For the first time in program history, the Texas State men’s track team won first place in the Sun Belt Outdoor Championship meet in Jonesboro, Arkansas on May 10-12. The women’s side took runner-up in the meet, with both teams racking up eight individual titles, 21 all-conference selections and a new school record.
Kicking off the first place finishes was junior Jaylon Jorge, who took the gold in the men’s hammer throw with a hurl of 57.15 meters. The men’s team had standout performances in all of their throwing events, including senior T’Mond Johnson, who claimed first in the shot put with a 19.70 meter hurl. The throw marks Johnson’s third consecutive gold in the event and places second in the Texas State record book.
A turning point for the men’s team came with a sweep in the discus event spearheaded by sophomore Brandon Busby, who threw for 54.66 meters to bring the Bobcats into first place overall.
Other high-ranking titles from the men’s side include junior Ben Collerton, who took the decathlon gold for the second consecutive year with 7,180 points overall. Collerton previously broke his own school record to take first in the Sun Belt in the event.
Distance standout Leslie Romero had the first gold for the women’s team, placing first in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36:11.53 for second in the school record book. Romero also topped her own school record in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase for a time of 10:39.89.
Senior Tramesha Hardy finished out her Sun Belt career with her third consecutive gold in the women’s 200-meter dash with a finish of 23.14 seconds. Hardy also took the most points (21.5) at the meet, making her the top scorer in the Sun Belt for both the indoor and outdoor seasons this year. Hardy racked up the points by placing second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35 seconds. running as anchor for the second-place women’s 4×400-meter relay alongside teammates Dawnshae Evans, Breonna Hall and Kattiana Ealy-Pulido, and participating in the 4×100-meter relay with teammates Live Hilton, Sadi Giles and Anayah Washington for a third-place finish.
Taking the final gold for the Bobcats was junior Naomi Ferdinand, who placed first in the women’s long jump with a leap of 6.11 meters.
The Bobcats will head to the NCAA West Regional meet on May 23-25 in Sacramento, Calif in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships up I-35 in Austin, Texas.