Georgia Southern University
Sun Belt Conference
Eagles Place Eighth In Milestone Weekend At Sun Belt Outdoor Championships
5/13/2019 12:21:00 AM | Track & Field/XC
Best finish for GS since joining Sun Belt; three Eagles earn All-Conference Honors
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Georgia Southern women's track and field team placed eighth at the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend, scoring a program-best 47 points in the three-day competition.
The Eagles surpassed their previous mark (14.5 points) and placing (10th) set during their first year in the conference in 2015 with this year's performance at the A-State Track & Field Complex.
"What a great weekend for the Georgia Southern Eagles," Head Coach Kelly Carter said. "They really stepped up to the challenge to show all the hard work that they had put in this entire year. I am so proud of the way they all came together and contributed to reaching their goals. From the seniors, to the freshman, everybody had a hand in the success."
Nine different student-athletes scored points for the Eagles throughout the championships, starting on Friday evening as freshman Merabu Nagwandala finished fourth in the 10K in a time of 36:54.68, earning five points. It was the freshman's first time running the 10K collegiately as well.
On Saturday, Alexis Gant placed seventh in the shot put with a toss of 43' 3.25", earning two points.
Sunday's scoring started with the Eagles placing sixth in the 4x100 relay as the team of Beyunka Foster, Desiree' Blunt, Camryn Mathis and Izlyn Zaini finished in a time of 46.49, earning three points.
The 100 Hurdles had a pair of Eagles score as Zaini took fourth in a time of 13.97, and Tatiyana Rayford placed sixth in a time of 14:01, collectively earning six points for GS.
Two Eagles found the podium in the 800 Meters as Ellunde Montgomery finished second with a personal best time of 2:12.85, while Sholonda Snell finished third in a time of 2:12.95. Montgomery earns second-team All-Conference honors with her silver medal finish, while Snell earns third-team honors with her bronze.
"It was wonderful to see Ellunde and Sholonda go out and earn All-Conference honors in the 800 by really pushing each other and getting on the medal stand," Carter said.
The final individual event of the meet was the 5K and this time Nagwandala was up to the challenge, outkicking her competition during the final lap to win the race in a new school-record time of 17:10.57, earning 10 points. She becomes the first Georgia Southern student-athlete to claim a Sun Belt championship at the Outdoor meet and the second overall, joining Jasmine Walker, who won the long jump at the 2016 Sun Belt Indoor Championships. Nagwandala also earns first-team All-Conference honors with her gold medal finish.
"What can you say about Merabu other than wow!" Carter said. "She went out on Friday and ran her heart out in the 10,000 and placed 4th, so that she could score for the team. After a day's rest, she surprised us all by going out and winning the 5000. She went into that race as an underdog and came out on top!"
Capping off the Championships, the Eagles' 4x400 relay team of Breanna Thornton, Montgomery, Blunt and Meagan Lynch wins the second heat and finishes fourth overall with a time of 3:50.07, earning five points.
Several Eagles also advanced to the finals of their events throughout the weekend. Snell advanced to the 1500 finals with a time of 4:36.73 in her preliminaries and would finish 11th in the finals. Detrich Lodge advanced to the finals of the Long Jump and would finish ninth with a distance of 18' 6".
Players Mentioned
