Senior distance runner Christina Sergi placed fourth in the 3000-meter and sixth in the 1500-meter runs, and senior Milton Cayette recorded a second place showing in the discus to lead the men and women’s outdoor track and field teams Saturday at the University of South Alabama Invitational in Mobile, Ala.The men and women’s track team competed against a 13-team field which included host South Alabama, Alcorn State, Auburn, Drury College, Louisiana-Lafayette, West Florida, Mississippi Valley State, Calvin College, University of Mobile, University of Toronto, Wright State and Geneva College.
Sergi clocked in at a time of 4:55.25 in the 1500-meter event and 10:44.64 in the 3000-meter run.
Two weeks ago at the UNO Invitational, Sergi broke the school record and finished first in the 5000-meter and fourth in the 1500-meter runs as she finished with a time of 18:18.88 in the 5000-meter event and 4:53.12 in the 1500-meter run.
Agapius Amo, men and women’s head track coach, said Sergi’s finishes have been special to the team this season.
“She has been running very well for us,” Amo said. “She’s been training hard, and during the holiday break, she did a lot of work to improve on her times. I don’t think she’s peaked yet.”
Cayette, on the other hand, finished with a 39.37-meter toss to finish one spot behind the leader in the discus.
Other finishers for the women included junior long sprinter Shannon Cox’s sixth place showing in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.23 and freshman Jamie Johnson’s sixth place result in the discus.
Although the weather was hot and steaming in Mobile, Cox said the team did very well under the conditions.
“It was very good, but it was also very hot,” Cox said. “You just have to get used to the heat. We just have to train as much as we can at the hottest time of the day, which is the best way to train. So when it gets hot during the meets, you will be able to do your best.”
Junior long distance runner Kim Prestenbach finished tenth in the women’s 1500-meter run with a time of 5:07.42; freshman sprinter Henrietta Walker finished tenth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:16.08; junior Lacy Picou (discus/shot put) placed tenth in the women’s shot put with a toss of 9.93 meters; and the women’s 4X400 meter relay team placed seventh with a time of 4:38.81.
Although she said she could have done better, Johnson said she is pleased with her finish.
“I did okay, and I came out and made it to the finals,” Johnson said. “I could have done a lot better, but overall I think I did pretty well.”
In men’s action, freshman Josh Chauvin finished eighth with a time of 2:04.18 in the 800-meter run while sophomore Cruz Adderly placed 16th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.35.
Other finishers for the men include freshman Shaun Ealey, who placed 12th in the 800-Meter run with a time of 2:16.23. Freshman distance runner Jeff Draggich placed eighth in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:40.75; senior Tex Martin finished 26th in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:57.07; freshman hurdler Alex Bubniw placed 11th in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.67 and freshman shotputter Patrick Nelson finished third in the men’s shot put with a toss 12.99 meters.
Martin said a strong point for the men is that the young guys are competing hard on all events.
“I think overall the young guys are stepping up and doing very well,” Martin said. “I think our strong points is that Patrick (Nelson) has been doing really well because he has placed at every meet. We definitely have the potential to get a good place at conference. I just hope that they are motivated.”
The men and women’s outdoor track teams will return to action on March 26-27 when they travel to compete at Louisiana State in Baton Rouge.
