Sam Houston State sweeps Indoor Championships for third straight year

Four meet records fall through two days as Bearkats sweep both team titles

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the third consecutive year, Sam Houston State showcased its indoor dominance by sweeping both the men’s and women’s team titles at the Southland Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The Bearkat men finished with a total point tally of 128 for their third overall title while the women’s total of 123 earned them their sixth team championship.

Stephen F. Austin men took the runner-up team finish with 103 while the Lady Demons of Northwestern State registered their highest indoor team finish in program history, finishing second with 95 points.

Northwestern State men finished third – the team’s best since 2003 – with 80 points while Lamar was fourth with 76 and McNeese scored 54 to round out the top five. Central Arkansas was sixth with 49 points, followed by UIW (45.5), Southeastern Louisiana (41), Abilene Christian (39), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20.5), Houston Baptist (20) and New Orleans (6).

The Ladyjacks took third on the women’s side with 84.5 points, followed by Abilene Christian (70.5) in fourth and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in fifth with 69. UIW was sixth (56.5) followed by Lamar (54), McNeese (38.5) and Southeastern Louisiana (38). Houston Baptist and Central Arkansas tied for 10th with 14 points apiece, followed by Nicholls (6).

In the dominant fashion which has become the norm in this event, Tyler Adams of Sam Houston State comfortably won the men’s heptathlon for the fourth consecutive year with a point total of 5,544. The senior Bearkat’s point total is the third-highest in overall conference history. Hunter Key of Stephen F. Austin took silver with 5,238 points while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s James Manders earned bronze (4,964).

Adams owns three individual gold medals from this year’s championships after winning the long jump and high jump yesterday.

Adams also emerged as the Men’s High Point Scorer, finishing with an all-time conference best 34 points to his name, smashing the previous record of 27 points set in 1994. He earned 10 points each for his heptathlon, high jump and long jump wins, plus four points for his fifth-place finish in the 60m hurdles.

Natashia Jackson of Northwestern State was the Women’s High Point Scorer with 22.3 points. The sophomore earned 10 points for her 400m dash win, eight points for third in the 200m dash, three points for sixth in the 60m dash and 2.5 as part of the winning Lady Demon 4x400m relay.

In total, four meet records were broken through the two-day event.

First to fall was the 5,000m record held by Lamar’s Jannika John since 2015. Rabea Schöneborn of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi emphatically made her mark by nearly 10 seconds, winning gold with a time of 16:26.46. That time ranks fourth overall in conference history.

On day two, junior Thai Williams of Lamar took down the women’s 60m dash record that had stood since 2001. Williams clocked in at 7.37 to comfortably take gold in the final and earn 10 points for the Cardinals. She now ranks third all time in overall Southland history.

In the women’s 800m, Sam Houston State’s Camry Grigsby broke her own meet record which she had set in 2016 (2:09.68), finishing with a time of 2:09.30 today for first place. She now holds the No. 4 and 5 spots in the Southland all-time top five.

Last to fall was the men’s 200m record of 21.17 set in 2014. Chris Jefferson of Sam Houston State finished with a blistering gold medal time of 21.07, which ranks him second all-time in league history.

The top three finishers in each event final are recognized as First, Second and Third Team All-Conference, respectively. Individual men’s and women’s awards for Coach of the Year, Outstanding Running Events Performer, Outstanding Field Events Performer, Freshman of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Athlete of the Year will be nominated and voted upon by head coaches next week.

For athletes that achieved qualifying marks this season, the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by Texas A&M from March 9-10 at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station.

The 2018 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held from May 4-6 in San Antonio, Texas, hosted by UIW.

Men’s Final Team Standings

Women’s Final Team Standings

Day Two Champions