Thomas wins long jump; leads HBU women to eighth place finish at SLC championships

Photo by Michael Wade-Wade Event Photography.
Used with permission.

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2015 TexSport Publications

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA (February 18, 2015)With a jump of 5.88 meters (19 feet, 3.5 inches), Houston Baptist University sophomore Taylor Thomas (shown right) won the long jump at the Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships that concluded on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Thomas, who hails from Waller, Texas, gave the Huskies their first-ever track title and led the Huskies to eighth place in the women’s team standing with 28 points. Stephen F. Austin won the team title with 132.50 points, followed in second place by Sam Houston with 118 points. Lamar University finished in third with 106 points.

Kierstin Santana added eight team points with her second place in the 800-meter run. Her silver medal performance of 2:12.12 was less than a second behind Lamar’s Verity Ockenden first place finish (2:13.09). In addition, HBU sophomore Michelle Chukwujekwu placed sixth in the triple jump (11.58 meters/38 feet, 0 inches).

The Huskies also placed two relays in the top eight. The 4 x 400-meter relay consisting of Ericka Rodriguez, Jazmine Warden, Gbemisola Orundami, and Santana were fourth with the time of 3:47.34. The distance medley relay place seventh (12:33.98) with the foursome of Carolyn McClanahan, Roneisha Webb, Stephanie Aguilar, and Santana.

In the men’s division, the Huskies finished in tenth place with 14 points. Christian Guzman finished in fourth place in the 60-meter hurdles with the time of 8.21 seconds. Daniel Shelton added three team points with a sixth place finish in the 800-meter run (1:52.60) while Garrison Fick finished in sixth place in the heptathlon (4835 points)

In the relay events, the HBU group of Jordan Claypool, D’Anthony Graham, David Hicks, and Brice Christian placed seventh in the 4 x 400 relay. In the distance medley relay, the Huskies finished eighth (10:35.83) with the foursome of Jeremy Lewis, Cody Hammonds, Daniel Shelton, and Juan Fraga.