Men's Track And Field Runner-up At League Championships

Sunday, May 13

Cincinnati, Ohio

All Day

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Martina Rodriguez Sala, 2017-18 Women's Track and Field

Photo by: (Ben Solomon/American Athletic Conference)

Men's Track And Field Runner-up At League Championships

May 13, 2018 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

2018 American Athletic Conference Championships (Complete Results)

Vaughn named Men's Most Valuable Performer; Tigers win six titles over the weekend.

CINCINNATI, Ohio – University of Memphis' Luke Vaughn won his second title at the American Athletic Conference Championships Sunday. Vaughn, a graduate student, took the men's shot put crown after winning the men's discus championship Saturday.

For his efforts, Vaughn was named the American Athletic Conference Men's Most Valuable Performer. He is the first to receive a post-conference championships honor since Pauls Pujats was awarded the Men's Field Most Outstanding Performer accolade in 2014.

The American Athletic Conference Championships, held at the University of Cincinnati's Gettler Stadium, wrapped up action Sunday night.

For the second time since joining The American in 2013, the Tigers men's squad finished as the outdoor runner-up. Memphis placed second with 147.5 points, the most scored by a Tigers men's team since it won the 2007 Conference USA crown with 154.5 points. The top-three team finish was the fourth for the Tigers in their five-year history in The American. Memphis was also the runner-up in 2014 and finished third in 2016 and 2017.

On the women's side, Memphis was sixth with 75 points, but was only out of placing in the top-three by a mere 15 points. It was the Tigers' third top-half conference finish in five seasons in The American. Memphis placed fifth in 2015 and sixth in 2017.

The Tigers (men/women combined) brought home six individual titles over the weekend, with three men's crowns and three women's championships. The men's three titles are the most since the program won five at the 2014 outdoor conference meet. The women's team won its most individual titles at a league meet since 1994 (four Great Midwest Conference crowns).

Tigers Tidbits/American Athletic Conference Championships Sunday Highlights

The Tigers men's squad also was the American Athletic Conference runner-up at the league's indoor meet in February.
Luke Vaughn won the men's shot put with a school-record throw of 61-11.75 (18.89m). He broke the previous record set by Gaute Myklebust in 2003 (61-7.5; 18.78m). Earlier this season, Vaughn also broke Myklebust's school record in the discus.
Vaughn's outdoor shot put title was the second of his career. He also won the same crown in 2016.
Vaughn is the second men's athlete to win both the discus and shot put at the same American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. Cincinnati's Macklin Tudor did the same at the 2017 conference meet.
For his career (indoor/outdoor combined), Vaughn is a five-time conference champion and 12-time all-league honoree.
Martina Rodriguez Sala won her first outdoor title in the women's 1500 meters Sunday. In 2015, she earned bronze in the event. Rodriguez Sala's 1500-meters crown adds to her trophy case, as she is a two-time league champion in the indoor mile (2016, 2017).
Ashley Pryke won the women's javelin crown for the second-straight year (2017, 2018). She becomes the second female athlete to win back-to-back javelin titles as Tulane's Daliadiz Ortiz did so in 2015 and 2016.
Matthew Viveiros won his first conference gold in the men's 1500 meters. By winning the men's 1500 meters, the Tigers swept both the men's and women's titles in the event. It is the first time that happened since Connecticut did so at the inaugural meet in 2014.
The Tigers men's 4x100 meter relay of Davon DeMoss, Imri Persiado, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson and Calvin Austin set the school record with a time of 39:59. The quartet broke the previous 45-year-old record of 39.60 set in 1973. The Memphis 4x100 relay won silver Sunday.
Mona Jaidi became the first throws double-medalist at an American Athletic Conference Championships meet in Memphis women's track and field history. Jaidi won gold in the hammer Friday and took silver in the javelin Sunday. In only her fourth career javelin competition, Jaidi threw a personal-best 164-0 (49.98m).
Ryan Champlin and Calvin Austin were the Tigers' lone double-medalists on Sunday. Champlin won bronze in the men's 400 meters and silver in the men's 4x400 meter relay. Austin won two silvers as a member of the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay squads.
Other medalists were: Brock Ballard (bronze) in the men's 1500 meters, Jordan Wesner (bronze) in the men's high jump, Michael Criticos (bronze) in the men's javelin and Rafael Vallery (bronze) in the men's shot put.

