The 2024 track and field indoor season has now ended as they take a huge leap and start their outdoor 2024 season.
To end their indoor season, the men and women went to the Sun Belt Conference championship, held in Birmingham, Alabama on Feb. 19. The Cajuns started off in third place and 32 points, including a pair of podium finishes.
Tyree Hannah won the weight throw with 63 feet 2.25 inches. Oliver Jack also scored for Louisiana with a throw of 57 feet 8.5 inches, good enough for fifth place.
The men’s distance meter relay team of Peyton Chaisson, Jarell Joseph, Joseph Patterson, and Reece Shelby claimed silver with a time of 10:05.30. They also scored in the pole vault with Teodor Borguis (16 feet 1.75 inches) and Nick Russell (15 feet 7.75 inches) taking fifth and sixth.
The women earned points in the distance meter relay, with the team of Alexandra Johnson, Haley Salsbury, Ella Segura, Brooke Spalitta, placing seventh at 12:13.22.
Federico Bovo is fourth in the heptathlon and headed into the final three events. Chaisson and Shelby both qualified for the final in the mile.
Louisiana came to run in the men’s 60-meter, with half the final field consisting of Cajuns. Chris Gravois and Trejun Jones led the way with identical 6.798 times and are tied for second. Floyd Pond (6.86) and Jamhad Booth (6.89) also advanced to the finals.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Cole Palmer represents Louisiana the next day after his 8.17 time. Jones, Mekhi Boutte, and Booth will run in the 200-meter final after running in third, fourth and seventh respectively.
Javed Jones ran his way in the 400-meter finals with a season’s best of 48.75. A pair of Cajuns will also compete in the 800-meter final, with Patterson and Andrew Leck running in third and fourth, less than a second off the top qualifying time.
Day two of the Sun Belt Conference was Feb. 20. For the fourth straight year the men of the Louisiana track and field finished in the top three of the indoor championships. They finished third overall with 106 points, narrowly edging out Texas State with 104.
Kennedy London won the women’s 60-meter hurdles by 0.02 seconds and tied the program record in the event with a time of 8.27. Taylor Davis had a strong day, taking second in the high jump at 5 feet 7.75 inches and fifth in the triple jump at 40 feet 6.25 inches. Overall, the women placed ninth with 41 points.
Trejun Jones had a pair of third place finishes by that afternoon. Jones began the day by running a 6.79 in the 60-meter before clocking in at 21.37 in the 200-meter. Right behind him in fourth in the 60 was Jamhad Booth at 6.88 seconds, a season best. Booth also finished fifth in the 200 with a time of 21.83, finishing just behind teammate Mekhi Boutte at 21.72 seconds.
Peyton Chaisson earned more hardware with a third-place finish in the mile with a time of 4:09.66, a day after earning silver in the distance meter relay. Joseph Patterson (1:53.51) and Andrew Leck (1:53.90) finished third and fourth in the 800-meter.
In the 400-meter, Javed Jones scored with a fourth-place finish in 48.11. Louisiana closed the day with a silver medal in the 4×400- meter relay with Mekhi Boutte, Cameron Scott, Antoni Hoyte-Small and Javed Jones crossing the finish line in 3:13.43.
Lauren Roberts took fifth in the pole vault with a jump of 12 feet 8.75 inches, the second highest jump in program history. Isabelle Russell also etched her name in the record books with a 10:01.39 in the 3k.
The women’s and men’s Track and Field indoor season has officially come to an end, and they started out their outdoor season on March 9, at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
The day started with a back-to-back finish on the top of the podium in the pole vault. Jordan Brown and Lauren Roberts both cleared 11 feet 5.75 inches, but Brown cleared it on first attempt to take first place.
The women continued to dominate by taking the top two spots in the 4×200-meter relay. The team of Ta’La Spates, Moseiha Bridgen, Amairi Ashford, and Mari Robinson crossed the finish line in first with a time of 1:39.45. Just behind them with a time of 1:41.94 in second place were Jaala Thymes, Kenzie Touchet, Quincy Simon and Kayla Meyers.
In the men’s 4×200-meter, Trejun Jones, Mekhi Boutte, Jamhad Booth, and Warick Baker finished second with a time of 1:26.57. The men continued to have a good day in the relays. In the SMR, Booth, Floyd Pond, Javed Jones, and Andrew Leck placed second at 3:35.54. They closed the day with a third place showing in the 4×400-meter relay with Caemon Scott, Antoni Hoyte-Small, Javed Jones and Mekhi Boutte crossing the finish line at 3:20.87
Louisiana also had a big day for field events. Reem Tamman had a big day with a pair of podium finishes. She placed first in the triple jump with 38 feet 7 inches while taking second in the long jump with 18 feet 5.75 inches.
In the men’s long jump, Montrell Morris claimed third with a jump of 22 feet 5 inches. Morris also took third in the triple jump, clearing 44 feet 11.75 inches. Jeremy Nelsonwon the gold in the triple jump with a distance of 48 feet 8.75 inches.
Closing the day, Kennedy Washington finished second in the high jump at 5 feet 3 inches while Mason Abshire took third in the men’s pole vault at 13 feet 1.5 inches.
Louisiana is back in action this weekend as they host the Louisiana Classics beginning Saturday, March 16.