LUBBOCK, TEXAS – The Lone Star Conference Indoor T&F Championships reached their midway point with the conclusion of the first day of competition, with the Lion men sitting at first, while the Lion women are situated in seventh place.
Junior Dorian McCradic claimed victory in the 5000 meter run on a first place finish, with a time of 15:24.40. The LSC All-Academic team member's mark smashed his previous indoor best of 15:53.63 by nearly 30 seconds. Elsewhere in the distance events, the Lions got on the podium again in the distance medley relay, as a team of Andrew Cobos, Josiah Dennis, Kevin Garcia and Ryan Kallenbach finished third overall with a time of 10:35.79.
Joining McCradic at the top of the podium was Masoud Moghaddam for his first-place performance in the weight throw. The native of Iran made a toss of 19.69 meters, and while it didn't improve upon his provisional qualifying mark set two weeks ago, it did manage to shatter the LSC Indoor Championship record in the event, breaking last year's mark of 18.35 meters set by Baptiste Kerjean of Abilean Christian in 2013. Teammate Tyler Rambo logged a fifth place finish in the event with a personal best throw of 15.79 meters.
The Lions had a banner day in the high jump, with A&M-Commerce placing second, third, fourth, and fifth in the high jump thanks to the efforts of James Lundy (2.06m), Jamal Curtis (2.06m), Jonathan Cole (1.96m) and Hendrik Nungess (1.96m). Lundy's jump set his indoor career-high and secured a twelfth provisional qualifying mark for the Lions, while Curtis marginally improved on his preexisting provisional qualifying height of 2.05m.
Out in the sand, reigning outdoor All-American Anthony Harris led the Lions with a fourth-place capriole of 6.88 meters, while teammate Matt Rich finished fifth with a jump of 6.74 meters. Rich was far from finished, as the senior also secured a second place finish in the pole vault with a new personal best 4.79 meter launch, improving upon his provisional qualifying mark of 4.70 meters.
In the sprints, the Lions had a successful showing with lots of high-placing qualifiers heading into tomorrow's finals. John David Rollins qualified second in the 55m run with a time of 6.49 seconds, with Reggie Kincade also qualifying with a time of 6.49 seconds. In the 200 meter dash, five Lions qualified, led by Ravi Dubose's third place finish with a personal best time of 21.83 seconds. In the 400 meter dash, LSC All-Academic team member Dexter Lee led all runners with the top qualifying time of 48.16, which is a new personal best for the sophomore and improves upon his provisional qualifying time. Lastly, Luis Romero was the top qualifier in the 800m with a time of 1:52.26.
Midway through the heptathlon, the men are firmly on top of the field with four events in the books. An A&M-Commerce athlete placed first in each individual event (Matt Rich doing so twice in the long jump and 55 meter dash), and the Lions place first (Hendrik Nungess, 2926), second (Rich, 2888), third (James Lundy, 2761) and fifth (Louis Simon, 2435) heading into tomorrow's home stretch that includes the 55m hurdles, pole vault, and 1000 meter run.
As a team, the Lions are on top of the field with 82 points. On their heels are A&M-Kingsville (63 points), and West Texas A&M (53 points), with Harding (18 points) and Eastern New Mexico (9 points) bringing up the rear.
For the women, the biggest team-contribution came from Jessica Clay's fifth place finish in the pentathlon. With a second-overall toss in the shot put (10.86m) and a third-best time in the 55 meter hurtles (8.63 seconds), the freshman logged a combined score of 3046, a personal-best, which was responsible of nearly half of the team's points on the day. Clay also qualified for tomorrow's 55 meter hurdle finals along with teammate Ana Baleveicau, the latter of whom also qualified for the 400 meter finals with a personal best time of 58.35, along with three other Lions.
In the distance events, the distance medley relay team consisting of Tori Lenz, Ashley Bassett, Jenna McLaughlin and Noelle Ortiz had a solid showing by finishing sixth overall with a time of 13:13.27. Terra Truitt came through individually with an eighth place finish in the 5k run, crossing the finish line at 18:40.36.
On the field, Rebecca Mueller made a personal stride in the weight throw with a 13.63m lob, the best of her collegiate career. Kamryn McKee rounded things out with a tenth place finish in the long jump with a leap of 5.06 meters.
After the first day of competition, the Lions stand in seventh place with nine points. They enter tomorrow's action within a breath of surpassing sixth place Midwestern State, who have ten points after Day One. West Texas A&M stands on top of the heap with a score of 73.5.
Competition resumes Sunday morning with the conclusion of the heptathlon. The meet will conclude in the afternoon, with the running of the 4x400 meter relay.
