LAFAYETTE, La. - Tim Servis' Muleriders took the trip to the Bayou State for their competition at the Louisiana Classics hosted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Saturday. Southern Arkansas saw competition of many levels at the event including NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and unattached.
The Mulerider Men saw quite the outing at the popular southern meet as the group placed 19 athletes inside the top 15 of the fairly steep competition. The Mulerider Women had themselves their own impressive Saturday as the team accounted for 16 placements within the top 15 of their events.
Men
Southern Arkansas' 19 finishers inside the top 15 began with Charles Patton and Wesley Maxwell who each placed within the marker for the 800 meter with Patton recording a time of 1:59.45 and securing 12th as well as Maxwell placing 13th just a fraction of a second behind (1:59.67).
Both runners earned themselves another top 15 spot as Maxwell gained a step on Patton in the 1500 meter for a time of 4:05.66 putting him in 11th and his teammate finishing two seconds later (4:07.55) in 12th.
For the 5000 meter, Giovani Diaz and Isaac Gass, both cross country members, clocked times of 16:30.10 and 16:40.60 to place Diaz in 12th and Gass in 14th.
Connor White notched a time of 17.75 in the 110 meter hurdles to make his way into 12th for the event.
To begin the field events, Derrick Onyeador and John Appleton each recorded top 15 finishes as Onyeador claimed a top 10 spot for long jump after leaping for 22' 5.75" and Appleton earned 12th with his jump of 21' 9".
Onyeador once again accounted for a top ten performance in the triple jump after having recorded a distance of 44' 0.50" to place 8th. Also notching a top 10 spot was Lou Hughes making the triple leap for 43' 9.25".
Trevon Hill and Traveon Scott accounted for top 15 placements out at shot put as Hill heaved his shot for 48' 0.75" to place 8th and Scott threw for a distance of 44' 5.50" to claim 13th.
The Muleriders lone top five finisher came in the sophomore out of Prescott, Arkansas, Jason Patrick who accounted for a discus throw of 156' 9" to place fifth in the contest. Freshman Bo Rogers also claimed a top 15 spot as he threw his disc for 133' 11" to be spotted at 14th.
Patrick recorded another top ten placement as he slung for 155' 1" in the hammer throw to be located at 7th. Rogers, Scott, and Hill all saw the marker as well as Rogers placed 12th (131' 0"), Scott 14th (128' 11"), and Hill 15th (120' 11").
The Southern Arkansas 4x100 team (Bryson Johnson, Dezmand Bryant, Keith Smith, and Trysten Richey) placed fifth in the event among the ten teams that competed. To place fifth, the Muleriders managed to clock in a time of 41.31.
Women
Freshman Kamryn Floyd began her impressive day early as she notched a top ten position in the 100 meter with an eighth-place finish after recording a time of 12.10. Floyd managed to outrun many competitors from NCAA Division I programs such as Louisiana-Lafayette, Tulane, Southern, McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana, and Nicholls State.
Jordan Collins proved her worth among competitors in the 400 meter as she claimed fourth in her lap around the track for a time of 55.97. Similar to Floyd, Collins defeated members of many Division I teams.
In the 100 meter hurdles, Devlin Rivera clocked in a time of 14.94 in which placed her within the top 15 with her spot at 14 among the racers.
Alexis Matlock kept climbing the ladder as she competed at high jump. The senior made her way up to 5' 3.75" to finish her time at the event for a spot in eighth-place.
Diamond Brunn and Breyonna Steward each saw the top 15 of the long jump as Brunn claimed sixth-place after her bound of 18' 6.50". Steward made the mark after she hopped for 16' 10" to place 15th.
Brunn once again placed in the top ten of another event. This time being triple jump, the sophomore leaped for 35' 6" and placed eighth. Steward made the cut once more as well, placing 11th and jumping for 34' 2" along with Issah Traylor placing 13th after bounding for 33' 2".
Irieyanna Wilson and Kaitlyn Thomas each made the top 15 of shot put after having thrown for 39' 10" and 39' 4.50" to place Wilson at 11th and Thomas at 14th.
Thomas got the upperhand on Wilson at the discus throw after she slung her disc for 128' 2" for her to place 11th and Wilson tossed her disc for 119' 8" for her placing of 15th.
The Houston, Texas native, K. Thomas, then placed the highest among all Muleriders at hammer where she swung the weight for 172' 9" to place third among the steep competition. The throw now goes down as Thomas' farthest hammer throw to her name. Wilson also made top 15 of the event as she threw for 142' 8" to place 11th along with Keyonce Brown placing 14th after having thrown for 138' 6".
Up Next
The Muleriders are back in action at none other than their own home in Magnolia, Arkansas for the 2024 edition of the Dan Veach Invitational at the Mulerider Track and Field Complex for March 23. For more information on the upcoming Dan Veach Invitational, check out www.MuleriderAthletics.com
