The Lee University Women’s Track & Field Team completed its comeback to win the 2017 Gulf South Conference Championship Saturday afternoon at historic Barron Stadium. The Flames settled into the third-place spot in the men’s competition.
The Lady Flames used seven gold medal performances on Saturday to finish with 200 points and win the title by 34 points over their closest competitor. Shorter University was second (166) and Alabama Huntsville was third (162).
Jessica Childers was named Most Outstanding Track Performer and Most Outstanding Overall Performer. The senior was first in the 1500-meter (4:51.24) and 5000-meter (18:36.33) runs and added a third-place finish in the 800-meter run (2:15.90). Childers was second in the 3000-meter steeplechase Friday night.
Camilla Sims earned the designation of Most Outstanding Freshman and Most Outstanding Field Performer of the meet. After hitting gold in the shot put on Friday, Sims added another gold medal with a 35.31 toss in the discus throw.
Charlee Boxall, Blakely Moore, Madison Hodges and Lily Fell joined Childers in the 1500-meter run. Boxall was fourth (5:00.11) and Moore finished seventh (5:06.45). Hodges cross the finish line in 11th (5:18.10) and Fell was 13th (5:28.27).
Audrey Smith and Amy Carpenter followed Childers across the finish line of the 5000-meter run to give the Lady Flames ownership of the top three spots. Smith finished the race at 18:37.04, while Carpenter recorded a time of 18:39.16. Becca Umbarger was sixth (18:56.69) and Logan Hernandez was 11th (19:36.02).
Cayce Bryan set a new GSC Championship record with a time of 2:13.15 in the 800-meter run. Boxall placed sixth (2:21.48) and Lacey Duvall was 10th (2:28.41).
Adrian Martin broke her own GSC Championship records from last year to win both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Martin posted a time of 11.66 in the 100-meter and stopped the clock at 23.70 in the 200-meter. Kiley Brock finished fourth (12.23) in the 100-meter and was sixth (25.29) in the 200-meter.
Nicolette Gordon earned gold in the pole vault in her first time competing in two years. The freshman recorded a height of 3.20 meters.
Hannah Buttolph placed fifth in the high jump after clearing 1.63 meters and Jordan Allison placed fourth (1:05.32) in the 400-meter hurdles. The women’s 4x400-meter relay team finished in sixth with a time of 4:09.73.
The Lady Flames finished the meet with the most medals. Lee won 10 gold, three silver and three bronze for 16 total.
Seven Lady Flames earned GSC First Team All-Conference honors by placing first in their individual event. Receiving the mentions were: Allison (heptathlon), Sims (shot put and discus), Smith (3000-meter steeplechase), Childers (1500-meter and 5000-meter), Gordon (pole vault), Martin (100-meter and 200-meter) and Bryan (800-meter).
Earning Second Team All-Conference were Smith (10000-meter and 5000-meter) and Childers (3000-meter steeplechase).
The Flames added three gold medals on Saturday and concluded the meet with 108 points. Alabama Huntsville (262) and Shorter (234) ran away from the rest of the field to finish first and second, respectively. Mississippi College was fourth with 81 points.
Harold Smith placed first with a time of 3:56.65 in the 1500-meter run. Brandon Raleigh was fifth (4:05.53) and Moises Ponce was eighth (4:06.66).
Smith, Raleigh and Ponce were joined by Alex Carter in the 800-meter run. Smith had Lee’s top finish at second (1:54.44). Raleigh was eighth (1:59.23) and Carter was ninth (1:59.40). Ponce crossed the line at 2:00.49 (12th).
Christian Noble led a contingent of five Flames in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:26.55. Seth Eagleson was second with a time of 15:31.33. Tucker Hindle finished the race at 16:33.02 (10th) and Thomas Kelton was right behind in 11th (16:36.83), while James Guthrie was 17th (17:50.55).
Justin Brooks bested his own GSC Championship record from last year with a mark of 47.09 in winning the 400-meter dash. He also finished third (21.02) in the 200-meter dash with Josiah Brooks in fourth at 21.19. Josiah added a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.58.
Matthew Wilson and Chase Warren were the Lee representatives in the discus throw. Warren placed seventh with a toss of 34.34 meters and Wilson finished 19th (24.22 meters).
The men’s 4x400-meter relay team finished in third with a time of 3:24.04.
The Flames finished third in the medal count with five gold, two silver and three bronze. Josiah Brooks (triple jump), Christian Noble (3000-meter steeplechase and 5000-meter), Smith (1500-meter) and Justin Brooks (400-meter) earned GSC First Team All-Conference recognition. Smith (800-meter) and Eagleson (5000-meter) made the Second Team All-Conference list.
DAY TWO – FRIDAY
The Lady Flames and Flames combined for five gold medals on the second day of the Gulf South Conference Track & Field Championships.
Jordan Allison, Camilla Sims and Audrey Smith claimed first place finishes for the women with Josiah Brooks and Christian Noble completing the task for the men.
Allison set a new heptathlon record for the GSC Championship, finishing with 4197 points. The freshman used a first place finish in the 800-meter run and placed third in the long jump and javelin throw Friday morning to secure the gold medal.
Sims set a GSC Championship record with a throw of 12.32 meters in winning the shot put. Alexis Stevens finished 14th (8.69 meters) in the event. Sims also placed fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 34.03 meters.
Smith led four Lady Flames into the top five of the 3000-meter steeplechase. The junior posted a time of 11:48.97 and Jessica Childers was right behind in second (11:49.27). Blakely Moore crossed the finish line at 12:01.43 for fourth and Becca Umbarger was fifth (12:15.64). Madison Hodges was the ninth runner across the finish line at 13:09.69.
Brooks broke the old conference record and his own personal best during the regular season with a distance of 15.21 meters in the triple jump.
Noble recorded a time of 9:17.58 to win the 3000-meter steeplechase by almost 10 seconds. His time also beat the previous GSC Championship record by seven seconds. Thomas Kelton placed third with a time of 9:34.12.
Hannah Buttolph placed 11th in the triple jump with a distance of 9.88 meters. Chase Warren was 12th (10.15 meters) in the shot put and Stephen Wilson was 10th in the hammer throw with a measurement of 21.61 meters.
Adrian Martin and Kiley Brock advanced to Saturday’s 100-meter dash final following Friday’s preliminary round. Martin had the top qualifying time (11.61) and Brock was seventh (12.23).