South Alabama’s track and field teams concluded their regular season by setting four new program records during competitions at the Music City Challenge in Nashville and the Samford Bulldog Invite in Birmingham.
Charleen Elizondo set two school records over the weekend. She finished fourth overall in the women’s mile at the Music City Challenge with a time of 4:41.70, breaking the previous program record by 0.84 seconds. The following day, she broke another school record in the 3000 meters, finishing with a time of 9:40.04.
Freshman Brady Keller also delivered notable performances, establishing a new men’s mile record with a time of 4:01.70 to finish fifth overall on Friday. He returned to place second in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:17.97.
In field events, Jonathan Henderson cleared 2.16 meters (7-1) in the high jump, setting a new school record and winning his event by four inches over his nearest competitor. Aubrey Evans finished fourth among women in her high jump competition with a mark of 1.64 meters.
The Jaguars saw success in pole vault as well, where Will Frederick achieved a runner-up finish after clearing 5.32 meters (17-5½). Teammate Terek Logan secured third place by clearing 5.17 meters (16-11½).
On the track, freshman Nieko Garnes won his first collegiate race in the unseeded final of the 400 meters with a time of 47.94 seconds—ranking as the sixth-fastest time in South Alabama history.
Other podium finishes included Jadon Thomason’s third place result in the men’s 60-meter hurdles (7.99) and Presleigh Montalvo’s third-place finish in the women’s 60 meters (7.51). Jordan Morrison placed third in the men’s 800 meters at 1:51.63.
At the Samford Bulldog Invite, Akasha Dudley took first place in shot put with a personal best throw of 13.86 meters (45-5¾).
“South Alabama turns its focus to the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, set for Feb. 23–24.”
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