FINAL RESULTS (XPRESS TIMING)
BIRMINGHAM – Twenty-three years ago Michaela Mannova set several school records on her way to being the only Privateer in school history to appear at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Today at the Samford Invitational
Sophia Wolf broke Mannova's record in the 800M and now sits in the top-16 of the NCAA Performance list.
Last week it was the 600M which netted her Southland Runner of the Week honors. This week it was the 800M as the Bensheim, Germany native set a new school record for the second week in a row. Sophia's time of 2:08.71 bested Mannova's old mark of 2:12.32 by almost four seconds on her way to victory. As it stands Wolf's time is second in the NCAA South Central Region, and 16th on the NCAA Indoor Performance list.
Her time on Friday afternoon would also break the school's outdoor 800M record - held by teammate
Alexandra Weir - by two seconds. The time also ranks No. 5 all time in the Southland Conference and is faster than any Southland Conference Championship winning time dating back to 1988.
After finishing his two 60M races in 6.80 and 6.81 last week at the LSU Purple Tiger, sprinter
John Adesola was even stronger in Birmingham. John finished his preliminary race with a mark of 6.78, before going two hundredths of a second better in the finals with a mark of 6.76. That mark is top-15 all time in school history and replaces his own mark of 6.80 for fourth on the school's all-time performance list.
Jorim Bangue also continued his hot start to the season with a time of 8.08 in his 60M Hurdles preliminary - just shy of his personal best (8.05) set last week. Like Adesola, Bangue qualified for the event finals but did not finish.
Both
Alimot Alowonle and
Rebecca DeKay collected second place finishes on Friday. Alowonle finished second in the women's long jump after a jump of 5.59m ahead of jumpers from Louisiana, McNeese, Northwestern State, South Alabama, Troy and UAB. Bouncing back strong from an inconsistent mile race, DeKay finished in second in the women's 3000M with a time of 10:05.30 – fourteen seconds ahead of the third and fourth place finishers, and just over 20 seconds faster than teammate
Emma Bourg who finished in fifth with a time of 10:26.93.
In the men's mile
Cade Litolff,
Mason Appleton and
Alex Soileau finished fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. Litolff finished in 4:18.67, Appleton won his heat with a time of 4:22.40, and
Alex Soileau finished in 4:23.18. Weir finished sixth in the women's mile with a time of 4:54.39.
Matthew Hansen and
Evan Pardo both rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Southland Conference at 3000M following their performances on Friday. Hansen finished in fourth place with a time of 8:23.36, with Pardo running step for step with him the entire race. Evan finished fifth with a time of 8:24.97. Those times are the second and third fastest indoor 3000M times in school history.
NEXT UP
The Privateers will train this week before taking the weekend off. New Orleans is next scheduled to take a trip to Boston for the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational on Feb. 3. Fans can watch the meet live on
FloTrack.
INTERIM COACH BEN HIBBERT
"Today was a good chance to get onto our conference track and put some early season races together. I thought the team showed up and were willing to put themselves in position to run fast, which is exactly where we want to be. Now we turn our attention to the second half of the season and laying down some quality marks."
(on Sophia Wolf)
"Sophia blew the roof off the place today. Anytime you break a school record by that margin, you're doing something right. An early season NCAA top 16 mark is really impressive, and I think it complements the work her and Coach O'Callaghan have done up to this point. She has wasted no time in leaving her mark as a Privateer."
(on John Adesola)
"John backed up his opening weekend with two more consistent races and made some good steps towards a more complete race. Consistency is always a plus, I think it gives us confidence that when it's time to run fast, we'll be prepared to do so."
WE ARE YOUR KREWE
For 54 seasons, Privateer student-athletes have had the unique experience of wearing New Orleans across their chests. Like the city itself, our sports teams have been fueled by resiliency, grit, and the unquenchable desire to win. Our city also houses the nation's biggest celebration each year. And much like a Mardi Gras parade krewe, we are tethered to our community through pride, tradition, a culture of acceptance, and finally our commitment to show that New Orleans is a world-class city to live, learn, play, and work. We invite you to become more involved with the only University that truly represents New Orleans all day, every day. Join #NOLAsTeam, We Are Your Krewe!
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