With the Southland Conference Championships near, the Nicholls men and women indoor track teams turned in some strong individual track performances at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational Saturday in Baton Rouge. Although the Colonels did not bring an entire team, Nicholls coach Matt Pantusa said the track members that participated in the event performed admirably.

Due to several injuries that were not related to track, Pantusa said he was forced to bring a squad consisting of 10 men and 10 women. A full team typically consists of 14 men and 14 women.

“The people we took competed,” Pantusa said. “Unfortunately, on the field events, we didn’t get any marks. The next meet, where we will be able to bring a full team, will be conference.”

For the team members who did make the trip, several good finishes were turned in.

On the men’s side, Farren Clark finished second in the 800-meter race, as he recorded a time of 2:00.31.

Another top finisher included Jamaal James, as he tallied a time of 49.40 in the 400-meter race.

“He set a school mark in the 400 meters,” Pantusa said. “He finished third in his heat and fourth overall. He looks good for conference and he is a contender for the 400 meter.”

Along with Clark and James, Pantusa said he was also pleased with the performance turned in by Mikael Larsson. Larsson ran the 3,000-meter race in 8:56.15, which was good for an eighth place finish in the event.

For the women, top finishers included Caroline Hulden and Mercedes James. Hulden and James ran the 400-meter and finished in second and third place respectively. In the 200-meter, Jocelyn Smart finished sixth in her section with a time of 29.37.

In the 800-meter, Emma Sjogren finished ninth in her section with a time of 2:33.04. Emma’s twin sister, Johanna Sjorgren, recorded a fourth place finish in section two with a time of 2:31.14.

Also, Trina Peters came in eighth in the same event with a time of 2:35.26.

In the 4X400 distance medley the Sjogren twins, Hulden and Peters turned in a good performance. The team placed second in its section with a time of 4:16.60.

Finally, Jamie Medine completed the 5,000-meter run in 22.00.93, which was good enough to take home sixth place in the event.

The men and women teams’ will return to action Feb. 10 when they take part in the Runsport Invite in Houston. Pantusa said he plans on taking only his top team members.

45/4.2