Tigers Men's Team Runner-up At Conference Meet

Saturday, February 24

Birmingham, Ala.

All Day

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Men's Shot Put, 2017-18 Men's Track and Field

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Feb 24, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

2018 The American Men's Results (All Events)2018 The American Women's Results (All Events)

Memphis sweeps the men's shot put, Vaughn wins title.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – University of Memphis' Luke Vaughn led a group of 10 all-league performers (13 honors) with his men's shot put title in second-day action at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Saturday.

Vaughn was one of nine all-conference honorees for the Tigers men's team that finished as the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships runner-up (107 points). It is the program's highest finish at a conference indoor meet since joining The American in July of 2013. The women's squad placed 10^th at the conference meet.

Vaughn, who won bronze in the men's weight throw Friday, claimed the first league indoor crown (gold) of his career with a conference meet record and school record throw of 61-5 (18.72m).

Junior Saida Burns-Moore led the women's team with its lone all-conference performance. She placed second in the women's high jump (silver).

Tigers Tidbits/The American Championships Day 2 Highlights

The Tigers men's team runner-up finish is the best at a conference indoor meet since Memphis won the Tennessee Interscholastic Athletic Conference (TIAC) title in 1959. The Tigers also had second-place finishes at a conference indoor championships meet in 1980 (Metro), 1992 (Great Midwest) and 1993 (Great Midwest).
Memphis placed second at the conference meet despite missing three former champions. LaForrest Church (2016 800m champion), Olushola Olojo (2017 triple jump champion) and Jordan Wesner (2017 high jump champion) did not compete due to injuries this weekend.
Graduate student Luke Vaughn's 61-5 (18.72m) shot put effort broke the previous school record of 59-7 (18.16m) by nearly two feet. He held that previous school record, which he set at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
Vaughn's school record was the second one set at this weekend's conference meet. Freshman DeeNia McMiller's 65-3.25 (19.89m) weight throw Friday set the school mark in that event.
Vaughn earned his fifth career All-American Athletic Conference Indoor honor by winning the shot put crown. He was a double all-conference performer for the second time in his career this weekend (1^st, shot put/3^rd, weight throw). He also was a two-time all-league honoree at the 2015 indoor meet (3^rd, shot put; 2^nd, weight throw).
Eight Tigers earned All-American Athletic Conference indoor honors for the first time in their careers Saturday: Calvin Austin (men's 200m, men's 4x400m relay), Brock Ballard (men's mile), Saida Burns-Moore (women's high jump), Ryan Champlin (men's 4x400m relay), Adam Neelly (men's shot put), Jarred Pasley (men's 400m, men's 4x400m relay), Aaron Persinger (men's 60m hurdles) and Rafael Vallery (men's shot put).
The Tigers men's 4x400 meter relay placed second Saturday, marking the third-straight year the team posted a top-two finish (2^nd in 2016/1^st in 2017).
Junior Davon DeMoss won the second and third All-American Athletic Conference accolades of his career Saturday. DeMoss was third in the men's 200 meters and also ran a leg on the second-place 4x400 meter relay. He placed third in the men's 60 meters at the 2017 conference meet for his first career all-league honor.
Senior Brock Ballard earned the first all-conference honor of his career with a third-place finish in the men's mile (4:12.06). It was the first time that Ballard ran the mile at the conference meet. His previous-highest finish at a league indoor meet was a fourth-place performance as a member of the Tigers distance medley relay (2015, 2017).
Tigers that set personal-bests Saturday included: Calvin Austin (men's 200m), Brock Ballard (men's mile), Saida Burns-Moore (women's high jump), Kate Hise (women's shot put), Mona Jaidi (women's shot put), Adam Neelly (men's shot put), Jarred Pasley (men's 400m), Aaron Persinger (men's 60m hurdles), Paige Sandwell (women's mile), Rafael Vallery (men's shot put) and Luke Vaughn (men's shot put).
Sophomore Paige Sandwell improved her time in the mile over 20 seconds since her first run in the event as a freshman last season. Her first time was 5:19.18 at the 2017 SIU/Don DeNoon Invitational (Feb. 3-4, 2017), and Saturday, she ran the mile in a time of 4:59.15.
Saida Burns-Moore's 5-8 (1.73m) mark in the women's high jump Saturday improved her personal-best by an inch. Her previous-best (5-7; 1.70m) was set a week earlier at Southeast Missouri's Redhawks Open.
Senior ToNaya Gulley finished sixth in the women's 60-meter hurdles Saturday, her best career finish in the event at a conference indoor meet.

2018 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships
Team Scores

Men's Finish	Team	Score	Women's Finish	Team	Score
1.	Houston	139	1.	Cincinnati	147
2.	*Memphis*	*107*	2.	SMU	85
3.	Wichita State	103	3.	Connecticut	74
4.	Connecticut	93.5	4.	ECU	72.8
5.	Cincinnati	82	5.	Houston	64
6.	Tulsa	65	6.	Temple	51
7.	USF	36	7.	Tulane	41
8.	ECU	35.5	8.	UCF	33
			9.	USF	32.8
			*10.*	*Memphis*	27
			11.	Tulsa	18
			12.	Wichita State	16.3

Memphis Men's Results
60m – 4. Davon DeMoss, 6.76; 6. Andrew Bishop, 6.78
200m – 2. Calvin Austin, 21.26; 3. Davon DeMoss, 21.33; 4. Andrew Bishop, 21.54
400m – 2. Jarred Pasley, 47.06; 5. Ryan Champlin, 47.47
Mile – 3. Brock Ballard, 4:12.06; 7. Matthew Kamph, 4:15.12; 8. Matthew Viveiros, 4:18.11
3000m – 28. Brock Ballard, 8:54.54; 31. Matthew Viveiros, 8:57.57
60m Hurdles – 2. Aaron Persinger, 8.02
4x400m Relay – 2. Memphis, 3:11.81 (Davon DeMoss, Calvin Austin, Ryan Champlin, Jarred Pasley)
Shot Put – 1. Luke Vaughn, 61-5 (18.72m); 2. Rafael Vallery, 58-5.75 (17.82m); 3. Adam Neelly, 57-9 (17.60m); 16. Parker Evans, 47-0.75 (14.34m)

Memphis Women's Results
60m – 8. Cera Chavez, 7.71
400m – 6. Paris Perkins, 56.65
Mile – 9. Paige Sandwell, 4:59.15
3000m – 11. Arnica Zitting, 9:54.18; 35. Paige Sandwell, 10:20.22
60m Hurdles – 6. ToNaya Gulley, 8.68
High Jump – 2. Saida Burns-Moore, 5-8 (1.73m)
Triple Jump – 5. Saida Burns-Moore, 40-1.5 (12.23m)
Shot Put – 10. Mona Jaidi, 47-1.5 (14.36m); 11. DeeNia McMiller, 46-8.75 (14.24m); 13. Nina de Poorter, 44-1.5 (13.45m); 15. Kate Hise, 43-3.75 (13.20m)