In their last ever Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championship, the Texas State Bobcats became the second program in conference history to record back-to-back conference sweeps, delivering multiple historic performances from May 14-16 in Mobile, Ala.
The men racked up 157 points, a performance for the ages as no other team eclipsed 130 points. The women secured their third straight outdoor conference title after scoring 128 points.
May 14
Elisabet Runarsdottir captured gold and put forth a performance for the ages in the women’s hammer throw. Runarsdottir set both the facility and Sun Belt record with her mark of 70.81 meters. Lara Roberts earned second place with a throw of 68.37 meters, providing the Bobcats with the desired 1-2 finish in the hammer throw.
For the men in the hammer throw, Manfred Mannamaa recorded a mark of 66.99 meters to earn a gold medal. Mannamaa set a new personal record on his last attempt of the day.
The women’s javelin group posted strong numbers including a conference title from Hannah Kemele with a new personal best of 49.77 meters. Charlize Goody finished runner-up with a throw of 48.22 meters and McKenah Sears placed sixth with her mark of 44.14 meters.
May 15
Junior Easton Hammond, for the second straight season, earned the Sun Belt decathlon title after posting strong finishes in several events. Hammond won the 1,500 meters and the high jump while placing second in the pole vault, javelin, and discus events. His point total of 7,682 set both a conference record and facility record.`
Senior David Richards joined Hammond on the podium and placed third in the decathlon with 7,213 points. Richards finished third in the 110-meter hurdles and discus events.
On the women’s side of the combined events, sophomore Sophie Daugard claimed the conference title in the heptathlon after putting up 5,456 points. Daugard placed first in the 200-meters and long jump event. She also recorded runner-up finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and shot put, while placing third in the 800-meters and javelin.
Freshman Bostyn Baskin, who earned a bronze in the heptathlon, scored 5,017 points with a strong first place finish in the high jump. She also placed third in the 200-meters.
The women’s shot put team made a major impact on the point totals with a dominant one-two finish. Sophia Haberer set a new personal best and facility record with her first place throw of 16.48 meters. Kemele narrowly came in second place with a personal best mark of 16.45 meters.
On the men’s side, freshman Adam Carter won a bronze medal after recording his best throw of his young career with a mark of 17.94 meters.
The men’s long jump provided the Bobcats with valuable points. Junior Giovonni Walker placed third with a jump of 7.72 meters and Isiah Kayembe finished in sixth place with a mark of 7.41 meters.
Caden Ohara made a trip to the podium after a successful effort in the men’s pole vault. Ohara cleared 5.33 meters to earn a bronze medal and cap off day two for the Bobcats.
May 16
Danie Strooh added a conference title in the men’s discus with a mark of 56.91 meters. Cassandra Rendon captured a bronze medal in the women’s discus with a throw of 50.29 meters.
The high jumpers from both sides contributed points as Kendall Lemm placed third in the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.71 meters. For the men, freshman Tshephang Dankuru earned a bronze medal with his clearance of 2.12 meters and Aiden Hayes placed fourth with a jump of 2.09 meters.
On the track, The men posted one of the strongest performances in the entire country in the 110 meter hurdles. Ja’Shaun Lloyd and Arveyon Davis both set a facility record with their respective times. Lloyd recorded a new Sun Belt record of 13.41 seconds, while Davis set a personal record of his own with a time of 13.76 seconds.
In the men’s 100-meters, Lloyd and graduate student Drew Donley tied for first place with the same time of 10.22 seconds. The duo also shined in the 200-meter event, with Donley earning gold after running a 20.39 seconds, while Lloyd placed fourth posting a time of 20.67 seconds.
For the women in the 200-meter event, junior Paige Archer collected a bronze medal. Archer ran a time of 23.49 seconds to put points up on the board for the Bobcats.
Junior Alexia Macias captured the conference title in the women’s 1500-meters with a time of 4:30.67.
Sophomore Mihajlo Katanic placed second in the 400-meter hurdles stopping the clock in 50.60 seconds. On the women’s side, senior Victoria Amiadamen took home a bronze medal with her time of 59.13 seconds.
What’s next
The Bobcats will look to carry the momentum from another successful conference meet into Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they will continue their outdoor season from May 27-30 at the NCAA West Preliminaries.
