The 80
th Lone Star Conference Track and Field Championships crowned a pair of champions on Saturday at Javelina Stadium with the Angelo State women winning their sixth consecutive title and eighth overall and the host Texas A&M-Kingsville men winning their first title since 1970 and third overall.
The Rambelles championship was a tribute to team depth as they recorded only two individual wins on the final day of competition. Chesney Neeley took the discus with a toss of 144-2 to edge out LSC hammer throw champ, LaNissa Burns of McMurry. The discus was a strong event for the team as Emma Thompson and Ashlie Francis took third and fourth in the event. Jasmine Ambowode won the team’s only event on the track when she took the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:01.18.
The Belles finished with 182 points in the meet to comfortably stay ahead of runner-up West Texas A&M who had 161 points. ASU head coach James Reid notched his eighth career LSC women’s team title.
While the Lady Buffs of WT finished second it was not for lack of effort from their star performer, Libby Strickland. She won the long jump, high jump and ran winning legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. She grabbed the long jump on her fifth jump of the day with a distance of 19-4.25 to win by one inch. In the high jump, she outlasted A&M-Kingsville’s Amanda Haven in the jump off with a clearance of 5-7. In the relay, she teamed with Marisa Holiwell, Bri Leeper and Rachel King for the victory in 47.21. She ran the anchor leg for the 4x400 team that held on to win with a time of 3:47.67, just ahead of Kingsville’s 3:47.92. Sharon Kwarula, Rhemecka Graham and Jessie Thomas joined her on the winner’s podium.
Tarleton State finished third in the women’s standings with 122.5 points and they were followed by A&M-Kingsville (92 points), McMurry (67), Harding (52.5), Eastern New Mexico (50), Texas A&M-Commerce (43) and Midwestern State (41).
Harding’s Rachel Domeyer opened the final day of competition with a win in the javelin. She easily won the event with a throw of 147-9. Teammate Ewa Zaborowski starred for HU by winning the 1500 meters for a second straight year in 4:33.69 and then she came back and won the 5,000 meters against a loaded field. She crossed the finish line in 17:51.82, less than two seconds ahead of 2012 champion Lindsey Hinton of Tarleton and four seconds ahead of TSU’s Aly Coughlin who won the 2014 LSC steeplechase title.
Texas A&M-Kingsville dominated the sprint events winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters. Kaina Martinez won the 100 and 200 meters in dominating fashion in 11.50 and 24.08, respectively. In each race, Strickland was the runner-up. Amber Perry won her third consecutive 400-meter title by running down teammate Kathy Trevino in the final 50 meters crossing the tape in 56.58.
The only other event contested on the final day was the 800 meters. Texas A&M-Commerce’s Brikel Bailey won in 2:13.58 over a strong field that included two-time champion, Jaylen Rodgers of Angelo State.
The men’s championship was a long time coming for the Javelinas who went 44 years between titles and have had a few close calls in recent years, including a 5.5-point loss in 2012. They left no doubt in 2014 by winning seven events on the final and they dominated the sprint events.
A&M-Kingsville got their first points of the day in the high jump. 2013 conference champion and two-time national champion Jeron Robinson won the event with a clearance of 7-3, but it was teammate Trent Hesseltine who surprised everyone. The 2010 LSC champion in the high jump had not competed all season long, but finished in second place with a career best of 6-11. The Javelinas quickly picked up another victory in the javelin when Javan Gray unleashed a throw of 215-10 to easily win.
The first race on the track was the 4x100 meters and A&M-Kingsville won in a time of 40.48. Tim Price, Anthony Washington and Jonathan Woodson were all on the 2012 LSC champion and were joined by Corbin Whalum this year. Price followed that win with two more of his own in the 100 meters, in a wind-aided 10.19, and the 200 meters, in 20.89. In both races, Whalum was the runner-up.
Sergio Rios picked up the final two victories for the Javelinas. He won his first-ever title in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.18 and then gutted out his third victory in the 400 hurdles with a time of 52.49.
The 2013 team champion, Angelo State, finished in second place with 153 points, 22 behind Kingsville. The notched a pair of victories on the day. The first came in the 400 meters where Luis Perez defended his title with a time of 47.71 in a gusting wind. The Rams also closed out the meet with their third straight win in the 4x400 relay. The team of Dallas Gray, Perez, Robbie Thayer and Wala Gime edged out favorite Tarleton State in a close finish, 3:12.31 to 3:12.36. Gray and Thayer each won their third LSC relay titles while it was the second Perez.
Tarleton State’s Chase Rathke showed himself to be the top middle distance runner in the conference by winning both the 800 and 1500 meters. The 1500 was his first race of the day and he used a strong final 400 meters to win in a time of 4:01.80. He came back in the 800 and did not take over first place until the final 100 meters and he won in 1:54.30.
Eastern New Mexico’s Isaiah Samoei won his second LSC title in the 5,000 meters easily taking the crown in a time of 14:44.28.
Texas A&M-Commerce picked up a second consecutive win in the long jump when Anthony Harris unleashed a 24-9 leap to outdistance the field.
Josh Syrotchen grabbed a victory for Harding in the discus throw. He was able to hold off a strong field with a throw of 173-11.
The final men’s team scores were as follows: A&M-Kingsville, 175 points; Angelo State, 153; A&M-Commerce,114; West Texas A&M, 109; Tarleton State, 109; Harding, 76; McMurry, 43; Eastern New Mexico, 39.