The South Alabama Track and Field program recorded 19 event wins and several new personal bests at the USA Invitational, which marked the team’s outdoor season opener on March 14.
The strong showing highlights the Jaguars’ depth across both track and field events as they began their spring campaign. The meet took place at Jaguar Track in Mobile, Alabama.
Brody Hamilton led the way on the track by winning the men’s 100 meters with a time of 10.53 seconds, tying for ninth fastest in program history. Marlon Miller added a victory in the men’s 400 meters, finishing in 48.69 seconds. In hurdles events, Omari Taylor won the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.52 seconds, while Kayden Engel secured first place in the women’s 400-meter hurdles at 1:03.85.
Relay teams also contributed to South Alabama’s success. The men’s 4×100 relay team—composed of Kelvin Jones, Will Fredrick, Alex Johnson, and Hamilton—finished first with a time of 40.88 seconds, matching the tenth fastest mark in school history. The men’s 4×400 relay squad of Garnes, Avery Childress, Johnson, and Miller closed out the day with a win in 3:17.42.
In field events, Reuben Booysen stood out by winning both the men’s hammer throw (59.30 meters) and javelin (68.97 meters). Samuel Mika captured first place in men’s discus with a throw of 49.09 meters, while Logan Nienaber led a one-two finish for South Alabama in women’s discus at 45.69 meters.
Iyana Johnson claimed victories in both women’s hammer throw (59.32 meters) and triple jump (12.09 meters), while Dawson Wright won women’s shot put with a mark of 14.25 meters.
Jonathan Henderson cleared 2.15 meters to win men’s high jump and move into second all-time for South Alabama in that event; Engel added another win by clearing 1.71 meters to take women’s high jump honors. Terek Logan set a personal best by clearing 5.30 meters to win men’s pole vault; Diana Goodman matched that success on the women’s side with a clearance of 3.65 meters.
Diego Dougan rounded out horizontal jumps victories by taking first place in men’s triple jump with a leap of 14.69 meters.
Looking ahead, South Alabama Track & Field will compete next at LSU’s Opener on Saturday, March 21.
