Fuseini blazes Lion men to fourth, women take seventh

• Texas A&aM University-Commerce student-athlete Ibrahim Fuseini crosses the finish line following a relay event at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Fuseini was a part fo the 4x400-meter relay team that won first place. Fuseini also won gold medals in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Courtesy/Southland Conference

HOUSTON — No runner ran faster at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships than Ibrahim Fuseini as he took home three gold medals on the way to the Texas A&M University- Commerce men's track & field team placing fourth and the women finishing seventh at Holloway Field.

Fuseini won the gold medal in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and paired with teammates Enoch Fosuhene, Philip Krenek, and Oguz Uyar to win the 4x400 meter relay, setting the school records in both the 200 meter dash and the 4x400 meter relay.

A&M-Commerce is now 2 for 2 in winning the Southland Conference Outdoor 100 meter dash crowns and 3 for 4 in the 200 meter dash in indoor and outdoor seasons in the Division I era.

On the women's side, Jenneil Jacobie set a new school record on the way to winning a Southland Conference Championship in the high jump, the Lions' second in the event in as many years in the Division I era.

Full Results of the Southland Conference Outdoor Championships can be found at https:// lionathletics.com/documents/ 2024/5/11/Results-MenWomenALL.pdf.

WOMEN

The day started out with the Lions setting the tone in the discus. Cassandra Rendon won a bronze medal with a mark of 1522 (46.37m), while Romi Griese was fifth with a mark of 150-0 (45.73m).

Jacobie cleared 1.82 meters on her third try, which would have set the school record, but was tied for the lead and needed to clear another bar for the title. She cleared 6-0.75 (1.85m) on her first try to set a new school record, Southland Conference meet record, and second all-time in the Southland Conference.

Veronika Kramarenko cleared 5-8 (1.73m) for a silver medal, which was also her first competition this outdoor season, after winning the SLC title a year ago.

In the first event of the day on the track, the 4x100 meter relay team of Charidee Morgan, La'Derria Myers, Braeja Johnson, and Celeste Sela timed 48.66 seconds for eighth.

Analice Pursley clocked in at 1:04.54 for seventh in the 400 meter hurdles.

MEN

The first Lion men to compete on Saturday were in the high jump. Justine Jimoh cleared 6-10.25 (2.09m) for a silver medal, while Tyke Owens cleared 6-6.75 (2.00m) for sixth, and Xak Edwards was eighth, clearing 6-4.75 (1.95m). Tahje Parrish was the only other Lion to score in field events, jumping 480.5 (14.64m) for eighth in the triple jump.

On the track, the fireworks started with the 4x100 meter relay team of Owens, Uyar, Fosuhene, and Fuseini timing 39.54 seconds for second, while Nicholas Deutsch followed with a time of 3:56.44 for eighth in the 1,500 meter run.

Jordan Johnson missed the podium by just 0.01 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles, taking fourth with a time of 14.17 seconds. Krenek started his day on the track with a fifth-place finish in the 400 meter dash, timing 47.84 seconds.

Fuseini was the runner- up in the 100 meter dash a year ago and left no doubt this year, winning by 0.04 seconds, clocking in at 10.15 seconds. Uyar was fifth with a time of 10.503 seconds and Owens finished right behind him for sixth with a time of 10.508 seconds.

Mere minutes after taking the 100 meter dash crown, Fuseini dominated in the 200 meter dash, winning the title with a time of 20.32 seconds, 0.16 seconds better than the runner up. His time is also a new school record and a Southland Conference Championship meet record. Uyar also finished fourth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 20.99 seconds and Fosuhene was fifth with a time of 21.00 seconds.

In the penultimate event of the night, Alex Speer finished seventh in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 14:49.34.

The meet closed out with Fosuhene, Krenek, Uyar, and Fuseini taking the 4x400 meter relay crown with a time of 3:06.84, almost two seconds faster than the second-place team. The Lions broke a sixyear school record in the event.

Fuseini reached the podium in all four events he competed in, taking three gold medals, and scoring 24.5 points.

WOMEN'STEAMSCORES

The Lion women stormed to a seventh-place finish in the team standings with 35.50 points, while the conference title was decided by just 1.5 points. Northwestern State edged out pre-meet favorite by scores of 182.50 and 181, respectively.

WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS

1. Northwestern State

2. McNeese

3. Lamar

4. UIW

5. New Orleans

6. Houston Christian

7. A&M-Commerce

8. A&M-Corpus Christi

9. Southeastern

10. Nicholls

MEN'S TEAM SCORES

The Lion men came into the meet being projected to finish fifth, but totaled 95 points, to comfortably finish in fourth. Just like the women, the team title was tightly contested with UIW winning its third straight crown, scoring 167 points, six ahead of Northwestern State.

MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS

1. UIW

2. Northwestern State

3. McNeese

4. A&M-Commerce

5. Lamar

6. Southeastern

7. Houston Christian

8. New Orleans

9. A&M-Corpus Christi

10. Nicholls

The meet concluded the season for the Lions as they are in their second year of transition into NCAA Division I, thus ineligible to participate in NCAA Regionals and Nationals. It also concludes all competitions in the 2023-24 academic year for Lion Athletics.