A-State Men Win Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship

[Seminole Indian]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (2/20/18) – Jaylen Bacon won two individual events and earned high point scorer of the meet to help the Arkansas State men's team to the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship Tuesday at the Birmingham CrossPlex. 

A-State edged UT Arlington 145-143 for the conference championship, the seventh SBC Indoor Championship in program history. The seventh indoor title ties the Red Wolves with Middle Tennessee for the most in Sun Belt Conference history. This marks the ninth indoor title in men's program history and 16th total men's conference championship (indoor or outdoor).

"I'm so proud of our team and how our guys fought all day," said A-State head coach Jim Patchell. "We've had this goal since we got on campus in August, and there has been a lot of hard work put in to make this happen. We got some good points in the triple jump today and in the long jump yesterday that we weren't necessarily expecting. In the high jump, you have to be impressed by the job Tiaan Steenkamp and David Phillips did to finish first and second to give us a shot to win in the 4x400. The win is nice, but the way we fought and the effort we competed with is what this is all about."

Bacon swept the 60-meter and 200-meter dash to score 20 points for A-State and he becomes the first A-State sprinter to sweep those titles at a conference indoor championships. The 60-meter dash title was the first for Bacon after second place finishes in 2015 and 2017 and a third place finish in 2016. He won the 60-meter dash with time of 6.62 seconds before posting a school record time of 21.02 seconds to win the 200-meter dash.

Bacon ran the second leg on the 4x400-meter relay that determined the team champion. A-State led by six points, 139-133, over a UT Arlington team that carried the top 4x400-meter relay team into the main event. UT Arlington won the 4x400-meter relay meaning A-State had to finish inside the top four to claim the title outright. The Red Wolves relay squad of Nick Hilson, Bacon, Landon Abernathy and Jamil Peeples finished third in 3:17.44 to score six points and finish with a 145-143 advantage in the team standings. By way of the finish in the relay, Bacon finished the meet with 21.5 points to earn high point scorer honors.

The final men's event prior to the 4x400-meter relay was the high jump and the Red Wolves needed a first and second place finish. Tiaan Steenkamp and David Phillips would do just that as each cleared 2.09m (6-10.25). Steenkamp earned the top spot on the podium by way of the tiebreaker with Phillips earning second, but A-State netted 18 points.

Elsewhere, the A-State men saw runner-up finishes in three events and two more athletes placed third. Jamil Peeples earned a second place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.05 seconds. Carter Shell earned eight important points in the triple jump with a leap of 14.72m (48-03.50) while Itamar Levi also added eight points in the shot put with a throw of 18.94m (62-01.75). Elijah Ross made it 16 total points for A-State in the 60-meter dash with a third place time of 6.76 seconds and Hayden Hampton's total of 5,018 points, ninth-most in program history, earned third place in the heptathlon.

The A-State women finished with 82 points to rank fourth in the team standings behind champion Texas State (135), South Alabama (88.5) and UT Arlington (85). The Red Wolves collected four second place finishes on day two to build the point total. Anaelle Charles set a school record in the mile run with a time of 4:51.50 while Sarah Michael was second in the pole vault clearing 3.85m (12-07.50). Danielle Lorenz posted the fifth best throw in program history in the shot put to place second and Hannah Dunderdale scored 3,739 points in the pentathlon to finish second.

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are set for March 9-10 in College Station, Texas. Entries for the meet will be finalized on Sunday.

For the latest on the A-State track and field, log onto the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/AStateTrackAndField or follow the team on Twitter or Instagram at @AStateTrack.

Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships
Birmingham Crossplex

Men's Team Standings
Arkansas State - 145
UT Arlington – 143
Texas State – 101
South Alabama – 76
Appalachian State – 73
Louisiana – 58
ULM – 50
Little Rock - 15

Women's Team Standings
Texas State – 135
South Alabama – 88.5
UT Arlington – 85
Arkansas State – 82
Troy – 69
Appalachian State – 53.5
Coastal Carolina – 45
Georgia State – 43
Louisiana – 22
Little Rock – 15
ULM – 15
Georgia Southern – 10

