Tigers Track And Field Complete First Day At League Championships Sunday

Sunday, February 28

Birmingham, Ala.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Olushola Olojo, 2015-16 Men's Track and Field

Tigers Track And Field Complete First Day At League Championships Sunday

Feb 28, 2016 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

Amat-Fernandez wins pole vault, Olojo second in long jump.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Seniors Clara Amat-Fernandez and Carolina Carmichael placed first and second, respectively, in the pole vault, and Davon DeMoss tied a school record in the 60 meters to highlight the University of Memphis track and field squads' first-day action at the 2016 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Sunday.

The conference meet is being held at the Birmingham Crossplex, the site of the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships.

After day one, the Memphis women's squad is in third place with 32 points, with most coming from the pole vault event where three Tigers placed in the top-five. Six women's events were scored on the opening day.

On the men's side, the Tigers are in seventh place with 12 points, but only five events were scored. Memphis had competitors in three of the five scored events.

Amat-Fernandez won the pole vault title with an American Athletic Conference Championships record mark of 13-10. Her vault also was a personal best. Carmichael placed second behind Amat-Fernandez, and Dorina Baiker was fifth. The trio combined to score 23 of the team's 32 points.

For the men, DeMoss placed fourth in the 60m preliminaries and tied the school record in the event with a time of 6.73. The freshman from Jackson, Tenn., is tied with two others for the 60m record, with the last time coming in 2011. DeMoss qualified for the 60m finals on Monday.

In other women's action, Martine Bye finished third in the pentathlon with 3,799 points. Bye's third-place performance scored six points for the Tigers women's total. In the pentathlon, Bye had top-three finishes in the 800m (2^nd), shot put (2^nd) and high jump (3^rd).

Sydney Wright placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 19-1.5 (5.83m). Her sixth-place finish earned the Tigers three points.

In additional men's action, Olushola Olojo registered a second-place finish in the long jump. His personal-best jump of 23-7.5 (7.20m) scored eight points for the Memphis men's squad. The Memphis distance medley relay placed fifth and netted four points for the Tigers men's team total.

LaForrest Church and Alex Klatt both qualified for the 800m finals on Monday. Klatt earned his spot in the finals with a personal-best time of 1:49.34. Corentin Louis also moved on to Monday, qualifying in the mile with a time of 4:14.74.

Luis Hanssler continues the defense of his 2015 conference heptathlon crown Monday. The senior currently is in first place with 3,038 points. He posted top-three finishes in the long jump (1^st), shot put (2^nd) and 60m (3^rd) in the heptathlon.

The American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships conclude Monday, Feb. 29.

Memphis Men's Results
60m (P) – 4. Davon DeMoss, 6.73 (q)
400m (P) – 10. Christopher Walker, 49.23; 12. Antuan Andrews, 49.26; 13. Lucas Miller, 49.52; 16. Jason Kimmet, 49.58; 17. Michael Carey, 50.31; 21. Juan Paul Green, 55.36
800m (P) – 2. LaForrest Church, 1:50.62 (q); 3. Alex Klatt, 1:49.34 (q); 11. Matthew Kamph, 1:55.01; 15. Naaman Norment, 1:57.90; 16. Godfrey Fayne Jr., 2:05.99
Mile (P) – 9. Corentin Louis, 4:14.74 (q)
60m hurdles (P) – 11. Aaron Persinger, 8.30; 13. Aaron Willett, 8.41
Distance Medley Relay – 5. Memphis, 10:10.42
Long jump – 2. Olushola Olojo, 23-7.5 (7.20m); 9. Luis Hanssler, 22-5 (6.83m)
Weight throw – 19. Michael Criticos, 47-11 (14.62m)
Heptathlon (4 events completed) – 1. Luis Hanssler, 3038

Memphis Women's Results
400m (P) – 9. Destinee Lansden, 55.71; 21. Derriana Parrish, 58.10; 23. De'Vonni Farrar, 59.20
800m (P) – 12. Melinda Murdock, 2:15.11
Mile (P) – 3. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 4:53.73 (q)
60m hurdles (P) – 10. ToNaya Gulley, 8.72
Distance Medley Relay – 11. Memphis, 12:14.38
Pole vault – 1. Clara Amat-Fernandez, 13-10 (4.22); 2. Carolina Carmichael, 13-10 (4.22m); 5. Dorina Baiker, 12-6.25 (3.82m)
Long jump – 6. Sydney Wright, 19-1.5 (5.83m); 13. Chardae Greenlee, 18-0.5 (5.50m)
Pentathlon – 3. Martine Bye, 3799

(P) denotes preliminaries
(q) denotes qualified for finals