Purple Tiger Invitational
Top finishes, school records captured at LSU
1/9/2016 1:26:00 AM | Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The Sam Houston State track and field programs started the season off with a bang, tallying eight top finishes while Garrett Larson and Ashley Jenkins each broke Bearkat school records at LSU's Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday.
Larson cleared 17 feet, 5 ½ inches in the pole vault to secure second in the event while besting teammate Jay Roberson's mark of 17 feet, 4 ½ inches set in Albuquerque, N.M., last season.
Meanwhile, Jenkins shattered her previous program record set at the 2015 Southland Conference Indoor Championships by over six feet with a weight throw of 68 feet, 11 ¾ inches. The senior, who holds the top four spots in Bearkat lore, also took fourth in the shot put with a toss of 44 feet, 11 inches.
On the men's side, Chris Speaks captured first place in the one-mile run (4:21.35) and served as the final leg on the championship distance medley relay squad of Robert Monticone, Bailey Rhodes and Evan Arambula (10:34.49).
Rhodes and Monticone also served as the first and final legs of the Kats' 4x800-meter relay squad that secured second (7:50.11) with Kennedy Howard and Jeffrey Moore running the second and third legs respectively.
The event helped cap a successful day for Moore, who captured first in the 800-meter run at 1:53.62, a mark that would place the sophomore fifth in school history in the indoor event.
For the women, Nicole Aponte earned a strong day, taking third in the women's one-mile run (5:14.00) as well as in the distance medley relay (12:37.94), alongside Briana McCall, Jamie Eckford and Ana Moreno.
McCall, who served as the first leg in the event, seized a personal-best 1:34.49 and first-place finish in the 600-meter run, while marking the best time for a Bearkat in the event since 2011.
Meanwhile, Eckford, competing in her first collegiate event, started her career in style, securing first in the 800-meter dash (2:20.74).
In the pole vault, senior Ashley Thompson took home the top spot with a height of 12 feet, 8 ¾ inches, her second-highest career mark in the event.
Senior Danielle Demas, the Southland Conference's back-to-back 60-meter hurdles champion, continued her dominance in the event, taking first place at 8.31. The mark matches her time from last year's league championships and is the fourth-fastest time in team lore.
In the long jump, Sam Houston went 2-3-4, led by freshman Trystan Allen's 18 feet, 10 ¾ inches. The Sealy product was followed up closely by junior Khalaya Williams' 18 feet, 10 ½ inches and senior Paula Smith's 18 feet, 9 ¼ inches.
Smith also secured a third-place finisher in the 60-meter dash by matching a personal best of 7.62 captured in the same finish at last year's league championships. Also of note, on the men's side, Arambula secured another third-place finish, doing so in the mile at 4:23.19.
The women's 4x400-meter relay, an event the Bearkats have won each of the past three years at the league championships, got off to a quality start with Jasmine Lewis, Kodii Church, Ruth Amaku and Jordan Grady ringing in a time of 3:52.02.
The Bearkats will look to build on the quality start next Friday at the Aggie Team Invitational in College Station. The event, which takes place at the McFerrin Athletic Center, will be aired on the SEC Network+.
