FINAL RESULTS (ADKINS TIMING) | FINAL RESULTS
NEW ORLEANS – Opening weekend couldn't have gone much better for the University of New Orleans Outdoor Track and Field team. Over two days in Lafayette the Privateers combined to win six events with 20 top-five finishes at the Louisiana Classics. UNO also set 13 personal bests and a new school record in in the men's triple jump.
Things couldn't have started better for New Orleans on Friday with first-place finishes in three of the four events.
Ariana Jimenez got things going with her victory in the 3000M Steeplechase (10:51.82) – her second victory at the Louisiana Classics following last year's win in the 1500M.
Kolyn Saltzman stepped up next to complete the steeple sweep in 9:24.97 – the second straight Louisiana Classics Steeplechase victory for the New Iberia native.
Jaden Forester set a new personal best during his 5K victory with a time of 14:38.75 to wrap up Friday night for the Privateers.
In the only event the Privateers did not win on Friday night – the women's 5K – they took home second (
Tshwanelo Maruping – 17:12.89), third (
Alexandra Weir- 17:29.48) and fourth (
Anna Martin 17:30.87) with all four setting new personal bests.
First-place finishes continued to pour in on Saturday for the Privateers with
Kelvin Chiku,
Helen Baumgarten, and
Jayden Sloan all finishing tops in their events. Chiku, in second place after the first lap, turned on the jets and won the men's 1500 with a time of 3:53.95. Baumgarten dominated the 400M Hurdles winning with a time of 1:05.16 – two seconds faster than Reagen West of Southland foe McNeese. Sloan picked up the final first-place finish for the Privateers after beating ULM's Brandon Lewis by about two-tenths of a second in the 400M Hurdles.
Later in the afternoon
Nicholaus Smith shattered the Privateers outdoor triple jump record with a leap of 14.68m – over two meters longer than Tyroy Lanus' previous record (12.57m) set in the Louisiana Classics back in 2018.
Dante Scott came close to breaking the record as well with a jump of 12.43m.
Other personal bests set by the Privateers include
Oxana Bonjorn-Giros finishing the 3000M Steeplechase in 11:03.14 – good for third place, Martin finishing the 800M in 2:19.85,
Cade Litolff finishing the 800M in 1:54.90 – good for second place,
Alex Soileau finishing the 800M in 2:02.23 and the 5K in 15:15.35,
Gary Sandrock finishing the 1500M in 4:09.02,
Holly Hedrick finishing the Women's 5K in 18:45.73, and Smith finishing the long jump with a mark of 14.68m – good for third place.
HEAD COACH BROCK MOREAUX
"I am really pleased with our weekend! We knew the weather would not be ideal today, so my challenge to the group was to be purposeful with our events throughout the day and they executed really well! We walked away with several wins and momentum that is very important as we get into some big races soon."
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