Both the Sam Houston State University men and women’s squads look to be in the hunt for more hardware as they head to the 27th annual Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships being held Friday and Saturday at the Bill Yeoman Athletic Center on the campus of the University of Houston.
The league’s outdoor champions in both men and women’s track and field last spring, SHSU looks to be a contender indoors this year as well.
“As in the past, we’re a stronger team outdoors, but we feel we certainly are in the hunt indoors this year,” SHSU head coach Curtis Collier said. “Texas-San Antonio has put together a very strong indoor men’s team this year and look to be the favorites, but our men are going to give them a run for their money. On the women’s side, it’s a horse race among four or five teams.”
Last year, the SHSU women were runners-up indoors with a school record 106 points while the men placed seventh with 65.5 points.
“We red-shirted several of our top runners indoors last year and had everyone ready to go for the outdoors,” Collier said. “It’s going to be an exciting meet.”
On the men’s side, SHSU has athletes ranked among the top five in the conference in 10 of 16 events.
Thomas Johansson and Brandon Moseley rank first and second in the men’s 3,000 meter run with times of 8:27.03 and 8:27.43, respectively.
Matt Adkisson and Randy Flach both rank second in the Southland in the men’s pole vault with marks of 16′ 6.75″. Flach is the defending SLC indoor pole vault champion Chaterra Blake and Tenika Powell lead the women’s team. Blake ranks number one in the Southland in the 60-meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 8.43 seconds. Powell is tops in the SLC shot put this winter with a toss of 46′ 7.5″
Tiffany Singleton and Roshunda Betts rank second in the SLC in their specific events, Singleton with a 56.21 time in the 400 meters and Betts with a triple jump of 40 feet, nine inches.
The Bearkats do have some injury woes. Senior Jennie Sewell, who has won the indoor pole vault title each of her three previous seasons and holds the league’s top vault this winter, will likely miss the meet with a back injury.
“We have some injuries, but we feel like we’re going in with plenty of firepower,” Collier said.