The Lions added another championship to their trophy case this past weekend when the men's outdoor track and field team placed first in the outdoor track and field Southland Conference Championships. The Sam Houston State Lady Bearkats' took the women's conference championship while the Lady Lions finished in sixth place.
Southeastern's men's squad put a conference-high three members on the top 10 in individual scorers. Senior Jeffrey Milliron led the meet in individual scoring with 25 points while junior thrower Brett Olsen placed third in individual scoring after scoring 22 points for the Lions. Lastly, senior sprinter/jumper Brandon Daniels placed sixth in individual scoring due to his solid 16.25-point performance.
Day one featured success for the Lions in the throws. Four different throwers for the Lions scored points in the hammer throw, two of which were placed in the top three. The Lady Lions also finished well in day one. Two jumpers from the Lady Lions finished in the top five for the pole vault event, while sophomore Misha Frazier placed second in the women's hammer throw.
Both the Lions and Lady Lions were placed second heading into the second day of the meet as Sam Houston State led the women's competition and Stephen F. Austin State University led the men's. Southeastern continued their dominance in the throwing events Saturday evening with multiple first place finishes. Milliron took first in the men's discus throw for the second consecutive year and junior Derek Hampton also placed first in the men's javelin throw. Senior Jenna Baker also helped the Lady Lions out with a fourth place finish in the women's javelin throw.
Throwing was not the only area the Lions excelled in the second day of action. The Southeastern jumpers made an impact on the long jump event. Placing second in the men's long jump was Daniels for the Lions. Sophomore Emanuel Kennedy provided extra points to Southeastern as well with his eighth place finish in the long jump.
"The meet was hard because I injured my ankle on my first event," said Kennedy. "I sucked it up and did what I had to do to help my team become champions."
The Southeastern men's squad kept their spot in second place following the second day of action while the women's team fell down to fourth place.
The final day of the meet was poised to be an exciting day and it was just that as Southeastern and SFA jockeyed back and forth for the top of the men's standings. Milliron continued his dominant performance in the throwing events as he placed first in the men's shot put. The Lions also had two other throwers in the top five of the men's shot put as Brett Olsen finished second and Jimmy LeBlanc took fourth in the event.
"The meet went very well for me, being a walk-on athlete. I have come a long way," said LeBlanc. "I scored points in two events and each year my point total gets higher and higher."
Senior and Hammond native Abram Taylor became champion in the men's 110 meter hurdles with his time of 14.13. Southeastern scored a pair of second place finished in the men's high jump with freshman Kadarius Williams and sophomore Clarence Robinson both jumping a height of 2.06 meters. Daniels again came through for the Lions as he finished fourth in the men's 100-meter dash with his time of 10.40 seconds.
It was the final event of the meet that proved to be the deciding race. The Lions trailed first place SFA, who had a score of 156, by seven points heading into the 4×400. SFA did not run a team in the event so it was in the Lions hands to overtake the Jacks for first place. After placing second in the final race, the team of seniors T.J. Herbert and Brandon Daniels and freshman runners Brian Verdin and Alex Holden provided the Lions just enough points to edge out SFA for first place and bring the championship to Hammond.
"It came down to one single point and when they finally announced the winner, my heart dropped," said thrower Jimmy LeBlanc. "It was one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced and I am truly honored to be given the chance to represent our university."
The outdoor championship caps off a successful season for the Southeastern Track and Field team. Earlier in the year the men's team took first place in the Southland Conference Indoor track and field Championships.
"The feeling can't be described. I can't believe my team is a part of Southeastern history being the first to win the indoor and outdoor titles in a season," said Kennedy. "I'm really happy for the seniors; they really deserved this."