NEW ORLEANS – At the conclusion of the 2016 season, pole vaulter
Hannah McWilliams earned Newcomer of the Year laurels for the Southland Conference. The Portland, Texas, native added another honor to her résumé on the second day of the 2017 Southland Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship – Southland Conference Champion. McWilliams was the only athlete to best the 3.95-meter bar to give the women 10 points.
The Islanders women's team had a trio of scoring performances on the second day, and will open Championship Sunday in seventh place with 19 points.
Ben Clark provided the lone two points for the men's team a toss of 16.12 meters in the shot put and the third longest throw in school history to place seventh. Clark previously set the program record of 16.72 meters at the Cougar Spring Break Invitational.
The aforementioned McWilliams needed four attempts to clear three heights to secure her title. Already the school record holder, the junior narrowly missed on a new program best in her final three jumps.
Diamond Thomas and
Adrienne Nickleson teamed up to put nine points on the board with third and sixth-place finishes, respectively. Nickleson notched a personal best and the seventh longest toss in program history with an effort of 13.84 meters, which won the first flight.
Not to be outdone, Thomas' third heave of the night fell 14.01 meters down range, the third longest in school history. The Houston native became just the second Islander to ever cross the 14-meter plateau after Brandi Huff.
Four Islanders stormed through the preliminary round races on Saturday to qualify for the finals on Sunday. The 2015 Southland Conference 200-meter dash champion
Ebony Collins flew into the finals with a time of 24.19 seconds, good for the fifth seed and ninth in school history. The San Antonio native also posted the fourth fastest time in the 100-meter dash at 11.79 seconds to qualify fourth.
Morgan McCutchen's herculean effort in the last straight of the 1,500-meter run earned the rooked the final spot in tomorrow's final at 3:31.11.
On the men's side, Corpus Christi will be represented in the championship rounds by
Terrion Spivey and
Will Maraggia in the 400 and 800-meter runs, respectively. Spivey sprinted into the field with a time of 48.31 seconds. Maraggia dominated the field coasting to the finish with the best qualifying time by nearly half a second at 1:52.11.
The Islanders nearly qualified in trio other races, but all the efforts fell just outside the final group in ninth.
Taylor Hawes finished in 2:16.86 in the 800-meter run.
Savanna Steakley posted the eighth fastest time in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:04.71.
Jaran Cadena crossed the line in 1:53.71 in the 800-meter run.
Corpus Christi also finished just outside the scoring in both races for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Marek Spriestersbach overcame a tumble in the first lap to place ninth at 9:36.58, while
Cynthia Quiroga crossed in 11:43.83.
Logan Robinson added a highlight in the men's javelin. The sophomore recorded a personal best at 52.49 meters, the fourth longest throw in school history.
Championship Sunday will feature 16 events for the Blue and Green. The high jumping duo of
Zhafear Ray and
Sashane Hanson will get their shot at the conference meet with the men's competition at 10 a.m. and the women at 12:30 p.m.
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