MAGNOLIA, Ark. -- It was a beautiful day for competition and the Southern Arkansas Men's and Women's Track and Field teams took advantage.
Both squads dominated the opposition on the day as the sixth edition of the Dan Veach Invitational went off without a hitch on Saturday from the Mulerider Track and Field Complex on the campus of Southern Arkansas University.
The Southern Arkansas Women totaled 15 event wins with a trio of student-athletes winning multiple competitions. Kailyn Thomas claimed the top spot on the podium in the shot put, discus and hammer throw events. Jordan Collins was the fastest competitor in both the 200M and 400M events. Diamond Brunn recorded the top marks in the long jump and triple jump disciplines.
In her final 100H effort at the Mulerider Track & Field Complex, Liberty-Eylau graduate Kaliyah Thompson won the event in a career-best time of 14.88.
Southern Arkansas' 4x100 relay team won the event in the fastest time ever under coach Tim Servis as the quad of Breyonna Steward, Kamrin Hooks, Katelynn Hogg and Jordan Collins constructed a one-lap effort in 47.12; .09 seconds faster than their season-best mark produced three weeks earlier.
Thomas set career-best marks in the shot put (12.99m; 42' 7.5") and in the hammer throw (51.15m; 167' 10") and all three of her results on Saturday are currently the best by a Mulerider thrower this season. She has now won four events during the '23 campaign.
The freshman Collins posted the fastest 200M time of her young career at 25.25 (-0.5) which is the fastest for a Mulerider in the event this season. She was also a part of SAU's 4x400 winning team that posted a time of 4:09.70. Collins has now been victorious in three individual events this season.
Brunn earned the first two wins of her career as she posted team-best season marks in the long jump (5.13m; 16' 10") and the triple jump (10.99m; 36' ¾").
Hooks' win in the 100M came in a time of 12.27 which is the fastest time for a Mulerider this season and the quickest the Shreveport, Louisiana native has ever run the event.
In the 400H it was Rozlyne Manor that finished out front with a time of 1:06.70. Briana Rodriguez won the 3000M steeple in 12:48.08 and Alexis Matlock claimed the top spot in the high jump (1.63m; 5' 4 ¼"). The win was the seventh for Matlock in her career. Ja'Kaya Lewis posted the longest javelin throw of her rookie season with a first-place result of 26.75m (87' 9").
In all, the Mulerider Women posted a collective 39 first through third place results on the day.
The Southern Arkansas Men combined for seven first-place finishes. Ja'Kamron Zackery led with a pair of top results as he won both the shot put and discus events. Zackery's mark in the discus (49.38m; 162') is a personal-best and just five inches off of the program record. The pair of victories on Saturday give the Magnolia native six for his career.
Hector Hernandez won the 1500M for the first time in his career with a personal-best time of 4:07.10. He also registered a second-place finish in the 800M.
Caleb Sterling won the 110H in a personal-best 14.81. The victory on Saturday is the first for Sterling in his rookie campaign. Isaac Gass was the top finisher in the 3000M steeple with a time of 10:17.82; four seconds faster than his previous top effort in the event.
For the second time this season, Joseph Boyd won the pole vault with a top result of 4.25m; .15m back of his personal-best in the event. In the javelin, Korbin McAuliffe won with a mark of 46.47m (152' 5"). It marked his second effort this season surpassing 152' in the event.
The Johnson Brothers, Bryson and Travon, led SAU in the 200M with Bryson Johnson placing second (22.28) and Travon Johnson finishing third (22.35). The pair placed fourth and fifth in the 100M behind Daymien Smith's personal-best third-place result of 10.69.
For the day, the Mulerider Men registered 27 top three finishes.
The Muleriders return to action on April 6-8 in Nacogdoches, Texas for the Carl Kight Invitational hosted by Stephen F. Austin.
Southern Arkansas University's Kaliyah Thompson, who graduated from Liberty-Eylau, won the 100-meter hurdles in a career-best time of 14.88 during the Dan Veach Invitational on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Magnolia, Arkansas. (Photo by Kevin Sutton/TXKSports.com)
Southern Arkansas University's Carter Duncan, a Hooks graduate, competes in the long jump event during the Dan Veach Invitational on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Magnolia, Arkansas. (Photo by Kevin Sutton/TXKSports.com)
Southern Arkansas University and former Liberty-Eylau standouts Kaliyah Thompson and Aaliyah Thompson pose for a photo during the Dan Veach Invitational on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Magnolia, Arkansas. (Photo by Kevin Sutton/TXKSports.com)