Team Standings (Final)
Women –1. Houston, 113; 2. ECU, 91; 3. Cincinnati, 90.5; 4. Connecticut, 87; 5. SMU, 82; 6. Memphis, 75; 7. Tulane, 71.5; 8. Tulsa, 49; 9. Wichita State, 45.5; 10. UCF, 44; 11. Temple, 36.5; 12. USF, 34
Men –1. Houston, 172; 2. Memphis, 147.5; 3. Wichita State, 130; 4. Connecticut, 112; 5. Tulsa, 78; 6. Cincinnati, 63; 7. ECU, 56.5; 8. USF, 40; 9. Tulane, 20

Memphis Men's Results (All Events Finals)
100m – 4. Davon DeMoss, 10.42
200m – 6. Davon DeMoss, 21.10; 7. Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, 21.23
400m – 3. Ryan Champlin, 47.74; 6. Jarred Pasley, 48.01; 7. Antaun Andrews, 48.42; 8. Naaman Norment, 48.48
800m – 5. Matthew Viveiros, 1:52.60
1500m – 1. Matthew Viveiros, 4:03.22; 3. Brock Ballard, 4:04.33
5000m – 4. Julian Sanchez-Pinto, 14:55.18
4x100m Relay – 2. Memphis, 39.59 (Davon DeMoss, Imri Persiado, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, Calvin Austin)
4x400m Relay – 2. Memphis, 3:10.53 (Ryan Champlin, Calvin Austin, Naaman Norment, Antaun Andrews)
110m Hurdles – 4. Aaron Persinger, 14.37
400m Hurdles – 5. Jason Kimmet, 51.85; 7. Michael Carey, 53.31; 8. Aaron Persinger, 53.58
High Jump – 3. Jordan Wesner, 6-11.5 (2.12m); 5. Noah Agnew, 6-9.75 (2.08m)
Triple Jump – 4. Olushola Olojo, 49-10 (15.19m)
Javelin – 3. Michael Criticos, 227-3 (69.28m)
Shot Put – 1. Luke Vaughn, 61-11.75 (18.89m); 3. Rafael Vallery, 60-1.75 (18.33m); 4. Adam Neelly, 59-11 (18.26m); 13. Parker Evans, 48-10 (14.88m)

Memphis Women's Results (All Events Finals)
800m – 5. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 2:08.90
1500m – 1. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 4:22.65
5000m – 12. Paige Sandwell, 17:59.77; 23. Arnica Zitting, 18:18.82; 25. Megan Briley, 18:20.42; 29. Mary Betsy Minkler, 18:29.54
4x400m Relay – 9. Memphis, 3:47.95 (Melinda Murdock, Celine Rone, Jasmine Taylor, Loushanya Nemour)
400m Hurdles – 5. Melinda Murdock, 1:00.35
High Jump – 4. Saida Burns-Moore, 5-8 (1.73m)
Triple Jump – 6. Nicole Lawson, 40-5 (12.32m); 10. Sandra Ekblom, 39-4 (11.99m); 11. Saida Burns-Moore, 39-3 (11.96m)
Javelin – 1. Ashley Pryke, 176-5 (53.77m); 2. Mona Jaidi, 163-11 (49.98m); 6. Jasmine Wilson, 152-8 (46.53m); 8. Mari-Liis Tulev, 145-2 (44.26m); 16. Kelly Baxter, 104-2 (31.77m)
Shot Put – 8. DeeNia McMiller, 49-2.25 (14.99m); 12. Mona Jaidi, 46-1.25 (14.05m)