Track & Field

Final Results
Day One Recap
Day Two Recap

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (5/10/09) – The University of North Texas’ men’s and women’s track and field teams climbed the standings on the final day of the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, however it was not enough to overcome eventual champions Western Kentucky.

The Mean Green men (91.50) and women (97 points) both finished in fourth place after beginning the day in sixth and eighth place respectively. For the second year in a row, Western Kentucky won both the men’s and women’s team titles.

“There were a lot of things that went against us all year but these kids kept with it,” North Texas head coach Rick Watkins said. “We had a lot of great individual performances this weekend and hopefully we can try and make up for this at regionals. Right now though, it doesn’t soothe the wounds of coming up short.”

North Texas won two gold medals on Sunday, those belonging to sophomore high jumper Jermaine Jamison and senior hurdler Lauren Wiggins. Jamison won the high jump event with a leap of 6-10.75 while Wiggins shattered her own school record by winning the 100m hurdles in a time of 13.40.

Wiggins’ time also broke the Sun Belt championships record of 13.41, which had been held by Troy’s Monique Johnson since 2007. The senior also finished third in the 100m dash in the time of 11.81.

Sophomore sprinter Brittani Simmons finished the season in style as well, finishing second in both the 100m dash (11.75) and 200m dash (23.76).She was also a member of the women’s 4X100m relay team that placed second with a finish of 45.80.

The women also received top three performances from Alana Tyler in the hammer throw (176-00), Ciara Smith in the 400m dash (54.81) and Sara Dietz in the 800m run (2:12.40).

On the men’s side Keyth Talley was named Freshman of the Year and also placed second in the 200m dash with another NCAA Regional qualifying time of 21.13. Talley also had a hand in the men’s 4X100 relay team that grabbed a tie for silver with a finish of 39.95.

In the field events senior Toby Edwards was also had an all-conference third-place performance in the high jump with a mark of 6-06.75. Jordan Wehr, who finished third in the decathlon, repeated a solid performance in the pole vault with a third place performance and NCAA Regional qualifying height of 16-06.75.

Both the men’s and women’s 4X400 relay teams also earned all-conference honors with third place performances.

In all, North Texas tallied 15 all-conference performances. The Mean Green has now qualified for regionals in 13 events with 18 different athletes. Those athletes will compete in the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional on May 29-30 in Norman, Oklahoma.