May 5, 2012

2012 Lone Star Conference Championships
Location: Memorial Stadium ∙ Commerce
Result: A&M-Commerce places sixth with 54.5 points
Top Performer: Khalil Henry places first in the high jump (2.06 meters)
Up Next: at Incarnate Word Last Chance Meet ∙ Thursday, May 10 ∙ San Antonio, Texas

2012 Lone Star Conference Championships Final Results (PDF)

COMMERCE, Texas -- Serving as the host institution for the 2012 Lone Star Conference Championships, A&M-Commerce held its own agains their conference counterparts, finishing sixth in the standings with 54.5 points over the three-day meet.  

15 Lions finished in the top-10 of their respective events over the weekend which included 11 new season-best marks along with five provisional qualifying marks being set. A&M-Commerce's weekend was highlighted by the performance of junior Khalil Henry who became the Lone Star Conference champion in the high jump with a mark of 2.06 meters, besting his previous career-high of 2.05 meters and further solidifying his provisional qualifying mark.

John David Rollins continued his strong showing in the second half of the season with a pair of top-10 finishes, placing fourth in the long jump with a 7.37 meter showing while finishing 10th in the 100 meter dash (10.69). Both proved to be new season-bests for A&M-Commerce as Rollins improved his provisionally qualifying standing in the long jump.

James Lundy capped off his competition among the decathletes, placing ninth with a combined 5,686 points through the first two days of competition.  Matthew Rich also recorded a top-10 showing among the A&M-Commerce field events, placing ninth in the javelin with a mark of 48.32 meters.

Moving over to the sprints, Ernest Rickett posted a 47.91 showing in the 400 meter dash preliminaries, then bested that mark with a 47.61 run in the finals, provisionally qualifying for nationals while also setting a Lion season-best in the event. Teammate Albert Sinegal placed eighth in the 400 meter while Elijah Burwell notched a season-best time of 54.23 in the 400 hurdles, being joined by Hank Smith (55.15) in sixth-place and Demetrius Holmes (55.56) in eighth.

Moving to the middle distance, Chris Douglas continued to show his raw talent, placing second in the 800 meter run with a 1:57.02 in the finals after setting a season-low time of 1:54.20 in the preliminaries Friday evening.

Fredrick Kipsang joined Rollins as a double-top-10 finisher, placing seventh in both the 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:50.05) and 5,000 meter run (15:34.30), just ahead of teammate Isaac Chelimo who finished 10th in the steeplechase (10:16.35). Everett Wilder rounded out the A&M-Commerce top-10 finishers, placing fourth in the 10,000 meter run (32:13.40), an event which was run at 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning after an extended delay for rain and lightning.

The A&M-Commerce relay teams also had a respectable showing as the 4x100 meter relay team placed sixth with a season-low time of 41.31 while the 4x400 meter relay, a team which had already provisionally qualified for regionals, checked in at 3:13.43.

Abilene Christian continued its dominance of the Lone Star Conference, winning its 19th-consecutive LSC title by accumulating 176.33 points, defeating second-place Texas A&M-Kingsville (170.83) by five and a half points. Angelo State placed third (152) with West Texas A&M (104.33) and Eastern New Mexico (101) rounding out the top-five.

A&M-Commerce has one more chance to get some of its athletes represented at the national championships at the end of this month as a handful of Lions will head to San Antonio this week for the Incarnate Word Last Chance Meet on Thursday, May 10. A&M-Commerce will compete in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Pueblo, Colo. May 25-28.

2012 Lone Star Conference Championship Results

100 Meter Dash Preliminaries
9. John David Rollins – 10.69*
19. Austin Kvapil – 11.00

200 Meter Dash Finals
12. John David Rollins – 21.88*
33. Kevin Garcia – 23.01

400 Meter Dash Preliminaries
4. Ernest Rickett – 47.91^
8. Albert Sinegal – 48.97
9. Adam Gary – 49.02
10. Ravi Dubose – 49.07
11. EJ Skinner – 49.19

400 Meter Dash Finals
6. Ernest Rickett – 47.61*^
8. Albert Sinegal – 49.10

400 Meter Hurdles Preliminaries
4. Elijah Burwell – 54.51
5. Demetrius Holmes – 55.23
6. Hank Smith – 55.33

400 Meter Hurdles Finals
4. Elijah Burwell – 54.23*
6. Hank Smith – 55.15
8. Demetrius Holmes – 55.56

800 Meter Run Preliminaries
2. Chris Douglas – 1:54.20*
9. Tyler Hemenway – 1:56.33
11. Isaac Chelimo – 1:56.80
15. Joel Day – 1:58.21
21. Ronald Balthazar – 2:02.78

800 Meter Run Finals
2. Chris Douglas – 1:57.02

1,500 Meter Run
11. Ross Hicks – 4:04.53
15. Isaac Chelimo – 4:09.01

3,000 Meter Steeplechase
7. Fredrick Kipsang – 9:50.05
10. Isaac Chelimo – 10:16.35
13. Raymond Mata – 10:37.07

5,000 Meter Run
7. Fredrick Kipsang – 15:34.30
12. Raman Singh – 15:46.78
20. Everett Wilder – 16:06.39
28. Alex Kimp – 16:22.57  

10,000 Meter Run
4. Everett Wilder – 32:13.40*
16. Raman Singh – 33:35.58
18. Alex Kimp – 33:45.40

4x100 Meter Relay
6. A&M-Commerce – 41.31*
Joel Day, Ernest Rickett, Ravi Dubose, John David Rollins

4x400 Meter Relay
4. A&M-Commerce – 3:13.43^
Ernest Rickett, Ravi Dubose, Adam Gary, Joel Day

Decathlon
9. James Lundy – 5,686 points*

High Jump
1. Khalil Henry – 2.06m*^

Long Jump
4. John David Rollins – 7.37m*^
13. Matt Rich – 6.67m

Triple Jump
10. Ravi Dubose – 13.62m

Discus
11. Daniel Dia – 43.62m

Hammer Throw
13. Daniel Dia – 40.28m*

Javelin
9. Matt Rich – 48.32m

Shot Put
12. Daniel Dia – 12.59m

* - A&M-Commerce season-best mark
^ - NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark