MOBILE, Ala. (5/14/21) – Evangelynn Harris and Bennett Pascoe once again stepped atop the podium Friday at the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Championships, putting the Arkansas State track and field teams in striking position entering the final day at Jaguar Track.
Harris took gold in the women's shot put, uncorking a career-best throw of 15.92m (52-2.75) to win, giving her a sweep of the conference shot put titles after winning the indoor crown in February.
To conclude the day, Pascoe displayed why he is one of the top steeplechasers in the nation Friday night, running a Sun Belt meet-record 8:53.25 to win. He will look to continue his incredible season Saturday, running in the 1500m and 5000m finals.
The Red Wolves enter the final day in second place on both sides. A-State's men trail current leader UT Arlington by one point with 49 after two days. The women, meanwhile, are in second with 66 points behind South Alabama's 89.50, but with a big chance to make up ground on Saturday.
A-State's women picked up nine points in the women's steeplechase, as Sophia Oury (10:54.39) and Elizabeth Martin (11:06.24) placed fourth and fifth with personal bests.
Allie Hensley closed out an impressive performance in the heptathlon, taking bronze with a personal-best 5,262 points that ranks third in program history in the event.
In the women's high jump, Sydney Lane cleared a season-best 1.72m (5-7.75) to place fourth and score five points for the women's squad.
Chris Hill posted a blistering personal-best 10.52 to win his heat and advance to the 100m final on Saturday. Seth Waters also took his heat in the 800m prelims in 1:52.62 to advance to Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after advancing to Saturday's 200m finals, Jermie Walker added the 400m final to his agenda for the final day of competition, winning his heat with a time of 47.37. Addison Ross also qualified, doing so on time by clocking a time of 47.77.
Ke'Von Holder and Will Glass both notched personal bests in the 110m hurdles prelims, both advancing on time. Holder's time of 14.00 ranks seventh in school history, while Glass clocked a time of 14.29. A-State also had a qualifier in the 100m hurdles, as freshman Rainee Bowers clocked a time of 13.58 to advance.
A-State picked up nine points on the men's side in the long jump when Carter Shell and Courtney Thomas finished inside the top five. Shell leaped 7.48m (24-6.5) to place fourth while Thomas set an outdoor best with a mark of 7.47m (24-6.25) to place fifth.
NEXT UP
A-State looks to finish strong at the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday, starting at 11:30 a.m. with the men's triple jump. The women's 4x100m relay is first on the track, which will also mark the start of the ESPN+ broadcast at 4 p.m. CT.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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