CHAMPIONS! Bearkats sweep Southland indoors
2/16/2016 5:25:00 PM | Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
For the first time since the 2006 Outdoor Championships, the Sam Houston State men's and women's track and field programs each secured the top spot at the league championships, doing so on Tuesday at the Indoor Championships from the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.
“It has been a long time coming,” head coach David Self said. “You see how good yours teams are through training and everything else. It's a matter of executing. We showed up on the day and we executed across the board. I don't think we've ever had that many conference champions ever.”
With 121 points, the men earned a program best, in the process, wrapping up their first indoor league title and first conference championships in 10 years.
“It's like the monkey is off our back now,” Self said. “We've been runner-up so many times over the last 10 years. To do it in such a commanding way with such a young team, we can really look forward to having this kind of quality team in the next few years.”
Meanwhile, the indoor title was the second in three years for the Sam Houston women, who shattered the previous program record with 162 points and avenged runner-up finishes in both the indoor and outdoor championships a season ago.
Danielle Demas, who was crowned the top point scorer with 28, defended her title in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.23 while also taking home the gold in the 60-meter dash (7.48). The senior earned second place in the 200 meters with a time of 24.06. Meanwhile, her teammate Paula Smith finished third in the 200 meters (24.28) and seventh (7.69) in the 60-meter hurdles.
“When you score 28 points, that's an amazing thing,” Self said. “The 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash were eight-and-a-half minutes apart. That says a lot about her character and what she wants to do.”
“My goal before I came to the meet was to get the high-point award,” Demas said. “I am really blessed to be here and be injury free this year. To come out with two golds and a silver, I've had a good day; I can't complain. We all put in a lot of work five and sometimes six days a week so it feels good when it pays off.”
In the heptathlon, Tyler Adams held his lead from Monday, taking the top spot with 5,277 points including winning the 1,000 meters (2:45.82) in the final event. Teammate Jay Roberson finished sixth (4,884 points) including the top spot in the pole vault (16 feet, 4 ¾ inches).
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, William Stark finished fourth (8.05) and Damian O'Neal secured sixth with a time of 8.34 to pick up points for the Kats. In the 60-meter dash, Justin Jenkins took home the bronze at 6.78, followed closely by teammate Chris Jefferson (6.83) in fourth. Jefferson would go on to add a third-place finish in the 200 meters (21.47).
The men's weight throw saw Kalvin Singletary take fifth with a toss of 55 feet, 9 inches.
In the women's triple jump, the Bearkats added on to their lead with Tristyn Allen (39 feet, 10 ¾ inches) finishing fourth, Khalaya Williams (39 feet, 10 inches) taking sixth and Darian Bucknor (39 feet, 3 ¾ inches) securing seventh.
Jeffrey Moore ran away with the men's mile with a top finisher and personal best of 4:12.91 and followed the feat up with the top spot in the 800 meters (1:52.00) while teammate Robert Monticone went fourth (1:52.85).
“I just remember last year, I tried to double in both the 800 and the mile and didn't get where I wanted to,” Moore said. “I guess you could say I wanted to get revenge from last year. It feels really good to accomplish that, especially being an underclassman.”
In the women's mile, Nicole Aponte brought home a personal best of 4:58.25 with a fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, in the pole vault, Ashley Thompson captured bronze with a height of 12 feet, 9 ½ inches.
The women's 400 meters saw two more personal bests for the Bearkats as Jordan Grady captured the silver medal at 54.85 and Ruth Amaku went sixth at 55.73. Teammate Kodii Church also finished eighth with a 56.75 in the event. For the men, Eric Pouncey secured sixth at 47.64.
In the women's 800 meters, two Bearkats broke the previous meet record. Camry Grigsby set the new mark at 2:09.68 in second place while teammate Briana McCall (2:09.95) went third as the Kats lengthened their lead.
As the day winded down, the Bearkats added a top finish in the women's weight throw as Kristine Hanks added 10 points and a distance of 48 feet, 10 inches as well as a first-place mark and new meet record in the 4x400-meter relay at 3:41.13. The men's 4x400-meter relay third-place finisher (3:15.87) proved to be the cherry on top before hoisting the trophy.
“This is as good as any of them,” Self said of where the championship ranks in his mind. “This is such a fantastic group of kids to be a round. It's a joy to say I represent them and to have them represent Sam Houston State says a lot about them.”
