Men's Track and Field Records Fall at Saluki Fast Start
Dec. 4, 2011
CARBONDALE, Ill. - SIUE freshman La'Derrick Ward wasted little time etching his name in the men's indoor track and field record books setting the school record in the long jump Saturday at the Saluki Fast Start.
The Cahokia native broke Wasim Walker's record from 2008 by eight inches with a winning leap of 23 feet, 11.75 inches on his first collegiate attempt.
"Overall, it was a good meet," SIUE Head Coach Kareem Jackson said. "For us it was an opportunity to see where we are now after fall training, which can become tough and sometimes a stale routine."
Junior William Lindsey had another impressive performance in the season-opener for the Cougars breaking his own SIUE record in the 60-meter hurdles with an event-winning time of 8.05 seconds. Later, he won the 600-meter run with a personal-best time of 1 minute, 22.77 seconds.
Lindsey also anchored the 1,600-meter relay that claimed top honors with a time of 3:19.71 seconds. Joshua Thomas, Braxton Klavins, and Ward ran the first three legs of the relay.
"We as a coaching staff are all very pleased with how the team competed, and handled different adversities throughout the day," Jackson added.
Klavins, a sophomore from Lake Zurich, placed third behind Lindsey in the 600-meter run and reached the finals of the 60-meter dash to round out an excellent performance for SIUE.
Thomas was the third Cougar runner to place in the top five in the 600-meter run finishing fifth overall. Jerraco Johnson also recorded a top-five finish in the 60-meter hurdles placing fifth.
Freshman Greg Block began his SIUE career with a fourth-place finish in the shot put while sophomore Jamil Mashni was right behind him in fifth.
"With final exams and Christmas break coming up, this will provide all of our athletes a chance to reflect and re-commit to the task at hand," Jackson said. "We will continue to work hard over the next cycle of training in preparation for a tough indoor schedule."
The Cougars return to action after their extended layoff at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska Jan. 13-14.
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