The Lee University men’s track and field team placed first and the Lady Flames were second in the 2016 Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championships at James E. Parkman Track and Robinson-Hale Stadium on the campus of Mississippi College.
“I am very proud of our teams today,” said Lee head coach Caleb Morgan. “Everyone executed perfectly. We had so many personal bests and school records set. I am thankful for the athletes we have and our coaching staff (Joseph Crook and Casey Price). It is a cumulative effort of a lot of different specialized athletes coming together that allow us to do so well.”
The Flames tallied 312 points to outdistance runner-up Christian Brothers (149) in the first GSC Men’s Track and Field Championships since 1986. West Alabama finished third with 148 points.
The Lady Flames accumulated 189 points and were bettered only by West Georgia’s 351.50 points. West Alabama was third (88), Christian Brothers finished fourth (68.50) and North Alabama came in fifth (29).
The Flames entered the third day of competition with a 50 point advantage and added eight event championships on Saturday to add to their lead.
Justin Brooks, Javon Jones, Stephen Cannon and Josiah Brooks teamed up to win the 4x100 meter relay with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 40.97. The time broke the GSC Men’s Track and Field Championships record of 41.04 that had been held by West Georgia since 1985 and also set a new Lee University record.
Jones and Cannon also competed individually in the 100 meter dash. Jones finished second (10.71) and Cannon was fifth (10.83).
Harold Smith gave Lee its second win of the day with a time of 4:00.05 in the 1500 meter run. Brandon Raleigh was second (4:02.11) and Davis Moore placed 12th (4:22.27).
Josiah Brooks added another championship in the triple jump with a distance of 14.44 meters. Hunter Goforth was second in the event with a mark of 13.33 meters. Goforth also added a second-place and Lee record measurement of 1.85 meters in the high jump and a fourth-place finish (18.12) in the 110 meter hurdles.
Justin Brooks made it four for the Flames with a 48.38 time in the 400 meter dash. Josiah was right behind in second with a time of 48.40. The duo finished one-two in the 200 meter dash as well. This time it was Josiah in first (21.20) and Justin the runner-up (21.24) with both times meeting provisional qualifier status and quicker than the previous Lee record. Jones finished the 200 meter race in fourth (21.83).
Smith earned his second title of the day in the 800 meter run. The sophomore led three other Lee runners into claiming four of the top five spots with a time of 1:54.12. Emmanuel Kipchumba was second (1:54.60) and Terris Elliott was third (1:55.46). Raleigh finished fifth with a time of 1:59.13.
Seth Eagleson won the 5000 meter run by nearly 11 seconds. The closest finisher to Eagleson (15:28.54) was Lee’s Camden Perez (15:39.35). Matt Jenkins placed fifth (15:54.54) and Garret Flores was ninth (16:36.94).
The 4x400 meter relay team of Brooks, Smith, Kipchumba and Brooks put an exclamation point on the day and the championships with a new Lee record time of 3:14.52. West Alabama was second at 3:24.24.
Elliott earned his second bronze medal of the day with a 1:21.13 mark in the 400 meter hurdles. Josiah Schrade placed fifth (31.22 meters) and Christian Smith was seventh (24.48 meters) in the discus throw.
During the post-meet awards ceremony, Eagleson was announced as the Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer after winning the 10K on Thursday, finishing second in the 3000 meter steeplechase on Friday and winning the 5K Saturday afternoon.
“It was definitely a difficult thing to accomplish,” said Eagleson. “I had to cry to God every step of the way. I’m thankful my coach believed in me to pull off the triple and do all three events.”
Adrian Martin claimed first place finishes and provisional qualifying times in the 100 and 200 meter dashes to earn the Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to win this award,” said Martin. “My glory goes to God on my accomplishments today.”
Martin recorded a time of 11.67 in the 100 meter and 23.93 in the 200 meter events to set new Lee records in each. Kiley Brock was sixth (12.73) in the 100 and seventh (26.12) in the 200 meter dashes.
Martin and Brock combined with Amanda Hegarty and Monque Beckford to finish second in the 4x100 meter relay with a new Lee record time of 47.98. Laura Thacker joined Beckford, Martin and Hegarty to claim another second place finish (4:05.70) in the 4x400 meter relay.
Beckford and Hegarty competed individually in the 400 meter run with Beckford finishing fourth (59.36) and Hegarty crossing the finish line at 1:05.06 (12th).
Miranda Broesche (32.58 meters) and Addie Strode (25.49 meters) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the discus throw. Emily Bryan’s time of 16.42 put her in fifth in the 100 meter hurdles, while Monica Allison was seventh (16.76).
Amy Carpenter finished fifth (5:14.57) in the 1500 meter run and ninth (2:31.79) in the 800 meter run. Mackenzie Mayer joined Carpenter in the 1500 meter and finished 12th (5:23.86). Brianna Prugh recorded a time of 2:34.70 to place 12th in the 800 meter run.
Aubrey Smith, Erin Fondren, Savannah Ratcliff and Logan Hernandez were part of the 5000 meter run field of 16. Smith finished third with a time of 18:33.19 and Fondren was fourth (18:48.58). Ratcliff stopped the clock at 19:55.71 (seventh) and Hernandez was 12th (20:49.93).
The top finishing eligible participant in each event was selected as All-GSC First Team and the second place eligible finishers earned All-GSC Second Team honors.
Men’s All-GSC First Team
Seth Eagleson, Lee
Camden Perez, Lee
Josiah Schrade, Lee
Josiah Brooks, Lee
Christian Smith, Lee
Hunter Goforth, Lee
Kendall Moore, UWA
Harold Smith, Lee
Brian Braswell, CBU
Justin Brooks, Lee
CJ Savage, UWA
Xavier Mundell, UWA
Men’s All-GSC Second Team
Victor Onyaga, UWA
Seth Eagleson, Lee
Brian Braswell, CBU
Hunter Goforth, Lee
Brandon Raleigh, Lee
Xavier Mundell, UWA
Josiah Brooks, Lee
Javon Jones, Lee
Emmanuel Kipchumba, Lee
Terris Elliott, Lee
Josiah Schrade, Lee
Justin Brooks, Lee
Camden Perez, Lee
Women’s All-GSC First Team
Amber Frazier, UWG
Cecelia David, UWA
Audrey Smith, Lee
Shelbie Hunt, CBU
Dy'Asiza Cherry, UWG
Miranda Broesche, Lee
Faith Shears, UWG
Caitlin Teknipp, UWG
Andrea Foster, UWG
Caren Burtain, UWA
Amina Saunders, UWG
Adrian Martin, Lee
Emily Bryan, Lee
Trisan Haughton, UWG
Women’s All-GSC Second Team
Ganiyat Bakare, UWG
Erin Fondren, Lee
Caitlyn Farrell, UWG
Kaitlynn Kincer, Lee
Trisan Haughton, UWG
Faith Shears, UWG
Caitlin Teknipp, UWG
Laura Thacker, Lee
Cynthia Benjamin, UWG
Alexandra Pidcock, UNA
Andrea Foster, UWG
Dawn McCaskill, UWG
Taylor Dove, UWG
Amber Frazier, UWG
Ashley Davis, UWG
Abby Moore, CBU