who had the most gas left in the tank. He broke a very old school record. Michael also broke the school record and finished in second.”

Lane Dennis won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.69. Jay Newman was sixth with a 54.73 mark.

“Lane ran a very smart race,” Collier said. “Southeastern's Adlus Wiltz ran by him between the fourth and fifth hurdles, but Lane had a game plan and stuck with it. He ran away from everybody in the last half of the race. It wasn't his personal best, but he's ahead now of where he was at this point last year. We're looking forward to him making the NCAA meet. That's the goal.”

Chris Gilchrist was the individual champion in the triple jump with an effort of 51 feet, 3/4 inches.

“Chris was the high-point scorer for us in this meet with two first-place finishes,” Collier said. “It was his highest mark ever in the triple jump. Chris was a junior college transfer and wasn't eligible last year. He was hurt most of the indoor season and in the early outdoor season. We're very proud.”

Jon Tipton also finished first in discus with a 51 3/4 performance.

“Jon had to go up against the toughest field as far as competition goes in the entire meet I think,” Collier said. “He beat a guy that has been to the Olympics and he also beat a guy that is an NCAA All-American. Jon also broke an old school record. If he continues to work hard, he can put himself in position to be an All-American himself.”

Hayes, Dennis, John Thomas and Courtney combined to post a 3:09.95 time to place fourth in the 4-by-400 relay. Thomas was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles.

Southeastern Louisiana won the men's team championship with 140 points. Texas-Arlington was the runner-up with 139.5 points followed by Sam Houston with 118.

Devyn Mitchell and Tiana Lee highlighted Sunday's races for the women with a pair of upset wins.

Mitchell, second in Saturday's prelims, won the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:12.12.

“Devyn came here as a freshman, then she went to junior college and came back as a junior. Then she had an injury,” Collier said. “She battled through a lot of adversity all the way back to a conference championship.”

Lee was third in the prelims, but ran almost two seconds faster Sunday to win the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:00.94.

“Tiana was the defending champion in that event,” Collier said. “She's had a lot of stress lately. It was touch-and-go if she was even going to be at this meet. She performed very well and now she's a two-time champion.”

Kristi Hermes was the runner-up in the pole vault with a mark of 11-7 3/4. Tywanisha Spiller, Lee and Jordan Heggie placed third, fourth and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with respective times of 13.85, 14.15 and 14.26.

Desiree Taylor (55.93) and Monika May (56.87) placed third and fifth in the 400.

May, Brittany Henson, Mitchell and Taylor combined to run the 4-by-400 relay in 3:43.57 for a third-place finish.

Lee, Henson, Dess Meek and Taylor finished fifth in the 4-by-100 relay with a time of 46.69.

Host Stephen F. Austin won the women's Southland title with 173.5 points. Texas State was the runner-up with 135.5 points, followed by Texas-Arlington in third at 125 and Sam Houston fourth with 99 points.