| Jessica Jones successfuly defended her SLC 100-meter hurdles crown on Sunday. |
NACOGDOCHES ? UTSA junior Jessica Jones repeated as the Southland Conference 100-meter hurdles champion to highlight final day action for the women’s track and field team on Sunday at the SLC Outdoor Championships held.
Jones successfully defended her hurdles crown with a personal-best 13.63 clocking, finishing ahead of Stephen F. Austin’s Silent-Joy Egboba-Waye (13.73) and Sam Houston State’s Tywaneisha Spiller (13.85). The Hightower High product captured last year’s title in 13.76. Jones also earned top honors in the 60m hurdles at the SLC Indoor in February and now becomes the first Roadrunner to sweep both hurdles crowns in the same season.
Jones’s 13.63 clocking is an NCAA regional qualifier and moves her into the No. 3 position on UTSA’s all-time performers list. Her win gives the Roadrunners eight titles in the event, including six since 2000, and she becomes the third multiple winner, joining Ryanne Dupree (2004, ’05, ’07) and Tiffany Hart (1999, 2000). Jones will continue her season at the NCAA Midwest Regional on May 29-30 in Norman, Okla.
Also on the track, sophomore Jayde James grabbed the bronze medal in the 800m. The Leesburg, Va., native circled the Homer Bryce Stadium track twice in a personal-best time of 2:13.62 for third place behind Devyn Mitchell of Sam Houston State (2:12.12) and Andrea Warren of Northwestern State (2:12.44).
Jones and James joined sophomore Shavonne Armbrister and freshman Rebecca Crain on the 4x400m relay and helped the quartet finish sixth with a season-best 3:52.03 clocking.
In the field, freshman Lindsey Nguyen broke the school record in the pole vault. The Dallas native topped 11-1 3/4 to tie for sixth place, as she bettered Stephanie Henslee’s previous standard of 11-0 3/4 and now holds both the indoor and outdoor records.
Freshman Amber Byars posted a sixth-place finish in the discus, as she launched the platter to a 138-6 measure. Sophomore Rebekah Hill just missed scoring in the triple jump with a ninth-place skip of 38-4 1/4.
In other action on the track, the 4x100m relay team of Jones, Armbrister, senior Shanelle Slaughter and sophomore Kayla Thomas placed ninth with a 47.38 clocking, while freshman Kayla Pratt took 10th in the 5,000m in 18:32.08.
UTSA tallied 31 points to finish ninth in the team standings. The host Ladykacks ran away with the team championship with 173.5 points, while Texas State (135.5) and UT Arlington (125) placed second and third, respectively.