SEARCY, Ark.  – Aurthur Jeffrey claimed the GAC's triple jump title on Friday afternoon at Ted Lloyd Track, while three Mulerider teammates broke program records during the second day of action at the 2017 Great American Conference Track and Field Championships hosted by Harding University.
 
Southern Arkansas finished day two in second place with 51 points behind host Harding which accumulated 97 points. Oklahoma Christian is currently in third place with 11 points and East Central has collected one point.
 
Jeffrey landed a winning mark of 47' 7" to earn the SAU Men ten team points. Jeffrey's mark is a personal best and just .06 meters from notching an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark in the event.
 
Tyler Shelton concluded the decathlon in fifth place overall and topped his previous program record in the event by 346 points. Shelton won the decathlon's 110 hurdles event, while Richard Barkhimer was tops in the decathlon's javelin throw.
 
Lane Alexander raced to a third place finish in the 3000 steeple and did so by finishing over nine seconds faster than his previous school record time of 9:39.58. Alexander earned Southern Arkansas eight points and Bradyn Gower tacked on an additional point in the event.
 
Doug Palmer shaved 19 seconds off of his 2016 program record time in the exhausting 10,000 meter with a new school record time of 31:54.89, which was worth a fourth place finish and four points.
 
Sinclair Pitts (2^nd place) and Malcolm Cambron (5^th place) teamed up for 12 team points in the hammer throw event while Aaron Linnear (4^th place) and Shelton (6^th place) added eight points in the triple jump event as the Muleriders totaled 18 team points in the first jumping event of the championships.
 
Additionally, Barkhimer and Shelton combined for six personal bests in the decathlon on Friday, while seven other Muleriders logged personal bests on Friday in Searcy.
   DECATHLON DAY 2 (5 events) | DAY 1 Results
5^th Overall / 4^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (5,558 points – PROGRAM RECORD) – Personal Best
7^th Overall / 6^th Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (5,305 points) – Personal Best
 
110 Hurdles (9)
1^st Overall / 1^st Scoring – Tyler Shelton (15.45) – 796 points – Personal Best
6^th Overall / 5^th Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (17.51) – 572 – Personal Best
 
Discus Throw (9)
5^th Overall / 4^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (85' 7") – 382 points – Personal Best
8^th Overall / 7^th Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (80' 6") – 358 – Personal Best
 
Pole Vault (9)
8^th Overall / 6^th Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (7' 11 ½") – 227 points – First Career Attempt
9^th Overall / 7^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (7' 3 ¾") – 185
 
Javelin (9)
1^st Overall / 1^st Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (156' 4") – 554 points
7^th Overall / 6^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (125' 6") – 417 – Personal Best
 
1500 Meter (9)
5^th Overall / 4^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (4:52.82) – 602 points – Personal Best
9^th Overall / 7^th Scoring – Richard Barkhimer (5:54.38) – 287
 

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Hammer Throw (8)
2^nd Overall / 2^nd Scoring – Sinclair Pitts (155' 4") – 8 team points
5^th Overall / 4^th Scoring – Malcolm Cambron (125' 11") – 4 team points
8^th Overall – Steven Taylor (70' 8" – Personal Best)
 
Triple Jump (10)
1^st Overall / 1^st Scoring – Aurthur Jeffrey (47' 7" – Personal Best) – 10 team points
4^th Overall / 3^rd Scoring – Aaron Linnear (44') – 6 team points
6^th Overall / 5^th Scoring – Tyler Shelton (43' 11 ¾") – 2 team points
9^th Overall – Keenan Hollins (40' ¾" – Personal Best)
 
3000 Steeple (14)
3^rd Overall / 2^nd Scoring – Lane Alexander (9:30.97 – PROGRAM RECORD) – 8 team points
7^th Overall / 6^th Scoring – Bradyn Gower (9:43.99) – 1 team point
9^th Overall – Jose Guevara (9:52.46 – First Career Attempt)
 
10,000 Meter (19)
4^th Overall / 4^th Scoring – Doug Palmer (31:54.89 – PROGRAM RECORD) – 4 team points
14^th Overall – Cody Fox (33:38.40 – Personal Best)
16^th Overall – Cole Watson (33:57.61 – Personal Best)
18^th Overall – Nathan Poovey (36:06.83 – First Career Attempt)
 

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UP NEXT
Championship action concludes on Saturday with a full slate of events beginning with the remaining field events at 10 a.m. Sprints and relays will bookend the 2017 GAC Championships and begin at noon. For full tournament heat sheets, live streaming and live result links, click here.