Tigers Track And Field Wins Four Titles Saturday

Saturday, February 25

Birmingham, Ala.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championships

Men's 4x400m Relay, 2016-17 Men's Track and Field

Photo by: Michael Wade

Feb 25, 2017 | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

The American Indoor Championships/Men's Final Results The American Indoor Championships/Women's Final Results

Squads also set two school records.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – University of Memphis' Martina Rodriguez Sala, Olushola Olojo and Jordan Wesner won American Athletic Conference crowns in their respective events in second-day action at the league indoor championships Saturday. The Tigers men's 4x400 meter relay team also claimed gold Saturday.

In addition, two school records were set in the men's shot put and men's heptathlon.

The men's squad placed fourth with 93 points. The Tigers men team tied its best finish at The American Indoor Championships. The women's team placed seventh with 43 points.

Rodriguez Sala defended her 2016 crown in the women's mile, placing first in a championships meet record time of 4:48.07. She won last year's mile title in a time of 4:56.13.

After finishing as runners-up in 2016, Olojo and Wesner both claimed titles in the triple and high jumps, respectively. Olojo won the men's triple jump with a leap of 50-6.25 (15.40m), and Wesner took home the men's high jump crown with a 7-1.5 (2.17m) mark.

The men's 4x400 meter relay of Christopher Walker, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, LaForrest Church and Jason Kimmet placed first in a time of 3:13.96.

After coming close to the school record in late January, Luke Vaughn claimed the program's shot put mark with a 59-7 (18.16m) throw. Simon Hosten, who set the heptathlon record in early February, bettered his own mark Saturday with 5591 points in the multi-event this weekend.

With Saturday's two school records, the Tigers men's and women's squads have combined to set eight total program marks this indoor campaign.

American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships/Day Two Highlights

Freshman Kolbeinn Gunnarsson was a triple scorer for the Tigers men's squad Saturday. He placed sixth in the men's 200m and fifth in the men's 400m. His 47.96 time in the 400m was a season-best. He also ran the second leg on the championship-winning 4x400m relay.
After placing second at last season's conference championships, the Tigers men's 4x400m relay claimed gold Saturday. However, the quartet just missed setting another school record with its time of 3:13.96. Last year's group set the program record with a time of 3:13.55. Two members of this year's relay – Christopher Walker and LaForrest Church – also ran on last year's record-setting 4x400m relay team.
Sophomore Jordan Wesner's 7-1.5 (2.17m) high jump mark was an indoor personal-best.
Sophomore Olushola Olojo's 50-6.25 (15.40m) leap improved his personal-best by five inches.
Senior Luke Vaughn's school-record shot put placed him third in the event, earning all-league honors.
Sophomore Davon DeMoss placed third in the men's 60m and earned all-conference accolades.
Freshmen Simon Hosten placed second in the men's heptathlon with a school-record 5,591 points. His previous school mark was 5,445 points set at Southern Illinois Don DeNoon Invitational Feb. 3-4. Fellow freshman Lennard Biere was third in the heptathlon (5,444 points). Both performers earned all-league honors.
Following her title in the women's mile, Martina Rodriguez Sala placed fourth in the women's 3000m. Also scoring in the women's 3000m was junior Chelsea Ladd, who placed eighth in a time of 9:46.69. Ladd improved her time in the event by nearly 21 seconds since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.
Senior Chardae Greenlee placed third and earned all-league recognition in the women's triple jump. Her 42-0.5 (12.81m) leap was her second-best jump of the season.
Also scoring for the Tigers women's squad Saturday were Saida Burns-Moore in the high jump (7^th; 5-3.25/1.61m), Cera Chavez in the 200m (6^th; 24.22) and the 4x400m relay (5^th; 3:43.95).

Team Scoring
Men: 1. Houston, 174; 2. Connecticut, 111.5; 3. Tulsa, 109; 4. Memphis, 93; 5. Cincinnati, 69; 6. East Carolina, 57; 7. USF, 45.5
Women: 1. UCF, 122; 2. Cincinnati, 120; 3. Houston, 99; 4. Connecticut, 92; 5. Tulane, 52; 6. SMU, 44; 7. Memphis, 43; 8. East Carolina, 38; 9. Tulsa, 20; 10. Temple, 17; 11. USF 15

Memphis Men's Results
60m (F) – 3. Davon DeMoss, 6.68
200m (F) – 5. Davon DeMoss, 21.20; 6. Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, 21.48
400m (F) – 5. Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, 47.96; 6. Jason Kimmet, 49.12; 8. Antaun Andrews, 49.43
3000m – 10. Matthew Kamph, 8:33.47; 13. Julian Sanchez Pinto, 8:35.87; 21. Brock Ballard, 8:47.10; 28. James Durkin, 8:59.41
4x400m relay – 1. Memphis, 3:13.96 (Christopher Walker, Kolbeinn Gunnarsson, LaForrest Church, Jason Kimmet)
High jump – 1. Jordan Wesner, 7-1.5 (2.17m); 5. Noah Agnew, 6-7 (2.01m)
Triple jump – 1. Olushola Olojo, 50-6.25 (15.40m); 10. Shameek Miller, 46-6.75 (14.19m)
Shot put – 3. Luke Vaughn, 59-7 (18.16m); 6. Adam Neelly, 56-4.75 (17.19m); 7. Rafael Vallery, 55-3 (16.84m); 9. Wade Wells, 51-6.5 (15.71m)
Heptathlon – 2. Simon Hosten, 5591 points; 3. Lennard Biere, 5444 points;

Memphis Women's Results
200m (F) – 6. Cera Chavez, 24.22
Mile (F) – 1. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 4:48.07
3000m – 4. Martina Rodriguez Sala, 9:37.18; 8. Chelsea Ladd, 9:46.69; 17. Arnica Zitting, 9:54.89; 31. Megan Briley, 10:10.30
4x400m relay – 5. Memphis, 3:43.95 (Dominque Chatman, Derriana Parrish, Destinee Lansden, Rebeka Holt)
High jump – 7. Saida Burns-Moore, 5-3.25 (1.61m)
Triple jump – 3. Chardae Greenlee, 42-0.5 (12.81m); 12. Sandra Ekblom, 37-6 (11.43m)
Shot put – 15. Mona Jaidi, 43-7.25 (13.29m); 17. Ashley Pryke, 40-1.5 (12.23m)