SHAWNEE, Okla. — The Great American Conference Track and Field Championships have come to an end in central Oklahoma. Southern Arkansas' Women finished the meet in fourth after the group collected 80 points over the three days. The Mulerider Men completed the championships in third after eclipsing the 100-point mark and finishing with 102.50.
More Muleriders claimed titles of All-GAC First and Second Team on Championship Friday while also seeing another individual champion crowned for the Blue and Gold.
Starting off for the men, Southern Arkansas saw three men qualify for All-GAC honors in the triple jump as Keith Smith claimed a First Team spot with his second-place finish with his distance of 15.23m. Along with Smith in gaining All-GAC honors was Derrick Onyeador and Chad Blake, who each were named All-GAC Second Team in the event with Onyeador placing fifth (14.00m) and Blake placing sixth (13.86m).
In the pole vault, freshman vaulter Landry Leigh showed an impressive beginning to his time in the GAC as the athlete broke his own school record and became the first Mulerider pole vaulter to exceed 16 feet with his vault of 4.90m (16' 1"), which placed him in fourth and earned him All-GAC Second Team. Also being named to the Second Team was Joseph Boyd as the junior recorded a vault of 4.60m to place sixth.
A pair of brothers claimed All-GAC Second Team honors in the discus as Jason Patrick and Rocco Patrick placed fourth (51.61m) and sixth-place (48.01m) in the contest.
Isaac Gass earned an All-GAC Second Team plaudit in the 5k as the junior recorded personal record time of 15:06.85 to place sixth in the race.
In the semi-long distance race of the 800m, Joe Duirden claimed an All-GAC First Team honor for his 1:54.08 time in the 800m that placed him second.
La'Tavion Mays collected a pair of All-GAC Second Team honors with his dashes in the 100m and 200m. In the 100m, Mays posted a time of 10.80 to place fourth, and in the 200m he ran a time of 21.94 to place sixth.
The SAU Men's 4x100 team (Christian Cobb, Kenny Earskin, Christian Johnson, Mays) placed third and all crossed the finish line with their time of 41.78. In the 4x400, the group (Jaxon Plunkett, Jaquan Dickerson, Landry Leigh, Joe Duirden) placed fifth with their collective time of 3:20.97.
The lone individual champion for Southern Arkansas on the day came in the women's discus as senior thrower, Kailyn Thomas, tossed her discus for 46.32m and claimed the top spot in the contests while also boasting a new personal best for the senior.
In the triple jump, Diamond Brunn claimed her second All-GAC plaudit for the week as the junior jumper placed sixth in the contest and recorded a distance of 11.39m for an All-GAC Second Team honor.
Logan Warren was the next and final Mulerider Woman to claim an All-GAC title as the senior posted a time of 18:00.68 for a personal best, fourth-place finish, and an All-GAC Second Team honor.
The Women's 4x100 team (Edriana Hunter, Diamond Brunn, Jordan Collins, Carmin Tolliver) finished fifth in the outing with their time of 49.60. The Women's 4x400 team (Hunter, Warren, Anaya Ervin, Rylee Robinson) placed seventh after recording their time of 4:10.88.
Mulerider Track and Field now looks toward who gets their last chance to qualify for a spot at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field National Championships located in Pueblo, Colorado and will be hosted by Colorado-Pueblo University on May 22-24.
