HOUSTON — Southern University turned in a strong two-day performance at the Robert Platt Invitational on Jan. 30–31, highlighted by record-setting marks and quality finishes across the sprints, jumps, throws and relays.
 
The Jaguars were led in the field by senior Roman Smith, who stole the spotlight in the high jump after clearing 2.15 meters (7-0.50). The effort stands as the top HBCU mark this season and ranks 20th nationally. Freshman Keith Fowler continued his impressive collegiate debut season with a clearance of 2.05m (6-8.75), while Landon Gibbs added depth with a 2.00m (6-6.75) jump.
 
Southern also found success in the horizontal jumps, paced by Koi Wedderburn's 7.23m (23-8.75) leap in the long jump. Reginald King followed at 6.66m (21-10.25), with Demarion Sowell close behind at 6.46m (21-2.50). On the women's side, Peyton Funderburk led the Jaguars with a 5.84m (19-2.00) mark, while Azariah Foster added a 5.46m (17-11.00) effort.
 
On the track, junior Tashina Alase continued her strong indoor campaign, posting an 8.14 in the 60-meter hurdles while also contributing in the sprints. Rondisa Williams (24.97) and T'La Dewitt (25.54) paced Southern in the women's 200 meters, while Omari Dupas (23.24) and Austin Willis (23.30) led the men's side.
 
In the 400 meters, Marcus Delcy (49.81) and Darryl Washington (49.89) both dipped under 50 seconds, while Dewitt highlighted the women's quarter-mile with a 58.28 showing. Middle-distance efforts were anchored by Delcy (1:54.28) and Keeton Johnson (1:55.18) in the men's 800, with London Harden (2:25.55) and Rayah Arnold (2:32.54) representing Southern in the women's race.
 
The Jaguars also made their presence felt in the throws. Michael Fulton led the men with a 16.19m (53-1.50) mark in the weight throw and added 15.78m (51-9.25) in the shot put. Ariyonna Edmond paced the women's weight throw at 15.96m (52-4.50), while freshmen Mar'Rica Trone (12.09m/39-8.00) and Ayanna Hunt (11.59m/38-0.25) turned in solid performances in the shot put.
 
Southern closed the weekend with a strong relay showing as the women's "A" 4x400-meter relay team of Taylor Hankton, Williams, Alase and Dewitt clocked 3:49.60 to earn a new HBCU top 10 mark. The "B" squad followed with a 4:08.41 finish, capping a productive meet for the Jaguars.
 
Up Next
Southern heads to Birmingham, Alabama next weekend for a pair of meets hosted by UAB at the Birmingham CrossPlex, the site of the SWAC Indoor Championships in three weeks. The Jaguars will compete at the UAB Green and Gold Invite on Feb. 6, followed by the UAB Invite on Feb. 7.

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