Arkansas State Athletes
Men 60 | (Finals) 1. Jaylen Bacon – 6.62, 3. Elijah Ross – 6.76, (Prelims) 1. Jaylen Bacon – 6.60Q (ranks 6th nationally, Sun Belt Conference championships record), 4. Elijah Ross – 6.74q (ranks 2nd in program history), 16. Chris Hill – 7.03
200 | (Finals) 1. Jaylen Bacon – 21.02 (school record), 8. Elijah Ross – 21.89, (Prelims) 2. Jaylen Bacon – 21.29q, Elijah Ross 21.71q (ranks 8th in program history), 17. Chris Hill – 22.39
400 | (Finals) 5. Nick Hilson – 48.45, (Prelims) 5. Nick Hilson – 49.13q, 10. Landon Abernathy – 49.78, 15. K'den Johnson – 51.25, 16. Kellen Blanchett – 51.92
800 | (Finals) 4. Heinrich Herbst – 1:52.82, (Prelims) 4. Heinrich Herbst – 1.53.61q, 9. Seth Waters – 1:55.10, 10. Jacob Oury – 1:55.19, 16. Alejandro Vargas – 2:10.50
Mile | 6. Seth Waters – 4:13.80 (ranks 5th in program history), 8. Jacob Oury – 4:16.48, 16. Bennett Pascoe – 4:23.38, 17. Chase Sarver – 4:23.42, 23. Alejandro Vargas – 4:28.64
3000 | 16. John Carder – 9:04.82
5000 | 10. Seth Waters – 15:24.66, 12. John Carder – 15:41.40, 16. Bennett Pascoe – 16:06.08
60H | (Finals) 2. Jamil Peeples – 8.05, (Prelims) 1. Jamil Peeples – 7.93Q (Sun Belt Championship record), 10. Ke'Von Holder – 8.38, 11. Jonah Wiley – 8.40, 13. Amari James – 8.71
Distance Medley | 2. Heinrich Herbst, Nick Hilson, Jacob Oury, Bennett Pascoe - 10:05.87 (ranks 3rd in program history)
4x400m Relay | 3. Nick Hilson, Jaylen Bacon, Landon Abernathy, Jamil Peeples – 3:17.44
High Jump | 1. Tiaan Steenkamp – 2.09m/6-10.25, 2. David Phillips – 2.09m/6-10.25, 11. Hayden Hampton – 1.94m/6-04.25, 15. Dylan Western – 1.89m/6-02.25
Pole Vault | 1. Michael Carr – 5.28m/17-03.75, 7. Cameron Stalnaker – 4.73m/15-06.25, 8. Matthew Keown – 4.73m/15-06.25
Long Jump | 2. Carter Shell – 7.44m/24-05.00, 3. Jamil Peeples – 7.32m/24-00.25, 7. Jonah Wiley – 7.04m/23-01.25
Triple Jump | 2. Carter Shell – 14.72m/48-03.50, 9. Jonah Wiley – 13.82m/45-04.25
Shot Put | 2. Itamar Levi – 18.94m/62-01.75, 8. Cristian Ravar Ladislau – 15.76m/51-08.50, 13. Eric Williams – 14.80m/48-06.75
Weight Throw | 2. Cristian Ravar Ladislau – 19.10m/62-08.00, 12. Eron Carter – 16.57m/54-04.50
Heptathlon | 3. Hayden Hampton – 5,018 points (ranks 9th in program history), 4. Coleton Clifft – 4,935 points

Women
60 | (Finals) 4. De'Airis Weakley – 7.67, (Prelims) 2. De'Airis Weakley – 7.60Q
200 | (Prelims) 9. De'Airis Weakley – 25.02, 16. Briana Hardiman – 25.32
400 | (Finals) 7. Briana Hardiman – 56.75, (Prelims) 7. Briana Hardiman – 56.55q, 18. Nia Davis – 58.61, 27. LaCarol Baynes – 1:01.71, 28. Gracee Damron – 1:02.30
800 | (Finals) 6. Pauline Meyer – 2:14.25, 7. Andrea Perez – 2:15.49, 8. Anaelle Charles – 2:17.58, (Prelims) 3. Anaelle Charles – 2:13:99Q, 6. Pauline Meyer – 2:12.98q (ranks 4th in program history), 7. Andrea Perez – 2:14.10q (ranks 5th in program history), 17. Sophia Gentile – 2:29.50, 18. Rebecca Eldien – 2:32.09
Mile | 2. Anaelle Charles – 4:51.50 (school record), 6. Pauline Meyer – 4:59.81 (ranks 4th in program history), 9. Sammy Brainard – 5:00.90 (ranks 5th in program history), 15. Greta Carlbert – 5:05.34 (ranks 6th in program history), 27. Rebecca Eldien – 5:20.26
3000 | 14. Hannah Shelby – 10:24.28
5000 | No entries
60H | (Finals) 6. Darragh May – 8.79, 8. Trevene Cowan – 9.00), Prelims) 3. Darragh May – 8.76Q, 6. Trevene Cowan – 8.76q (ranks 9th in program history), 9. Hannah Dunderdale – 8.80
Distance Medley | 7. Greta Carlberg, Nia Davis, Andrea Perez, Sammy Brainard – 12:17.94 (ranks 6th in program history)
4x400m Relay | 8. Briana Hardiman, Gracee Damron, Nia Davis, De'Airis Weakley – 3:56.72
High Jump | 9. Darragh May – 1.66m/5-05.25, 13. Nada Buntic – 1.66m/5-05.25
Pole Vault | 2. Sarah Michael – 3.85m/12-07.50, 9. Nada Buntic – 3.50m/11-05.75, 11. Lucianne Burner – 3.50m/11-05.75
Long Jump | 1. Arabriaun Mack – 5.93m/19-05.50 (ranks 6th in program history), 27. Imani Udoumana – 4.93m/16-02.25
Triple Jump | 14. Imani Udoumana – 10.97m/36-00.00, 15. Arabriaun Mack – 10.97m/36-00.00
Shot Put | 2. Danielle Lorenz – 14.65m/48-00.75 (ranks 5th in program history), 4. Calea Carr – 14.25m/46-09.00
Weight Throw | 2. Calea Carr – 18.98m/62-03.25, 17. Hannah Higgins – 14.72m/48-03.50 (ranks 10th in program history)
Pentathlon | 2. Hannah Dunderdale – 3,739 points, 6. Darragh May – 3,449 points (ranks 9th in program history), 8. Allie Hensley – 3,354 points, 10. Trevene Cowan – 3,257 points

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