BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (2/22/22) – When the Arkansas State track and field teams entered the Birmingham CrossPlex on Tuesday, the task was simple: bring back a pair of conference titles.
It's safe to say they understood the assignment, running away with a sweep of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships for the third consecutive season. Both teams held a lead entering the final day and never relinquished it, with A-State's men totaling 162.5 points and the women finishing with 127 points. Texas State finished second as a team on both sides.
The conference crowns marked the school's 19th and 20th under the guidance of Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Jim Patchell, which moved him past the great Jay Flanagan for the most conference titles in program history. Tuesday also marked the 10th men's indoor championship and the seventh for the women, which makes the Red Wolves the active winningest program in the Sun Belt on both sides. The women's crown matched former member Western Kentucky for the all-time lead.
"This was an outstanding performance by both our teams and I'm extremely proud of our effort and competitiveness," Patchell said. "It's not easy to continue to perform at such a high level in championships, and the fact that we have done that consistently over the past few years in a very good conference against some very tough programs is a testament to the hard work and dedication by our student-athletes and coaching staff. It's a great day to be a Red Wolf and I couldn't be any prouder."
A day after taking the men's long jump crown, Carter Shell followed it up by taking gold in the triple jump with a personal-best leap of 15.30m (50-2.5). He became the first A-State jumper to win the horizontal jumps double indoors in the Sun Belt Indoor Championships and the first since Roelf Pienaar in the 2016 outdoor championships.
Frank Massey took silver in the men's high jump, clearing an indoor-best 2.11m (6-11.0), while Camryn Newton-Smith completed her comeback season with a runner-up finish in the pentathlon, totaling 3,753 points. Freshman Isabel Daines also posted a strong performance, placing fifth with a collegiate-best 3,472 points.
On the track, outdoor All-American Bennett Pascoe did what he does best, breaking the meet record in the men's mile to take gold, finishing in 4:06.84. His performance led a monstrous 23-point output by the men's squad, as Seth Waters captured silver in 4:08.47. Lasse Funck and Gregoire Saury followed in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Both Waters and Cheyenne Melvin later notched runner-up results in the 800m, with Waters crossing the line in 1:52.34 and Melvin finishing in 2:09.74.
Also setting a meet record was hurdler Ke'Von Holder, who put together a clean race and claimed gold with a time of 7.91 in the men's 60m hurdles while Will Glass finished seventh. Rainee Bowers took silver in the women's race, clocking a blistering 8.35 that moves her into second all-time at A-State in the event. Tyra Nabors and Chelby Melvin followed behind her in sixth and seventh.
Freshman Willem Coertzen saved his best performance of the indoor season for when it mattered most in the men's shot put, hurling the implement 17.00m (55-9.25) to earn silver. Fellow rookie Jacob Tracy added two more points in the event with a throw of 15.44m (50-8.0). Evangelynn Harris placed third in the women's shot put with a throw of 15.40m (50-6.25), as she was one of three A-State throwers in the top 8.
Another freshman, Omari Walker, displayed his blazing speed with a bronze-medal finish in the men's 60m, running 6.81. Jonae Cook tallied six points for the women's squad in the sprints, placing fifth in the 200m with a time of 24.34 that ranks fourth in school history, and seventh in the 60m with a mark of 7.54.
Lauren Beauchamp cleared a season-best 3.86m (12-8.0) in the women's pole vault to take bronze, while Avery Shell and Grace Shaffer both cleared 3.76m (12-4.0) to place sixth and seventh.
After taking second in the women's 5000m on Monday, Sophie Leathers seized another silver medal on Tuesday in the 3000m. The Grapevine, Texas, native finished in 9:54.44, with Sophia Oury and Sarah Trammel also factoring into the team score with sixth- and seventh-place finishes.
The men also took a silver medal result in the 3000m, with Jacob Pyeatt leading a pack of Red Wolves that totaled 15 points in the event. The Mountain Home, Ark., native finished in 8:19.76.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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