Tigers Sweep Men's Discus, Vaughn Takes Gold

Saturday, May 12

Cincinnati, Ohio

All Day

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Photo by: Matthew Smith

May 12, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

2018 American Athletic Conference Championships/Days 1-2 Results

Five Tigers earn all-conference honors in Saturday action at league meet.

CINCINNATI, Ohio – University of Memphis' Luke Vaughn won his second career league men's discus crown to lead the Tigers in second-day action at the 2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships Saturday. Vaughn won the title with a 189-6 (57.76m) effort.

Action at the conference meet, which is being held at the University of Cincinnati's Gettler Stadium, concludes Sunday.

The discus title was the second of Vaughn's career. He won the same crown at the 2015 conference meet. This season, Vaughn set the school record in the event with a 204-0 (62.18m) at the Mt. SAC Relays in mid-April.

Vaughn led a Tigers' sweep of the podium in the men's discus as teammates Rafael Vallery placed second and Adam Neelly third. The trio were a part of five athletes that earned All-American Athletic Conference honors Saturday. Julian Sanchez-Pinto (men's 3000m steeplechase) and Samantha Lenton (women's discus) both earned bronze in their respective events. After the championships first two days, six Tigers have received all-league distinction.

In the team standings, the Memphis men's squad jumped from seventh on Friday to second on Saturday. However, there is a logjam between second and sixth in the standings, as those five teams are separated by only three points. On the women's side, the Tigers fell from third to sixth, but are within six points of jumping into the top-three.

Tigers Tidbits/American Athletic Conference Championships Saturday Highlights

The American Athletic Conference Championships enter Sunday action with 15 men's events and 14 women's events still to be scored.
The Memphis women's team has athletes scheduled to compete in seven events Sunday. The Tigers men's squad has athletes in 11 events.
The Memphis sprinters in the 400 meters have the opportunity to put up points on the board with the Tigers making up half of the event's eight qualifiers. Antaun Andrews, Ryan Champlin, Naaman Norment and Jarred Pasley all advanced to Sunday's 400-meters final.
Davon DeMoss and Matthew Viveiros both qualified for their second finals appearance Saturday. DeMoss moved on to Sunday's 100-meters final, while Viveiros did so in the 1500 meters. On Friday, DeMoss qualified for the 200-meters final, and Viveiros in the 800 meters.
Julian Sanchez-Pinto ran a personal-best 8:56.37 in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. He improved his time by just over five seconds.
Paige Sandwell cut over 23 seconds off her previous-best in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase. She ran a 10:44.13 in the event. Her time also was just under a second off the school record.
A couple of additional "look-aheads" for the Tigers in Sunday action. First, the Tigers attempts to sweep the men's and women's javelin titles. Michael Criticos won the men's crown in 2016, and Ashley Pryke took the 2017 women's championship.
Saida Burns-Moore goes for titles in both the women's high and triple jumps Sunday. She enters the championships with the league's second-best high jump and third-best triple jump marks this season.
The men's throws trio of Luke Vaughn, Rafael Vallery and Adam Neelly try for another sweep in Sunday's shot put. The trio swept the men's discus event Saturday and also took the top-three spots in the shot put at the league's indoor championships in February.

Team Standings (After Day 2 Action; only 6 men's events scored/7 women's events scored)
Women –1. ECU, 45; 2. Connecticut, 34; 3. Cincinnati, 32.5; 4. Houston, 30; 5. Tulane, 26.5; 6. Memphis, 26; 7. Wichita State, 20; 8. USF, 15; 9. SMU, 14; 10. Tulsa, 14; 11. UCF, 11; 12. Temple, 5
Men –1. Wichita State, 46; 2. Memphis, 33; 3. Houston, 32; 4. Cincinnati, 31; 5. Connecticut, 31; 6. Tulsa, 30; 7. ECU, 17; 8. Tulane, 8; 9. USF, 6

Memphis Men's Results (P – preliminaries; top 8 advance to final/F – finals)
100m (P) – 4. Davon DeMoss, 10.32; 11. Imri Persiado, 10.60; 14. Calvin Austin, 10.63
400m (P) – 2. Jarred Pasley, 46.99; 3. Ryan Champlin, 47.36; 7. Antaun Andrews, 47.97; 8. Naaman Norment, 48.04; 16. Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, 49.64
1500m (P) – 2. Matthew Viveiros, 3:58.11; 6. Brock Ballard, 3:58.64
110m Hurdles (P) – 2. Aaron Persinger, 14.38
3000m Steeplechase (F) – 3. Julian Sanchez-Pinto, 8:56.37; 10. Matthew Kamph, 9:28.94
Long Jump (F) – 11. Olushola Olojo, 22-7.25 (6.89m)
Discus (F) – 1. Luke Vaughn, 189-6 (57.76m); 2. Rafael Vallery, 188-6 (57.45m); 3. Adam Neelly, 173-7 (52.91m); 16. Parker Evans, 142-8 (43.48m)

Memphis Women's Results (P – preliminaries; top 8 advance to final/F – finals)
1500m (P) – 1. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 4:33.84
3000m Steeplechase (F) – 7. Paige Sandwell, 10:44.13
Pole Vault (F) – 16. Allie Hughes, 11-6.25 (3.51m)
Long Jump (F) – 14. Sandra Ekblom, 18-4.25 (5.60m)
Discus (F) – 3. Samantha Lenton, 168-2 (51.26m); 4. Mona Jaidi, 167-6 (51.06m); 7. Nina de Poorter, 157-9 (48.10m)