Sam Houston captures three weekly honors
1/13/2016 4:37:00 PM | Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
Following several strong performances at the season-opening LSU Purple Tiger Invitational, Sam Houston track and field captured three-of-four Southland Conference weekly awards, the league office announced Wednesday.
Senior Ashley Jenkins was named the conference's women's field athlete of the week, senior Danielle Demas earned women's track athlete of the week and sophomore Jeffrey Moore secured men's track athlete of the week.
“It speaks well for those student-athletes,” eighth-year head coach David Self said. “We had probably two or three eligible candidates for each category. We went out and were able to perform at a national level.”
Jenkins shattered her previous school record in the weight throw with a toss of 68 feet, 11 ¾ inches, a mark that ranks No. 2 nationally. The Dallas native bested 29 other competitors, including 11 from the Southland, while breaking her previous program best by over six feet.
Demas, a Houston native, begins her season at No. 3 nationally, after posting an 8.23-qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles. The Cypress Creek High School product took first in the event with a time of 8.31 and took third in the qualifying round of the 60 meters at 7.61.
“Both of those performances have qualified for the indoor national meet before and that's much more difficult than the outdoor,” Self said of the performances. “For them to do that right out of the bat tells you a lot. We'd like to think it gets better as the season goes, so that sets us up for things to come.”
Moore also joined his counterparts on the national stage, using a first-place 800-meter time of 1:53.62 to rank tenth nationally and first the league. The Carrollton product also served as the second-leg of the 4x800-meter relay team that took runner-up at 7:50.11.
“Jeffrey is a great guy to be around,” Self said. “He's come in and really bought into the new style of training. He's one of the toughest guys you'll ever see. He could be hurting, and be way back in the race, and take off and lay it out there when he needs to.”
In total, nine individuals and/or teams ranked in the top 50 on the women's side following Week 1, including the distance medley relay squad that sits 14th. Meanwhile, Garrett Larson, who took second in the pole vault, ranks third nationally while the men's DMR ranks 18th.
“It speaks for itself about the kids and the level they want to compete at and our expectations,” Self said. “We're not just good in a couple areas. We expect to go to the conference meet and score in every event area. These are the best teams we've ever had here. The Southland Conference is a very competitive track and field league.”
