After Day 1 of 2009 SWAC Indoor Track Championship
BATON ROUGE, LA – The women of Alabama State and the men of Grambling State lead the pack after one day of competition of the 2009 SWAC Indoor Track & Field Championships at LSU’s Carl Maddox Field House.
The Lady Hornets accumulated 52 team points on Saturday as they hold a slim advantage over second place Grambling State with 49.50 points. Jackson State holds the third place slot with 28.50 points.
Alabama State started the day off strong when Kristen Hart tossed a 13.40m (43’ 11.75”) shot put to place first in the event. In the second finals event of the day, the Lady Hornets’ Clarissa Johnson made a 1.67m (5’ 5.75”) jump to secure a first place finish in the high jump.
In other finals action on the women’s side, Grambling State’s Asia Wright had a 5.89m (19 ‘04.00”) leap to propel her to a first place finish in the long jump. Univ. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Jackline Chumo crossed the finish line first in the 3000 meter run final with a time of 10:42.39. In the last finals event for the women on Saturday, Southern’s Precious Collins, Paula Walker, Mary Newton and Melanie Gilbert finished first in the distance medley with a time of 12:55.42.
In men’s competition, Grambling State built a sizable lead going into Sunday’s events as it tallied 63.50 team points for the day. Jackson State holds on to second place with 28 points and Alabama State is just behind with 27 points for third place.
In finals events, Grambling State saw first place finishes in the long jump and 3000-meter run competitions. Deangelo Waller sprang for 7.41m (24’ 3.75”) to grab the long jump first place honors, while teammate Jacquecar Robinson placed second with a 7.20m (23’ 7.50”) jump. In the 3000 meter run, it was Darwin Price who secured the first place finish for the Tigers in a time of 8:44.33. Jackson State’s Ronnel Jones claimed first place in the shot put finals event with a throw of 15.27m (50’ 1.25”). Jason House of Southern registered a 2.14m (7’ 0.25”) leap to nab a first place finish in the high jump finals event. Alabama State took the last finals event on Saturday when Robert Gunn, Jonathan Franklin, Delorean Peek and Japtah
Kenei placed first in the distance medley run with a 10:20.39 time.
Championship action continues tomorrow morning, March 1st at 8:00 a.m., with 22 finals events scheduled. Tickets will go on sale at 7:30 a.m., at the SE Entrance of the Carl Maddox Field House.
