The
Sam Houston State University men’s track team won the Southland Conference
indoor championship for the fourth consecutive season. This senior class has now completed a perfect
run of indoor championships.
“To
be able to have a group that has come through and never known not to win is a
good thing,” head coach David Self said. “It’s also a daunting task to keep
that up over the years… but we have a very talented group of seniors that have
done a great job indoors.”
Leading
the class is senior sprinter Chris Jefferson. He placed second in the 200-meter
dash clocking in at 20.97 seconds, finishing only behind freshman teammate
Jo’Vaughn Martin, who set a school record in the event with a time of 20.94
seconds. Martin and Jefferson also placed second and third respectively in the 60-meter
dash. In a group with a lot of
experience, it was the freshman Martin that really made headlines at the
conference meet.
“He
has made the first big jump,” Self said. “He’s already running really fast, the
big challenge for me as a coach is to make sure that his realistic expectations
can be met. He’s got a lot of really fast running left in his career.”
Junior
hurdler and Huntsville native Fabian McCall took home the individual title in
the 60-meter hurdles and set a meet record in the event with a time 7.75
seconds— breaking a record that had been in tact since 2003.
All
in all, the Bearkats cruised to a conference title, scoring 112 points as a
team. SHSU was the only school in triple digits and 29 points ahead of second
place Southeastern Louisiana University.
With that success the Bearkats will have a school record three athletes
heading to the indoor national championships March 9: Jefferson, McCall and
sophomore pole vaulter Clayton Fritsch.
Once
the indoor nationals are wrapped up, outdoor season will be upon the team. They
will head to Abilene to compete in the ACU Spring Break Invitational.