The No. 9 ranked A&M-Commerce men's track and field team captured the program's first LSC Outdoor T&F Championship in 48 years Saturday, on the tails of a 196 point performance.
The Lions finished 30 points ahead of second-place West Texas A&M, who scored 166. The Lion women meanwhile took fourth with a score of 99, beating out A&M-Kingsville by ten points. The score is the highest point total an A&M-Commerce women's outdoor T&F team has ever scored at the LSC Championships.
Senior John David Rollins made his way to the award stand more than any other Lion on Saturday, raking in three silver medals in the 100m (10.49), 200m (21.46), 4x100m relay (40.82, along with teammates Reggie Kincade, Isaiah McFail and Anthony Harris). The 4x100m relay squad wound up improving upon their season-high provisional qualifying mark in the process.
5/10/2015 T&F LSC Championships Day 3 T&F LSC Championships Day 3
Despite the terrific day, the Lion men only took one gold medal on the final day of the meet, which belonged to Luis Romero for his 1:52.71 finish in the 800m run. Romero pulled this off after having grabbed a bronze in the 1500m run with a time of 3:57.42 only an hour previously.
Hailey Nelson captured the lone gold medal for A&M-Commerce's women, jumping a new personal-best height of 1.72m. That brings her up to a tie for 12th in Division II, almost assuredly guaranteeing a trip to NCAA Nationals. On the men's side, James Lundy gave a heroic effort to finish third with a height of 2.06m in spite of a nagging lower body injury.
Kamryn McKee had yet-another strong meet for the Lions, taking a pair of silver medals in the long jump and 400m dash. Her jump of 5.70m is a new personal best for her, while her time of 54.70 in the 400m dash is a provisional qualifying mark, which puts her at No. 13 in Division II and breaks the A&M-Commerce school record of 55.35 set two years ago by Vanessa Jackson. McKee wasn't the only Lion to find success in the long jump, as reigning All-American Anthony Harris hit his seasonal best by far with a distance of 7.46m. That puts the senior at No. 13 in Division II, and allows him a return-journey to NCAA Nationals.
In what has become a recurring theme, Ashley Bassett broke her own A&M-Commerce school record in the 400m hurdles for the fourth time this season and the second time at this meet alone, crossing the finish line with a time of 59.70 that moves her up to seventh in Division II. On the men's side, DJ Richardson too achieved profound success in the 400m hurdles with his own second place finish thanks to a time of 52.26. That nets the junior a strong provisional qualifying mark, catapulting him to No. 9 in the Division.
In the throws, it was a pair of Germans who reigned supreme for the Lions. Hendrik Nungess took second with a throw of 64.29m, falling just short of yesterday's monster throw of 70.94m in the decathlon javelin. Rebecca Mueller meanwhile captured third in the women's discus throw thanks to a hurl of 44.96m.
Also of note, Dexter Lee picked up the bronze in the men's 400m dash with a time of 47.54. Jenna McLaughlin rounded things out with a third place finish of her own in the 800m run with a time of 2:14.03, obliterating her personal best by over five seconds.
With the championship, the Lions have earned the sixth Lone Star Conference Title on the athletic year, following two in soccer (regular season and tournament), one in football, one in men's basketball, and one in men's indoor track. Six is the greatest number of LSC Championships earned in a single season, the next-highest amount four, coming from the 1942 season.
With the conference slate at last concluded, the only thing that stands in the way for the Lions is the NCAA Championship in Allendale, Michigan. It is unclear how many athletes will receive an invitation for the journey. Nationals are scheduled for May 22 through May 24.
A&M-Commerce Qualifying Marks
WOMEN
Kamryn McKee (400m) 54.70 *
Ashley Bassett (400m Hurdles) 59.70 *
Ana Baleveicau (400m Hurdles) 1:01.53
McKee, Baleveicau, Cottingham, Bassett (4x400m Relay) 3:48.10
Hailey Nelson (High Jump) 1.72m
Rebecca Mueller (Discus) 47.66m
Ginnie Lee (Heptathlon) 4718 Pts
MEN
Dionte Taylor (100m) 10.47
John David Rollins (100m) 10.48
John David Rollins (200m) 21.23
Dexter Lee (400m) 47.38 *
Soren Gnoss (400m) 47.73
Luis Romero (800m) 1:50.03
Matt Rich (110m Hurdles) 14.13
DJ Richardson (110m Hurdles) 14.46
DJ Richardson (400m Hurdles) 52.26
Harris, Kincade, McFail, Rollins (4x100m Relay) 40.82
Rollins, Williams, Gnoss, Lee (4x400m Relay) 3:09.56
James Lundy (High Jump) 2.13m
Jamal Curtis (High Jump) 2.11m
Matt Rich (Pole Vault) 4.91m
Gage Bowles (Long Jump) 7.60m
Anthony Harris (Long Jump) 7.46m
DeVontae Steele (Long Jump) 7.24m
DeVontae Steele (Triple Jump) 15.56m *
Gage Bowles (Triple Jump) 15.29m
Tyler Rambo (Shot Put) 17.12m
Masoud Moghaddam (Hammer) 65.63m @*
Chase Graham (Hammer) 55.55m
Hendrik Nungess (Javelin) 73.24m @*
Hendrik Nungess (Decathlon) 7543 Pts @*
Matt Rich (Decathlon) 7107 Pts @
James Lundy (Decathlon) 6674 Pts
@ - Automatic Qualifier
* - School Record