Three School Records Fall on Day Two at AAC Championships

Monday, February 29

Birmingham, Ala.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Three School Records Fall on Day Two at AAC Championships

Feb 29, 2016 | Men's Track and Field

Tigers finish fifth in men's competition.

By: Tammy DeGroff

MEMPHIS – Three school records fell and the Memphis men's track and field squad finished fifth on the second day of the 2016 American Athletic Conference indoor championships at the Birmingham Crossplex, Monday.

Senior Luis Hanssler broke his own school and meet record with a repeat win in the heptathlon. Needing at least 792 points from the final heptathlon event, Hanssler crossed the line in the 1,000 meter run in 2:47.39, good for 793 points and a one point improvement on his winning score from last season, finishing with 5,445 points.

In the 800-meter run, Memphis grabbed another victory and school record. Junior LaForrest Church took the lead with 100-meters to go and breezed to the line in 1:48.13, setting a Metroplex facility record and breaking the Memphis indoor record of 1.49.02 set by Aaron Evans in 2009. Teammate Alex Klatt also scored in the 800-meter finals, crossing the line seventh in 1:54.34.

In the final event of the afternoon, the Tigers went after the 4x400 meter title. The team of Chris Walker, Alex Klatt, Antaun Andrews and Church got edged for the win by Cincinnati, but did erase a school record from 1983, besting the mark of 3:15.50 held by Hill, Lacey, Golden and Cowan by almost two full seconds (3:13.55).

Also on Monday, freshman Davon DeMoss, who tied the indoor school record in the 60-meters on Sunday with a 6.73 in the prelims, finished sixth in the finals with a 6.82. Memphis also picked up points in the mile run when senior Corentin Louis finished in 4:14.79, good for seventh overall and two points toward the team score.

In the field events, freshmen Jordan Wesner and Olushola Olojo both recorded silver medal finishes while senior Yannik Schaly tallied a bronze in the shot put. Wesner tied for second in the high jump, clearing 2.06 meters, while Olojo finished second in the triple jump, flying 15.19 meters in his first collegiate indoor championship meet. Schaly finished third in the shot with a 17.60 meter put and teammates Wade Wells (16.22 meters) and Rafael Vallery (15.96 meters) finished seventh and eighth, respectively, to add to the team points. Hanssler's win in the heptathlon was good for 10 points for the team total and Memphis finished the two-day championships with 71 points, six behind Cincinnati.

Houston edged Tulsa for the team title, 152-147, while UConn finished third with 94 points.

The next meet on the schedule for the Tigers will be the NCAA Championships, which begin Mar. 11^th. The indoor championships will be hosted at the same facility that just hosted the conference meet, the Birmingham Crossplex.

Memphis Men's Results
60m (Finals) – 6. Davon DeMoss, 6.82
Mile Run (Finals) – 7. Corentin Louis, 4:14.79
800 Meter Run (Finals) – 1. LaForrest Church, 1:48.13 (Meet, Facility and Memphis record); 7. Alex Klatt, 1:54.34
3000-Meter Run – 12. Matthew Viveiros, 8:39.04; 20. Brock Ballard, 8:47.69
4x400 Relay – 2. Memphis (Chris Walker, Alex Klatt, Antaun Andrews, LaForrest Church), 3:13.55 (Memphis Record)
Distance Medley Relay – 5. Memphis (Brock Ballard, Jason Kimmet, Aaron Willett, Matthew Viveiros), 10:10.42
High Jump – T2. Jordan Wesner, 2.06 meters
Triple Jump – 2. Olushola Olojo, 15.19 meters
Shot Put – 3. Yannik Schaly, 17.60 meters; 7. Wade Wells, 16.22 meters; 8. Rafael Vallery, 15.96 meters
Heptathlon – 1. Luis Hanssler, 5445 points (Meet and School Record)