LOUISIANA CLASSIC RESULTS (Adkins Timing) | LOUISIANA CLASSIC RESULTS (PDF) | LOUISANA CLASSIC RESULTS (TFRRS)
LSU OPENER RESULTS (Delta Timing) | LSU OPENER RESULTS (PDF) | LSU OPENER RESULTS (TFRRS)
NEW ORLEANS – The pieces are starting to fall into place as the University of New Orleans track and field program had strong outings at both the Louisiana Classic and LSU Opener on Saturday afternoon.
Before Saturday afternoon only four Privateer men had clocked a 200M time under 21 seconds.
Yoran Kabala-Kabengle,
Olamipo Ladipo and
Keldrick Turner all finished under 21 seconds on their way to top six finishes.
Kabala-Kabengele finished second in 20.83, Ladipo finished fifth in 20.91, and Turner finished sixth in 20.95. Yoran now ranks third on UNO's all-time performance list, Olamipo ranks fifth and Keldrick ranks sixth. The trio's times on Saturday rank second, fourth and fifth in the Southland Conference.
Meanwhile, at the LSU opener,
Jose Manuel Rodriguez took second place in his first collegiate 800M. Rodriguez's time of 1:49.71 is the eighth-fastest in school history and places the sophomore fourth on the school's all-time performance list.
Freshman
Brandt Blanchard also had a strong afternoon in the capital. His time of 1:50.97 was good for fourth place and is a top 20 mark in school history, placing him seventh on the school's all-time performance list. The pair currently rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the Southland Conference, No. 2 and No. 5 in the South Central region, and No. 9 and No. 24 on the NCAA East qualifying list.
LeeAira Williams finished third in the women's 200 and fourth in the women's 100 with times of 11.62 and 24.20 – both personal bests. Her time at 100 meters is the fourth fastest in school history and places her second on UNO's all-time performance list. Her time at 200 meters is the sixth fastest time in program history and places her fifth on UNO's all-time performance list.
Anais Sulpice finished second in the women's 800M with a time of 2:12.06 – a personal best for the Toulouse native. Her time is the fifth fastest time in program history, and she now sits behind Sophia Wolf and Alexandre Weir on the school's all-time performance.
Christina Davis got things off to an excellent for UNO on Friday evening and set two big personal bests during her time in Lafayette. Davis finished 11
th in the women's hammer throw with throw of 42.10 meters, and 14
th in the women's discus with a toss of 43.30 meters.
The men's 4x100M relay team consisted of Kabala-Kebengele, Ladipo, Turner and
Daryl Bachmann. The foursome finished in second place with a time of 40.42 - .37 seconds behind the Northwestern State Demons.
HEAD COACH CLAYTON O'CALLAGHAN
"This was a really big step in the right direction for us. We are really starting to see a lot of confidence within the group. I thought we executed well across all events with the pieces starting to fall the right way. We've just got to keep building on this going into Raleigh, Austin, and the rest of the season going forward."
(on the men's 200 group)
"Three guys went sub 21 – that's really good. It really shows the depth we have and the potential that group has!"
(on Rodriguez and Blanchard)
"You know, that's really what we expect out of those two. For Jose to go down there, in that environment, and run like that in his first collegiate 800 – it certainly shows he's in an excellent place right now and what kind of potential he really has!"
LAGNIAPPE
Louisiana's Isabelle Russel won the 10000M with a time of 35:22.81, breaking the stadium record (35:23.02) previously set by former All-Sun Belt Privateer Ruth Jipchirchir at the 2006 Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. That mark remains a UNO record.
UP NEXT
A selection of Privateers will head to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State on March 26-28. Fans can check UNOPrivateers.com closer to the event for coverage information.
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