COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce track & field team is in Houston, chasing a Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship at Holloway Field on the campus of Rice.   

WATCH: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/search/_/appearance/dark/o/watch/q/southland%20track
LIVE RESULTS: https://milesplit.live/meets/598340
TICKETS: https://vivenu.com/event/2024-southland-conference-outdoor-track-field-ch-qhyx61
CHAMPIONSHIPS CENTRAL: https://www.southland.org/tournaments/?id=200&path=track

GETTING DOWN TO THE NITTY GRITTY
The meet begins at noon on Thursday and runs through Saturday night. The combined events are the first to start, while field events sprinkled in on each day. The preliminary races are scheduled for the night sessions on Thursday and Friday, while the finals are on Saturday evening. Full schedule for the meet can be found HERE. 

LOOKING AROUND THE SOUTHLAND
The conference championship meet is hosted at a neutral site this year. UIW is the defending men's champion and already took home the indoor conference championship this season. The Cardinals are projected to take home the outdoor crown as well. The Lion men had a historic meet as hosts last year for a third-place finish, they are projected to finish fifth this year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

On the women's side, Lamar was the winner in 2023, while Northwestern State finished as the runner up a year ago and won the indoor crown this year by a lopsided 57 points over the Cardinals. Based on current projections, McNeese is the favorite, while the Lions are ranked eighth. 

A LOOK AT THE LION MEN
Less than a week removed from clinching a berth to the Olympics for Team Ghana, Ibrahim Fuseini (Accra, Ghana) is slated to participate in the conference championships. Fuseini is fourth in the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash with times of 10.24 seconds and 20.68 seconds, respectively. Tyke Owens (Lebanon Trail) is seventh in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.34 seconds and Oguz Uyar (Turkey) is ninth with a time of 10.39 seconds. In the 5,000 meter run, Alex Speer (Robinson) is eighth with a time of 14:48.23 and Jordan Johnson (Guateng, South Africa) ranks ninth with a time of 14.74 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles. Jack Jones (Arlington - Lamar) has a season-best time of 58.39 seconds for eighth in the 400 meter hurdles and Nicholas Deutsch (Frisco) ranks sixth with a time of 9:41.43 seconds for sixth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. 

The Lions set a new conference championships and school record on the way to winning the 4x100 meter relay championship a year ago. This season, the Lions' season-best time of 40.15 seconds ranks third and the 4x400 meter relay squad is fourth with a time of 3:12.48. 

In field events, the Lions have three student-athletes ranked in the top eight in the high jump. Justine Jimoh (Benin, Nigeria) is second with a mark of 7-1.5 (2.17m), Xak Edwards (Greenville) is seventh with a mark of 6-7.5 (2.02m), and Owens ranks eighth with a mark of 6-7 (2.01m). Nikita Strogalev (Kiev, Ukraine) is the defending SLC champion in the pole vault. Though he is yet to compete this season, Strogalev is slated to make his season-debut on Thursday evening at the SLC Championships. Tahje Parrish (Picayunne, Miss.) is sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 48-9.5 (14.87m). 

The first Lion to compete on Thursday is Joshua Nate (Geneva School of Boerne), being one of eight student-athletes to compete in the decathlon. Nate has competed in one decathlon this year and his point total of 5,215 ranks fifth in the SLC. 

A LOOK AT THE LION WOMEN
The only Lion women currently ranked in the top eight in any track event is Analice Pursley (Georgetown - Eastview), who is seventh with a time of 1:04.69 in the 400 meter hurdles. The Lion 4x100 meter relay squad is eighth with a time of 48.24 seconds, while the 4x400 meter relay squad is ninth with a time of 4:24.04. 

Magdaline Campo (Haiti) is third in the high jump with a mark of 5-7.75 (1.72m) and Jenneil Jacobie (Piat Gros Islet, Saint Lucia) is fifth with a mark of 5-7.25 (1.71m). Veronika Kramarenko (Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine), the defending champion in the high jump is slated to makr her season debut on Saturday. Celeste Sela (Mont de Marsan, France) is fourth in the long jump with a mark of 19-9.75 (6.04m), while Cassandra Rendon (San Antonio - Madison) is second in the discus with a mark of 162-1 (49.40m), and Romi Griese (Salskotten, Germany) ranks sixth with a mark of 140-0 (42.67m). 

Campo is also going to compete in the heptathlon, one of 12 student-athletes slated to compete. She scored 4,497 points earlier this season, which is fourth in the conference.