Track & Field: Cajuns Set To Host 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship

Track & Field: Cajuns Set To Host 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship

Cajuns Set To Host 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship

Contact: Matt Hebert

LAFAYETTE, La. – The 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships is less than a week away and the Ragin’ Cajuns coaching staff is gearing up for what should be a great event at the Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility.

The meet runs from Friday, May 11 through Sunday, May 13 with practice sessions on Thursday.

“It’s always an honor to have the conference meet at your place,” UL head track and field coach Lon Badeaux said. “It’s a good thing to have the conference consider us to be a good site to put on a meet. We have always put on good meets here at UL. Going back to my time as an athlete here, we used to hold the meet several times.

“This is really track and field at its best. More than likely three athletes from every event will make it to regionals so it will be a high quality meet. The weather certainly is a positive as the warm temperatures will allow for some fast times. We’ll also have three of the top javelin throwers in the country here for the conference championships so it should be fun to watch.”

Events start at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 11 with the decathlon and heptathlon, while the field events start at 2 p.m. and the running events start at 9 p.m.

On Saturday, May 12 the multi events pick back up at 9 a.m. and lead into the start of the field events at 12:30 p.m. All running events are slated to start at 6 p.m. that evening.

The final day of competition is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 13 with the field events. The final running events are set to start at 5 p.m.

“This meet is conducive for track and field fans to be enjoy what they like,” Badeaux added. “Most of the same events are scheduled together so you can come out and watch all of the field events or all of the sprints and not have to be here all day.”

There will be 10 teams competing on the men’s side (UALR, Arkansas State, FIU, Louisiana, La.-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, South Alabama, Troy and WKU), while 11 teams will compete on the women’s side (UALR, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Louisiana, La.-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, South Alabama, Troy and WKU).

“Track and field has gotten away from scored meets over the years and it’s been more of an individual competition,” Badeaux said. “Now, with a meet like this, you see more of a team aspect. What someone does on the track affects what someone does in a field event to help the team win a championship. That certainly adds an interesting dynamic to this meet.”

Coming into the meet there are 10 athletes on the men’s side with marks that rank in the NCAA top 25 this season led by Martins Pildavs from Troy who ranks fourth in the country in the javelin with a throw of 248-0. Western Kentucky’s Ignacio Guerra (242-11) and La.-Monroe’s Richard McKay (241-0) rank 12^th and 13^th behind Pildavs in the javelin.

Louisiana’s Albert Fournette ranks ninth in the country in the shot put with a throw of 63-7 ½, while the Cajuns Chris Roy is 12^th in the pole vault with a mark of 17-8 ½.

On the women’s side, Arkansas State’s Sharika Nelvis ranks in the top 25 in three events including the 100-meter dash (11.45), 200-meter dash (23.35) and the 100-meter hurdles (13.36). Overall, the Sun Belt has eight women’s athletes in the top 25 on the NCAA women’s performance list including Louisiana’s Jasmine Manuel who ranks sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 43-7 ¼.

For a complete schedule of events and information on the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship visit meet central by clicking here. Heat sheets, live results and final results are available on the meet central page.

— Ragin’ Cajuns —

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