Privateer women reach new heights at Southland Championships as 3 more school Records fall Saturday

FINAL RESULTS | PHOTOS (SLC) 

NEW ORLEANS – The University of New Orleans Track and Field Programs capped off another successful campaign with a third-place finish by the Privateer women, and a sixth- place finish by the Privateer men at the 2023 Southland Outdoor Championships. The women’s finish and point total are the best in school history by either the men’s or women’s team in any conference.

The first of three school records to fall on Saturday was the women’s 4×100 relay. Aisha Johnson, Vivette Green, Helen Baumgarten, and Alimot Alowonle clocked in at 45.55, breaking the previous mark set earlier this season at the Battle on the Bayou by .10 seconds. The foursome finished with a bronze medal and picked up six early points for UNO.

Nicholaus Smith, who was denied a long jump record by teammate Christopher Murphy on Friday afternoon, set a new triple jump mark for the Privateers on Saturday. All five of Smith’s jumps would have broken the mark he set back at the Louisiana Classics earlier this year, but he saved his best for last – a 15.39m leap to finish fourth.

Jayden Sloan became the third Southland Champion in three days for the Privateers after capturing the 400-meter hurdles crown with a school record time of 51.19 – just edging Constant Pretorius’ record from 2014 (51.2).  The Abilene native shaved four tenths of a second off his personal best while winning Southland gold.

The Privateer women dominated the 1500-meter finals on Saturday with Alexandra Weir taking silver with a time of 4:36.47, Tshwanelo Maruping taking bronze just behind her in 4:36.75 and Anna Martin finishing fourth in 4:41.35.

Both Privateer distance squads placed four inside the top-10 of the 5,000-meter races. For the women Rebecca DeKay was just three seconds shy of her second championship of the weekend finishing in 17:38.15, Ariana Jimenez finished right behind her in third place with a time of 17:38.71 with Maruping (7^th place) and Oxana Bonjorn-Giros (10^th place) rounding out the top-10.

In the men’s 5K, it was Kolyn Saltzman who was a step shy of a second championship after finishing in 14:57.28. Evan Pardo finished in fifth with a time of 15:09.64, Matthew Hansen finished in seventh with a time of 15:16.25 and Gary Sandrock finished ninth in 15:29.29.

Other Privateer highlights on Saturday included Elliott Cummings finishing third in the men’s 100, Sarinity Bracey finishing third in the women’s 100 hurdles, Kelvin Chiku and Jaden Forester finishing third and fourth in the men’s 1500, and Quinton Collins setting a new personal best with a 1.88 meter clearance in the high jump.

Lamar won their first ever women’s title with a tally of 155 points, while the UIW men captured an SLC “Triple Crown” after winning the league’s Cross Country, indoor Track and Field and outdoor Track and field championships with 142 points.

PRIVATEER RESULTS
Men’s High Jump
T13 Quinton Collins 1.88m pb 

Women’s Triple Jump
9 Alimot Alowonle 11.92m

Men’s Triple Jump
4 Nicholaus Smith 15.89m pb SCHOOL RECORD (5pts)

Men’s Javeline
14 Trace Williams 40.49m

Women’s’ 4×100
3 Aisha Johnson, Vivette Green, Helen Baumgarten, Alimot Alowonle 45.55 (6pts)

Men’s 4×100
4 Melancon, Cummings, Sloan, Cummings 40.00 (5pts)

Women’s 1500

2 Alexandra Weir 4:36.47 (8pts)

3 Tshwanelo Maruping 4:36.75 (6pts)

4 Anna Martin 4:45.35 (5pts)

Men’s 1500
3 Kelvin Chiku 3:58.06 (6pts)
4 Jaden Forester 3:58.08 (5pts)
11 Cade Litolff 4:02.22
12 Mason Appleton 4:06.78

Women’s 100 Hurdles

3 Sarinity Bracey 13.77 (6pts)
8 Helen Baumgarten 14.87 (1pt)

Men’s 110 Hurdles

7 Jorim Bangue 14.39 (2pts)

Women’s 100

5 Aisha Johnson 11.68 (4pts)
8 Vivette Green 12.17 (1pt)

Men’s 100
3 Elliott Cummings 10.13 (6pts)
Women’s 800
3 Alexandra Weir 2:12.73 (6pts)
8 Anna Martin 2:29.81 (1pt)

Men’s 800
8 Kelvin Chiku 2:02 (1pt)

Men’s 400 Hurdles
1 Jayden Sloan 51.19 pb SCHOOL RECORD (10pts) 

Women’s 200
8 Vivette Green 24.81 (1pt)

Women’s 5K

2 Rebecca DeKay 17:38.15 (8pts)
3 Ariana Jimenez 17:38.71 (6pts)
7 Tshwanelo Maruping 18:06.85 (2pts)
10 Oxana Bonjorn-Giros 18:35.03
14 Michelle Folk 19:03.07

19 Holly Hedrick 19:49.24

Men’s 5K

2 Kolyn Saltzman 14:57.26 (8pts)
5 Evan Pardo 15:09.64 (3pts)
7 Matthew Hansen 15:16.25 (2pts)
9 Gary Sandrock 15:29.39
19 Jaden Forester15:56.15

21 Alex Soileau 16:11.73

Women’s 4×400
6 Helen Baumgarten, Trinity Bracey, Sarinity Bracey, Alimot Alowonle 3:51.50 (3pts) 

Men’s 4×400
8 Jayden Sloan, Kelvin Chiku, Mason Melancon, Ellis Cummings 3:14.80 (1pt) 

MEN’S FINAL STANDINGS
1 UIW 142 points
2 Northwestern State 116.5
3 Texas A&M Commerce 108
4 Southeastern 100
5 McNeese State 89
6 New Orleans 79.5
7 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 77
8 Lamar 52
9 Houston Christian 51

WOMEN’S FINAL STANDINGS
1 Lamar 155 points
2 Northwestern State 145 points
3 New Orleans 98 points
4 Houston Christian 87.5 points
5 Texas A&M Commerce 79 points
6 McNeese State 76 points
7 UIW 67 points
8 Southeastern 61.5 points
9 Texas A&M Corpus Christi 35 points
10 Nicholls 14 points 

HEAD COACH BROCK MOREAUX
“I am so proud of what our team was able to accomplish on both the men’s and women’s side. During these championship events, rarely do things go like we plan, and we did a fantastic job of adjusting and helping each other through a big team day.” 

“Finishing third for the women was a big goal for us. It had to be an overall effort, and we had so many people step up today. “ 

“A women’s 4×100 school record, finishing second, third and fourth in the women’s 1500, Sarinity in the 100 hurdles, Alex coming back in the 800, and the big finishing points by Rebecca and Ariana in the 5k – It was a true team day, and it was exciting to witness. Great day to be a Privateer.” 

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