Lions head to Houston with an eye on SLC championships and regional bids

HAMMOND, Louisiana – The Southeastern Louisiana University track and field team makes the trip to Houston for the 2024 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held Thursday through Saturday at Wendel D. Ley Track & Holloway Field on campus from Rice University.

The 2024 Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be streamed live on ESPN+ with results live via MileSplit.live.

While the goal is to win the conference championships over the next three days in Houston, the second goal of the trip is to place in the top 48 in the East Region on the Division I performance lists to earn a trip to Lexington, Kentucky. two weeks for the NCAA Division I Eastern Regional Championships.

Esther Nwanze leads the charge for the track Lady Lions, seeking medals in up to four different events. She holds the second-best time in the conference this season in the 400-meter hurdles heading into the championships, while also holding the fifth-best time in the 400-meter dash. She will also perform as a member of the Southeast relay teams, the 4×100 meter and 4×400 meter relays. She represents the only Lady Lion entering the weekend in a position to qualify for regionals, currently sitting with the 27^th-best time in the 400-meter hurdles, which is also less than a second away from the SLU school record.

Other Lady Lions competing in the SLC Championships and ranked in the top 10 on the conference performance list who could have a shot at medaling include Danial Immaculatewho achieves the ninth fastest time in the 100 meters, Onyah’s Favorwho is just behind Nwanze in sixth position in the 400 meters, Ava Pitarroninth in the 5,000 meters, and Nwanze’s 4×400 meter relay team, Favor, Miriam KauerAnd Porsha Mileswho has the fourth fastest time in the SLC.

On the field, the Lady Lions will be looking for medals Lara Zupanc in the pole vault, as she currently ranks fourth on the SLC performance list, and Anne Ferrand in the javelin throw, which currently sits at 10^th with Bailey Babin right behind her.

On the men’s side, four Lions are already in position to immediately qualify for the Eastern Regional and will look to improve their positioning for a trip to Lexington this weekend. This group is led by Slavko Stevićwho currently holds the highest high jump in the Southland, the fifth highest in the Eastern Region and the 13th^th-the highest in all of Division I. Terrell Webb also has a strong mark for a spot at the Eastern regional meet, which is currently hosting the 21^st-the longest hammer throw in the region, who also leads the Southland by almost six meters over his own teammate, Gerrit Visser, which ranks second in the conference standings. Also leading the conference before the championships, Lance Hamilton in the triple jump, whose best jump this season places him 25^th in the regional standings, also on track to qualify for Lexington. The last Lions currently holding a Regional spot is Gabriel Limwho heads to the SLC Championships with the third longest javelin throw in the conference and 46^th in the Eastern region.

Many other Lions enter the Southland Championships ranked in the top 10 in the conference in their disciplines and looking to medal. On the track, it starts with Javon Taye Williams in the 400 meters, who currently has the fifth best time. Tim Anstett has the sixth-fastest time in the conference in the 800 meters. Williams’ Lions 4×400-meter relay team, Mount Parker, Victory AchakpoekriAnd Olu Ogunyemi currently ranks fifth in the conference.

In the field, Donald Butler joins Stevic in the quest for a place on the high jump podium, currently holding the sixth best high jump in the SLC. Stan Hamilton will look to improve his position in the pole vault, currently holding 10^th-best clearance in the discipline. In the shot put, Donroy Brown enters the weekend currently fifth in the conference and looking to fight their way to a medal. Webb may have his sights set on the hammer throw, but he could be eyeing a double if he can improve on his place in the discus throw, where he currently sits seventh in the SLC with Mike Miller not far behind in ninth position, rounding out the top potential medalists for the Lions this weekend.

The 2024 Southland Conference Outdoor Athletics Championships begin at noon on Thursday with the decathlon and heptathlon as well as the women’s hammer throw kicking off. Thursday’s track competitions begin at 7:15 p.m. with the 1,500-meter races. On Friday, the festivities will begin with the completion of the two multis at 11 a.m. while the individual field events will begin at 3 p.m. with the shot put and the track events will begin at 6:45 p.m. with the women’s 100 meter hurdles. The final day of the SLC Championships begins at noon with the women’s discus throw on Saturday while the track events begin at 5:35 p.m. with the 4×100 meter relays.

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