BIRMINGHAM, AL –  The Southern University track and field teams competed at the Samford Invite in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday. The Jaguars and Lady Jaguars came away with impressive finishes that put them in good position for the Southwestern Athletic Conference indoor championship in February at the same venue, Birmingham CrossPlex.
 
Lawrenee' Hart started things early for Southern in the women's weight throw. Hart launched a personal best of 16.28m, 53 feet 5 inches, to finish seventh. For the men, Charvares Wilson came away with a distance of 15.10m, 49 feet 6.5 inches, on his second attempt to place ninth.
 
The men's shot put would see Keenan Villery get a distance of 14.66m, 48 feet 1.25 inches, on his third throw to give him a seventh-place finish.
 
After an impressive opening meet as a Lady Jaguar last weekend, Azariah Foster would get a podium finish with a 5.27m long jump, 17 feet 3.5 inches, giving her third. She would finish with five-of-six jumps over 16 feet. Karanay Alexander would finish with a distance of 4.91m, 16 feet 1.5 inches, for a 10th-place finish. The men's side would see Maliek Bush increase his distance in all six attempts, until his final jump of 6.94m, 22 feet 9.25 inches, would land him in third. Kevon Hamilton would finish sixth with a distance of 6.76m, 22 feet 2.25 inches. Davonte White finished ninth with a distance of 6.46m, 21 feet 2.5 inches, in his first try in the jumps as a Jaguar.
 
Bush came back for his third event of the day, after completing the long jump and 60m hurdles. This time he would attempt the high jump and on his second attempt at 1.9m, 6 feet 2.75 inches, he cleared the bar and grab another third-place finish. Camille Lewis and Sahnya Lathon would attempt the high jump for the first time as Lady Jaguars and would finish fifth and sixth, respectively. Lewis would finish with a height of 1.65m, 5 feet 5 inches, while Lathon would finish at 1.60m, 5 feet 3 inches.
 
During the triple jump, Yahria Bass and Foster would finish inside the top-10. Bass would finish sixth with an impressive distance of 11.13m, 36 feet 6.25 inches, on two separate attempts. Foster would have her final attempt measure 10.98m, 36 feet 0.25 inches, for an eighth-place finish. Demarion Sowell would be the only Jaguar to attempt the triple jump. He would finish with 14.06m, 46 feet 1.5 inches, to land fourth.
 
Trinity Bolden would easily win her prelim heat with a time 7.54 to qualify for the finals. In the finals, she would finish second with a time of 7.41, narrowly missing her personal best of 7.40. Bolden now holds the three fastest times in the SWAC this season. DeAnthony Nervis would do the same on the men's side. Nervis would win his heat with a time of 6.87 to qualify third and in the finals he moved his position up one spot to second at 6.807, edging out third place by 0.002 seconds. Clydeterrious Thompson would qualify for the finals with a time of 6.93, but would be edged out of sixth by 0.003 seconds to finish seventh with a time of 6.904.
 
In the 60m hurdles, Daisa McKissic would win her prelim heat with a time of 8.88 before running a 9.06 for a seventh-place finish in the finals. Her prelim time would give her the top mark in the conference. Jordan Thompson would qualify on the men's side with a time of 8.02. He would move into third in the finals with a time of 8.03. Bush and Hamilton would set a personal best in the prelims with times of 8.56 and 8.77, respectively.
 
Shani Simon and Sierra Sessions would both land inside the top-10 in the women's 400m. Simon finished sixth with a solid time of 58.97, while Sessions came in 10th at 1:00.84.
 
Lewis would be the only Lady Jaguar to take the track for the women's 800m. She would improve her time from the previous meet and move into the SWAC lead with a 2:18.82, a third place finish in the meet. Nichols Scott would also grab the SWAC lead for the men with a time of 1:53.91, taking home the Samford Invite gold in the process. Rushane Millier would also better his time with a 1:56.54, placing him just outside the podium in fourth.
 
Malaysia Sinegal would give the Lady Jaguars a top-10 finish in the women's 200m when she finished with a time of 26.00 for a 10th place showing. Nervis would be another Southern athlete to take over the top spot in the conference with a time of 21.62 for a third-place finish.
 
In the final event of the day, the team of Simon, Trinity Kirk, Sinegal and Lewis would improve the time in the 4x400 to 3:53.23, putting them just 1.14 seconds outside the top spot in the conference. Their time would be enough to finish third in the meet. For the men, the team of Jordan Thompson, Scott, Miller and Clydeterrious Thompson would finish with a time of 3:19.00 for fourth.
 
UP NEXT
Southern will be back at the Birmingham CrossPlex for the Samford Open on Saturday.

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