MOBILE, Ala. (5/13/21) – Lauren Beauchamp and Sophie Leathers won titles in the pole vault and 10,000m on Thursday, headlining a strong start for the Arkansas State track and field teams at the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships at Jaguar Track.
A-State picked up scorers in the women's hammer throw and women's pole vault before closing the day with three of the top four finishers in the 10,000m to move to just two points out of first place after the first day. The Red Wolves sit second with 36 points behind South Alabama's 38.
Beauchamp took gold in the women's pole vault, clearing 3.93m (12-10.75) to give her titles both indoors (2020) and outdoors. Avery Shell placed seventh with a mark of 3.73m (12-2.75).
Leathers led a trio that propelled the women's squad up to second in the team standings in the 10,000m, winning with a personal-best time of 35:37.07. Sarah Trammel and Elizabeth Gillette also recorded career bests, finishing third (35:59.89) and fourth (36:23.42) respectively.
On the men's side, the Scarlet and Black are third after the first day with 21 points following a second-place finish by Lexington Hilton in the 10,000m to end the day. Hilton shattered his own school record by over 15 seconds with a time of 29:20.01 in his first conference outdoor meet.
Aimar Palma Simo was first to medal for the Red Wolves, earning silver in the men's hammer throw with a toss of 63.74m (209-1.0). Eron Carter placed fourth with a throw of 60.36m (198-0.0) to give the A-State men 13 points after one final.
Jermie Walker stormed through the men's 200m prelims, notching a personal-best 20.96 that was the top qualifying mark and ranks sixth in program history.
Both Darrian Lockett and Daidren Davis won their preliminary heats in the 400m hurdles to advance to the final on Saturday, with Lockett posting the fastest qualifying time of 52.24 – a personal best. Davis clocked the third-best qualifying mark of 52.37.
In the women's 1500m prelims, Pauline Meyer and Elizabeth Martin moved on to Saturday's final with automatic qualifying finishes. Meyer finished with the top time of 4:33.57 while Martin clocked a time of 4:39.27, finishing second in her heat.
Four Red Wolves moved on in the men's 1500m prelims, three as automatic qualifiers. Gregoire Saury was the top qualifier with a time of 3:51.06, with Bennett Pascoe (3:51.14) and Seth Waters (3:54.20) also qualifying. Coleman Wilson ran a personal-best 3:56.04, advancing on time.
In the women's hammer, Grace Flowers picked up three points, placing sixth with a throw of 55.73m (182-10.0).
Allie Hensley posted a strong first day in the heptathlon, finishing third through the first four events with 3,158 points. She notched a win in the high jump while placing third in the 200m to close out the opening day, while throwing an outdoor-best 11.66m (38-3.25) in the shot put. The reigning pentathlon champion looks to continue that momentum into the second day, starting with the long jump.
Ty Graser finished the first day of the decathlon in sixth overall with 3,212 points in his first collegiate decathlon. He looks to move up the board Friday, starting with the 110m hurdles.
NEXT UP
A-State resumes action at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships Friday morning, starting with the conclusion of the decathlon (9 a.m.) and heptathlon (9:30 a.m.). The women's long jump will be the first final of the day, starting at 12:30 p.m. The 100m hurdles prelims are first on the track, which will also mark the start of the ESPN+ broadcast at 5 p.m. CT.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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